Blackbird

Marcus Adnet was working his usual shift at the coffee shop, on the corner of Boulevard Saint Germain. His eyes drew attention to a beautiful young lady. She had thick black hair and gorgeous deep brown eyes.

“ It's so cold out there I think my fingers are frozen solid, I may never be able to hold anything again” She stated with a grin on her face.

“ Well you have come to the right place, I can fix that right up with a nice cup of hot coffee,” He said looking amused.

“ Then I shall take an espresso with a buttered croissant.”

Marcus prepared the order with delight, and placed it on the table she was sitting on. As the sparks were flying he had to ask her out.

“Um, would you like to go watch a movie with me?”

“ Let me first check with my boyfriend first.” she said.

There was a short moment of silence where Marcus stood there with a dampened spirit.

“ I am just kidding, I would love to go to the movies with you, how about tonight at eight?”

He brushed off the joke with laughter, and said

“Okay great see you tonight at eight”.

Marcus walked into the movie theatre and felt his palms start to sweat when he saw her face. She was wearing a bewitching red dress, that accentuated her figure. Although this is the second time meeting her, her face was ringing a bell in his mind, that he could not figure out. After watching the movie Marcus offered to drop her home. She accepted the invitation, and they both got in his small red Renault hatchback. He turned the engine on, and the radio starts playing.

“Last seen walking in Parc Monceau with a woman with black hair, and fair skin, this is the third person.”

She quickly changed the radio station, to play something more romantic, as they drove towards her house. He walked her to the door of her apartment building, and she turned around and said

“Would you like to come in for a nightcap?”

Without a second thought, he agreed to her advances. They walked up the stairs and into her apartment. When they walked through the door, he smelt a mustiness in the air.

“I apologise for the odour, I just spilled rotten milk on the carpet yesterday, and the scent is still lingering.”

Marcus sat down on the white couch, and looked around her apartment in wonder, and became highly intrigued by the unique red painting she had on the wall. She opened up a bottle of wine and handed him a glass.

“ You like Merlot right?”

“ Actually I love red wine, and more specifically Merlot is my favourite beverage”

“ What a coincidence”, she said with amazement.

Marcus took a little sip of the wine, which tastes a lot sweeter compare with red wines he has tasted in the past.

“Aren’t you going to have a glass?” Marcus asked.

“ I have an early start tomorrow so probably best to avoid drinking tonight,” she said.

Marcus felt a little eerie suddenly but continue to brush past it sipping on his glass of wine.

“ That is an interesting choice of artworks.”

She chuckled and said, “I actually paint these myself, and for your information, I am a professional artist with a lot of sales.”

“ I never said they looked horrible, I just said they looked interesting, different, something that stands out. He said in a flirtatious manner

“Another glass of wine?” she asked.

“ I think I am all good”, Marcus stated, as he didn’t care for the sweetness he tasted and felt a little dizzy.

Marcus proclaimed “It almost looks like bloodstains.”

“ Well that probably is because I create my masterpieces with newly harvested blood, ” she said

Marcus felt his blood curdle from within, and a chill go down his spine as he sat there in fear.

With a brief pause, she said.

“ I like the sight of deep red blood smeared across a pure white canvas”.