'I won't be coming in tomorrow morning for my shift, I have decided to retire from my position with a heavy heart. I do not wish to leave the cafe but unfortunately, my hands are tied. Please let me know if you get this message or call me at your latest convenience for me to explain further information.
Merci.
Anastasia Tremó.'
Anastasia stared at the glowing screen of her laptop as the email went through to her boss within seconds even though it felt like hours to her. He most likely wouldn't be up at this time late in the night but it was better to give Justin a heads up so when she didn't show up for work the next morning he wouldn't flip out or become worried by her absence. A mixed expression graced her features as she tapped her fingers next to the keyboard feeling like there might be more than she should be doing, but in actuality, there was nothing else that she could give except time to wait for his reply back. In the meantime Anastasia closed her laptop and made a mental plan to herself while traveling to the kitchen to brew a cup of hot chamomile tea and reach for the ginger cookies on the top shelf inside her cupboards, she would get up extremely early the next morning to give her just enough wiggle room to organize and make sure everything was in place at the museum before opening hours began. The museum wasn't too long of a drive but the morning traffic was a nightmare to get through. She had that new painting in the storage room to hang and display also but it needed to be dusted and properly cleaned before Anastasia could show it to the public. How did her parents do all this stuff every single day?!
The smell of the tea wavered through her senses and made her body feel as light as a feather and bring a wave of calmness to her psyche. Anastasia smiled at her reflection in the tea and looked up at her kitchen window but froze when she saw something behind her dart across the floor. In a flash, she whipped her head back but saw no one there. It took a moment for her green pools to scan the area and reassure herself that she was safe before grabbing her cup and the box of cookies off the counter then hightailing it back to her bedroom. That was strange, but perhaps she was just exhausted from today and her mind was playing games from fatigue so she didn't give the strange encounter a second thought.
But the activity didn't seem to stop there. Anastasia couldn't shake the feeling that something was there in her home with her. Feeling a weight of anxiousness press against her chest, she cautiously walked down the hallway towards her bedroom door and peeked into the large space. Everything was still and calm except for the fact that her sheets began to rustle and move on their own ever so slowly, causing Anastasia to nearly dropping her cup of tea onto the floor along with the box of treats. Her pupils shrank in fear, what was that?! All her doors and windows were locked last time she checked so there shouldn't have been anything that was able to sneak in! She had never been robbed before either for that matter. Taking a cautious breath Anastasia slowly reached over and placed her teacup and cookies down onto a small writing desk she had by the door and grabbed the nearest object closest to her, a large pillow. Well, it was better than nothing, she could always whack the intruder unconscious somehow. Hopefully.
Taking slow, easy steps Anastasia crept over to her mattress, raised the pillow over her head with one hand then reached forwards to rip the blankets off the intruder. But to her shock, it was her family's pet cat Calypso. Calypso was a white and light grey colored Sphinx cat breed that Anastasia had received from her parents as a third birthday gift, of course when she first saw the feline her childlike mind assumed it was a large, meowing rat considering the fact that Sphinx cats had no hair on their bodies once so ever making them look like a wrinkly oversized rodent. However, over time, Anastasia grew close with Calypso and loved her just as much as she would any other house pet and even let the animal sleep in her bed right beside her. The two even shared green-colored irises! Barbara and Premiere wanted to purchase a pet that wouldn't shed and cause any uncontrollable messes to prevent the priceless artifacts and artwork they brought home to clean and store from being exposed to more damage thus also having Calypso declawed completely. She couldn't be let outdoors without a harness on and had to wear large homemade knit sweaters almost 24/7, more than usual in the wintertime because of her lack of hair to keep her warm.
Calypso wasn't a problem, in fact, she was rather sweet and gentle to mostly everyone! But the wrinkles on her face made her look like she was always angry with everything that some people just avoided her when they saw her looking out the window or when being walked. Kids always wanted to pet her though and would laugh at how funny she felt. However, what was strange about this encounter wasn't the fact that it was Calypso but rather how she entered into Anastasia's home in the first place. The feline lived at her parent's house on the other side of town and when Anastasia moved out she couldn't take Calypso with her because her landlord who owned her building didn't allow pets in her specific neighborhood because lots of kids and elderly folk had allergies to animals. Well, Calypso didn't shed so she couldn't cause anyone allergies that Anastasia was aware of.
Then it all clicked.
Her parents must have dropped Calypso off at her home using the spare house key she gave them in case of emergencies sometime today, most likely after she left for her morning shift at the cafe just before they went to pack up the rest of their things for Egypt. Anastasia didn't own any pet supplies at her place, to begin with! Who knows what mess Calypso had made being here for all this time?! What were her parents thinking?! Anastasia sighed heavily and dropped the pillow onto the floor then plopped face forwards onto her bed making it jump a little from the impact, startling Calypso. The feline meowed softly and stretched before moving back under the covers again to keep warm all curled up into a wrinkly ball purring away. Anastasia couldn't just leave her here all alone without a litter box or food and water plus being kept outside while she was at work was out of the question. So without any other options left, Anastasia decided to take the cat with her to the museum until she could purchase all the things from the pet store later. Besides Calypso was nice enough for human interactions so her sitting on the front desk was alright and if push comes to shove she could let the cat lounge in her office.
Too exhausted to even raise a finger Anastasia simply fell asleep right where she laid letting her tea get colder and colder by the minute. Even the ping from her laptop didn't stir her.
"•••••"
It was all a blur.
First went off her phone alarm, then came the pawing at her face from Calypso to be let outside and fed, the next thing Anastasia knew she was throwing herself into the shower and rushing out minutes later to grab some lunch meat from the fridge to feed the cat with then threw on an outfit and brushed out her hair. Nothing too fancy, a pale purple dress shirt and black dress pants with a belt and some silver earrings, her hair went into a high ponytail with a white ribbon holding it in place. Calypso finished the meat and scratched behind her ear just as Anastasia finished getting ready and picked up the feline to put her outside to use the bathroom. That alone took ten minutes and by the time she was done Anastasia grabbed Calypso and her bag by the front door, locked up her house, and ran to her car.
The drive was smoother than Anastasia thought it would be, the sun just now rising over the rooftops of the buildings and the streets were practically empty save for the few people leaving for work themselves and school buses picking up kids. The museum came into view six minutes later and there was still plenty of time left to spare. Sighing in relief, Anastasia stopped the car right outside the museum and stepped out into the early, cool morning air. It was refreshing, to say the least, and calmed her nerves even if it was just for a minute. Calypso meowed from inside the car and peeked over the dashboard as her large, green eyes watched cars pass by on the other side then at Anastasia's figure as she opened the door, picked her up and grabbed the large black bag then walked up the concrete steps to unlock the main doors. The inside of the museum was completely dark save for a few automatic hall lights and the sun's rays shining in from the windows, the air was completely still and oddly freezing. Was the air conditioning left on too high? The museum had to be a perfectly balanced temperature for the displays and right now it felt like Anastasia had entered a large freezer. Calypso began to shudder under Anastasia's arm from the temperature and let out a low noise that sounded like almost like a growl. Not thinking much of it Anastasia's main focus was to go into the boiler room and fix whatever was causing the air to become so frigid then hang that painting up from yesterday just before the public came in. Anastasia sighed and noticed her breath came out in a foggy, white mist as well as the short breaths coming from Calypso. Has it ever been this cold indoors before? Even in the summer?
With little time to ponder on the matter, Anastasia gently set Calypso down by the front desk as well as her bag which the feline immediately crawled into like a den to keep warm while her owner grabbed the keys and left for the boiler room. The boiler room was also where the storage room was located down passed the artifacts hallway with only a few feet separating the two rooms from one another. Anastasia didn't remember adjusting the temperature yesterday or see her parents come down the hallway before they left so it was strange how the boiler room was accessed without a key. All the rooms were locked except for a janitor's closet filled with cleaning supplies passed the storage room.
The clicking of Anastasia's heels echoed all around her and the sounds of metal creaking and groaning came into her eardrums. She was getting closer to her destination. Making it to the large, black metal door Anastasia went ahead and unlocked it only to swing it open and notice the main valve that pumped heat throughout the pipes bleeding into the museum was switched completely off. No wonder why it was so cold! Marching over she grabbed the wheel-shaped valve and began turning it back to its assigned temperature of a perfect seventy-five degrees, sighing and made sure everything else was in order. Letting go of the metal valve Anastasia felt something wet on both her hands, curious she looked down and saw that her entire palms and fingers were stained with a thick, black, inky substance that almost had a purple like a hue in the soft glow of the boilers furnace fire. Her green eyes widened in surprise and slight discomfort, where did this come from? Was it oil? Was the boiler leaking? Checking over the machine again every screw and pipe seemed to be in place and nothing was causing any sort of leakage, it was just the valve covered in the strange purple black goo. Perhaps a mechanic worker making adjustments had something on his hands and forgot to clean it up? But…
No calls to repair the boiler have been made since its installment.
Feeling a little freaked out Anastasia quickly left the boiler room and decided to head to the janitors closet to find a rag or something to clean her hands off with till she could reach one of the bathrooms and properly wash herself off with soap and water. She could always come back and lock up the room later but for now, Anastasia closed the door with her foot and fast walked to the janitors closet, passing the storage room on her way there she slipped in something and fell completely back onto the marble floor. Needless to say, the fall really hurt. Letting herself lay there for a moment as the stars vanished from her vision Anastasia groaned and felt like she was laying in a large puddle of some sort and patted the area around her, feeling her hands make contact with more liquid and wet plopping noises every time her hand met the ground. With her orbs as wide as saucers Anastasia shot upwards despite the pain in her back and head from the fall and looked down only to find her body, clothes, and hair completely soaked in the same strange fluid her hands were stained with back in the boiler room. An icy wave of paranoia filled her senses and ran through her veins and her head seemed to naturally turn on its own down towards the floor and find the source of the inky flood.
The storage room.
Anastasia scrambled to her feet the best she could and slipped a few times but managed to grab a hold of the door handle and lift herself back onto her feet then quickly fumbled for her set of keys. She hoped and prayed that the painting was alright, she can't afford to mess up already!! It wasn't even her first official day yet! The keys slipped from her grasp a few times because of the ink staining her skin but within the third try, Anastasia managed to get the key into the slot and throw open the door making her stumble and almost fall onto the floor yet again. Breathing deeply feeling the ink running down her back and neck from her hair, she scanned the room vigorously and saw the inky trail lead right to the painting which was what Anastasia hoped not to see. The brown paper wrapping the painting was stained black from the bottom and had become soggy from the exposure of the liquid. She almost cried in despair right then and there but mustered up the courage to see what damage had been done and walked over to the painting, her heels sloshing and clicking on the wet ground. How did this even happen?! Did it get too hot late in the night? But it was freezing this morning! So many questions ran through her brain as she approached the wrapped up canvas and stared at it with a large frown on her face. She wanted to wait and unwrap it after she took it out into the main foyer but with the dripping black liquid emitting from the bottom she didn't want to make a mess all over the place. More than there already was anyway. But with no other choice, and to check on the main condition of the painting itself, Anastasia carefully ripped the paper off the frame. A part of her was intrigued to see what the painting looked like but another part feared what damage had been done. She didn't know how old it was either.
Finally ripping the last of the paper off Anastasia look a long, hard look at the canvas and it…
Was perfectly fine??
The canvas depicts a beautiful young blonde haired woman standing by a small, rounded clothed table with a vase on it with flowers of all sorts inside it. She seemed to be looking off into space while holding a flower and a cup of tea next to her and wore elbow length pink gloves with a matching colored flower in the center of her chest holding together a lavish light over the shoulder purple gown. Anastasia would have found the piece stunning if not for the fact that it was leaking a dark ink-like substance but the canvas itself seemed untouched from it. Only the packaging paper was stained, not even the wooden frame on the bottom was exposed to the dark liquid. It made no sense! The ink led right to the painting so there HAD to be something damaged…right?
Anastasia grabbed the frame and pulled it back off the wall and looked behind it but there was nothing there nor any rips or tears to the rear of the canvas. Gently placing it back against the wall Anastasia looked back at the painting perplexed. However, the museum was going to open soon and she couldn't waste more time even if she herself was less than presentable now soaked in ink. This was just a great first day. Well, as long as the canvas itself was alright she could hang it if she really wanted to like she had initially planned. But first, she needed to wash her hands and clean herself up to some degree before touching anything. Turning to leave for the janitorial closet Anastasia heard whispering in her ear than something grabbing at her ankle. Jumping from surprise and letting out a small shout Anastasia looked down at the ground and saw an inky, clawed hand have a firm grip on her with their grip tightening and many more hands emerging and twisting from the darkness. Letting out a loud scream Anastasia used her other foot to kick the hands away and stomp the hand holding her in place, stabbing her heel right through its forearm. The ink gurgled and let out an unholy scream in pain as it retreated into the liquid abyss where it came from. With this window of opportunity now open Anastasia made a break for it and bolted out of the storage room and slammed the door shut making a small wave of ink with the large puddle still outside the door. Gasping for air Anastasia backed herself up away from the door and ran as fast as she could towards the main room of the museum in a blind panic.
Fuck her parents.
Fuck this museum.
Fuck that painting.
She was leaving now!
Running to the front desk as fast as her heels could take her Anastasia went to grab for her bag and her cat when she nearly toppled to the floor yet again trying to skid to a halt. Looming over the desk reaching into her bag was the same exact woman from the portrait except her eyes were whole black leaking the same liquid Anastasia was soaked in and her arms from the elbows down, or rather what she could see, were a dark purple. She was pale and ghostly like and her blonde locks swayed behind her as if she was submerged in water, the same went for her gown. Anastasia was too terrified to move or to speak. She wanted to run over and grab her stuff then leave and never look back, she wondered if her parents even knew about what they just bought or not. It made a lot more sense as to why the paperwork was so limited in information now. It was possessed clearly by a curse of some kind! With Anastasia's brain trying to restore some sense of mobility to her limbs the ghostly woman pulled Calypso out from the bag, curled her up into her arms and began to pet the top of her head slowly. The feline shivered harder in her cold embrace and let out a low meow. Of course, Anastasia's presence didn't go unnoticed by the apparition. She snapped her head over towards Anastasia with an ear touching grin stretched upon her face as fangs protruded through her lips. In a deep, low purr the woman spoke to Anastasia but her voice sounded like it came from right next to her ear despite how far away the ghost was.
"I like your cat..."