Elena crouched; her eyes focused on the fine details of the mosaic. She put on some clean gloves from her wooden drawer and started piecing it together. Her hands moved slowly, carefully putting the pieces together like an artist illuminating a manuscript. Elena loved to work in this place because it evoked a steam of old memories of her hometown in Florence. Sometimes she pauses, her eyes scanning the art, feeling the balance with the other pieces. The mosaic was cool to the touch, and she lingered, enjoying the way it felt beneath her fingers.
Soon her eyes spotted a gem—or what seemed to be a fragment of one. Elena stops what she's doing and swiftly takes it and puts it in her palm. She feels a deep connection with it. After a few seconds of looking at it, she makes it her own.
"Elena?" The voice was familiar, but her heart was pounding like a chariot in motion. She turned to see Tomas leaning against the doorway, his dark eyes scanning the room.
"Tomas, you scared me," she said, eyes locked on him, browsing his familiar wavy hair and olive skin. Burn marks stained his beige tunic. Dark circles under his eyes were visible, and his face was full of fatigue lines.
"Shall we call it a day?" He says, arms crossed, as he leans against the door.
"I wish; there is still a lot to do." A smile forms on her face.
"Aren't you supposed to be working on weapons?"
"I thought we needed a break," Tomas said, smiling at Elena.
"Do not be silly; this job is due tomorrow morning." She says, hands on her lips.
"Okay, I will be here waiting." Tomas sits on a bundle of hay, discerning it as the best place to rest.
"Tomas, you never explained why you are making so many weapons." Elena sat down and continued piecing the mosaic together.
"Well, I heard that a war between France and Italy might break out soon." He yawns, and his posture becomes more relaxed.
Elena looks at him. With a sigh, she pushed herself to her feet and walked towards Tomas.
"Okay, you won. I suppose we will go home." Tomas slowly rises, opens the door, and gets ready to leave.
Elena, it's too late for you to be working.
"I understand, but you say this every day." She crouches. While she is packing her belongings, Tomas hears footsteps.
"Stay here," Tomas says. He looks around, scanning the dimly lit area.
A loud bang reverberated through the area. Elena turned to look at Tomas. His eyes widened in shock, and his body dropped with a thud. Elena's eyes widened; her mind started racing, asking itself why this would happen. A velvet stain spread across the floor. Tears sparingly dropped out of her eyes. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't stop staring.
Although she was grieving, she could hear footsteps approaching. Soon she could see a figure holding a musket in their hands.A loud shot rang out, and a silent scream escaped her closed lips. Soon she was on the floor. Is this how she is going to die? Elena wishes she could turn back time so she could do something about it. The people came in and attempted to steal the gem from her, but it began emitting a bright light, and Elena could only see white.
"Shall we call it a day?" Tomas says, arms crossed, as he leans against the door. Elena looked around with widened eyes. She questioned herself, attempting to determine if this was merely a dream.