AMBROSIA

MIGRATION OF MONARCH

Last night, Psyche had another of those eerie dreams where she saw herself floating in the night sky amongst the stars as if being carried by an invisible force.

She stayed awake in her bed for as long as she remembered,  waiting patiently for the sunrise. The mystifying dreams which she had perhaps once a month had turned far too frequent since she moved to Michigan.

It was the unfamiliarity of the new house, the strangeness of this new place, Psyche reasoned with herself, but it had been over a month now, and she should be feeling accustomed already.

The morning leisurely dawned, young sun rays, soft and diffuse, peered through the white linen drapes giving an orange hue to the ivory coloured stucco walls of her room. It looked like the beginning of a beautiful morning, Psyche decided to go out and greet the sun making her last day as a twenty-three year old count.

She glanced at her table clock, it was thirty minutes past five and she had over four hours to her morning class. She could squeeze a quick run in her schedule which she was meaning to do since the day she arrived in this town.

Before she could change her mind, Psyche left the warmness of the velvety mauve comforters and made her way to the bathroom across the room. She turned on the lights and ran the golden faucet, splashing her face with cold water till she felt wide awake. Grabbing the towel by the rose quartz crystal sink Psyche checked her reflection in the mirror.

Her azure eyes were rimmed with moisture clumped dark eyelashes, last night's insomnia was evident by the darkened purplish patches around her eyes contrasting against her unruly soaked auburn curls which stuck on the sides of her face and neck. She dried her skin softly with the towel noticing the natural tan she received in Paris over the summer was subduing, her bronzed fair tone was slowly fading into a more subtle rose beige.

Psyche went through her routine, quickly brushing her teeth and freshening up, she changed from her purple silk pyjamas into faded grey leggings lying on the couch. It was her new favourite piece of clothing and she wore it practically every other day since she moved, it perfectly outlined her sculpted leg muscles and bottom.

She contemplated for a while standing in front of her makeshift closet, confused between a white tank top and a bright neon pink t-shirt that read 'Be wild'. Psyche went with the white option, she always chose white when in doubt. The flowy tank top fit perfectly at her small shoulders and ended a little above her flat stomach.

She picked out her brand new sky blue Torins from her modest shoe closet with twenty-something options. With her new shoes fitting perfectly her excitement spiked, she knew it would be the beginning of an adventure. She plucked in her earphones and grabbed her phone from the bedside table making her way down the stairs.

Customarily, she avoided the three paintings by the staircase wall, the golden framed paintings were black and white monochrome close-up portraits of old women, with accentuated crease lines all over their faces. The connecting link between the three paintings was a golden thread that appeared to move from one painting and enter into the other.

"It is the new age aesthetics, and it matches the golden theme of the house perfectly," her mom was cajoled by the interior designer with a high pitched fake Italian accent when asked about the necessity of these aberrant paintings.

In reality, however, the paintings crept Psyche to the bone, it appeared as if those three old women from the painting observed her, scrutinizing her every action, their eyes following her. She was almost positive that she heard those old women talk in a foreign dialect the first night she spent in this house.

"Mom, I have a feeling that these paintings are spooked," Psyche had shared her worried thoughts with her mother the second morning, "I swear I heard them speak last night," she professed earnestly which was reciprocated by muffled laughter of her sister from the other side. She regretted her action immediately knowing it was going to be laughter evoking dinner conversation for the household.