The darkness was absolute.
There was no wind. There were no voices. Just a constant drip.
Ploc... ploc... ploc...
Beatrice slowly opened her eyes.
He felt his body heavy, as if each of his limbs was covered by a thick layer of ink. He remained motionless for a few seconds, trying to remember who he was... or where he was.
Nothing.
Just a huge void.
He put his hands on the floor with difficulty to get up.
That's when he stood completely still.
His hands.
They weren't human.
He wore huge white gloves, soft and rounded, with three black lines on the back, exactly like the characters in the old cartoons.
"What...?"
His own voice sounded strange, as if it had a slight echo.
He slowly moved his fingers.
The gloves obeyed perfectly.
He put his hands to his arms. To the shoulders.
His skin had a strange, smooth texture, almost like antique paper.
The air smelled of musty... and ink.
Beatrice stood up awkwardly.
The entire studio was abandoned.
Old posters hung on the walls.
Rusty machines.
Black she covered the ground.
Tubes ran through the ceiling while a distant metallic hum made the whole building vibrate.
I didn't recognize anything.
But I felt... that I had been there before.
He started walking.
Each step produced a small chap when stepping on the ink.
As I moved forward, a dim light illuminated a corridor.
It didn't come from the ceiling.
It came from her.
He looked up.
Above his head floated a delicate golden halo.
He blinked several times.
"A... halo...?"
He instinctively wanted to touch her.
His hand went through the ring of light without feeling resistance.
Then something brushed his back.
She turned startled.
Two small black wings moved slowly behind her.
I didn't understand anything.
He took several steps back.
His breathing began to speed up.
"This... this can't be...
He continued walking faster and faster, looking for some explanation.
Until he found an old makeup room.
The light bulbs in the dressing room barely kept working.
One...
Two...
Three...
They blinked in the darkness.
In the middle of the room was a huge mirror partially covered by ink stains.
Beatrice swallowed saliva.
He approached slowly.
I could hear his heartbeat.
One...
Another...
And another.
He finally stood in front of the mirror.
He slowly raised his head.
And the world seemed to stop.
His body was there.
The black dress.
The stockings with golden laces.
The league.
The little wings.
The curved horns.
The halo floating serenely.
Everything was there.
Except...
...His face.
There were no eyes.
There was no nose.
There was no mouth.
Only a smooth black surface, and a hair with two ponytails on top and a fringe that holds a brush, but another as she enters the room... Alice Angel..