Bound By A Borrowed Heart
Inside, is a set of professional oil paints in colors I've been mixing by hand because the premade versions aren't precise enough.
Japanese kolinsky sable brushes, the kind that cost more than anything else in the painting world and a card in rigid, familiar handwriting.
"For the battle. — S."
Not "for the event." Not "for the showing." For the battle. He sees it the way I see it. Not an exhibition but a fight, and these are my weapons.
I set the brushes beside my easel and the heart beats steady and strong and ready.
***
In a glass office somewhere across the city, Ryan Holt leans back in his chair and takes a call.