Her eyes glinted. They were dark fire. Her hair, like swirls of night, flowed down her arm. The hint of a smile was the breaking dawn.  

My body shook, breathing ragged. I clenched my fists, fighting desperately against madness. She played. I resisted. My lips pursed.

Three years ago I had lost. That voice, once loud and sharp, had played gentle chords. The memory was a persistent echo. It pierced. The dam was about to burst. Again.

She had become a spell, that time, enveloped me like a mist, lifted me into a fantasy, and let me drop. I crashed like glass on floor.

Not again; but I couldn't. She was magnetic. She was transcendence. My heart surged, like a moth to a flame.

Enough! In two steps, I obliterated the space between us and tore the canvas into half. Then another, and another...

Pieces of paper lay strewn upon the floor. Suddenly I was alone. I gasped. My eyes closed. The pain cut in like a knife.