The casual twang of the wiry strings as they sprang from the attentive grasp of her fingertips gave the young girl almost too much joy to contain within such as small, yet curiously detail oriented body. It seemed as though time would never end, but the child was only delaying its departure.
"Miss Adler?" A hoarse voice snuck up upon the woebegone girl, causing her to snap out of the trance momentarily.
"Yes Mr. Master?" Miss Adler, oblivious to The Master's obvious vexation, continued to stare into space, reentering reality only when it became absolutely necessary. The man faked a smile; it was clear that he needed the young child to believe he cared for her, at least at the present moment.
"I love you Miss Adler. He choked on his regrettable word choice like a bad apple, clearing his throat of any remnants. "But my name is The Master. The one, the only, and the best of them all." He seemed to enjoy flaunting his arrogance about the world to anyone who would listen, or in Miss Adler's case pretend to.
The depressed child was in the habit of it, smiling and nodding when nothing was right in the world. It became second nature to anyone that was forcefully dropped on those lonely doorsteps.
But today was a happy day, and gone should have been sorrow. It was really too bad that the girl was in such a sorry state, for today was her tenth birthday.