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Remorse
Finally freed of his companions, Gill Gray shut the front door behind him. He quickly removed his hat and gloves and threw them on the hall table. In all his scuffling, Gill didn't realize how quiet the house was. When he did, he made an effort not to wake his poor, old father.
He paced the kitchen a few minutes before deciding he wouldn't have an appetite for a good long while. Gill silently moved across the house and opened the door to his study. The room was dark, but Gill didn't bother with a light. He leaned his back into the door until it clicked softly closed behind him.
Moonlight cast a few dim rays of light through the large window. Gill sighed as he looked around the near empty room. He swept through papers left on the drawing table, but his eyes never focused enough on the words to read them.
Gill's feet stopped by the window. The business documents in his hands hung limp as he stared out at the brightly lit town. Street lamps outshone the bluish glow of the full moon. Clumps of fluffy clouds blocked most of the stars. The cobblestone streets were completely cleared. It suddenly started to snow. Small, lazy flakes tumbled down and melted against the thick stones in the road. Not a soul in sight.
His eyes were slowly drawn to the edge of town. From his window, he could just see the top of the playhouse. Its merry carnival-like lights were all extinguished, leaving its silhouette dark behind the houses and streets.
Gill Gray scowled and turned away from the window. Foolish girl. Thinking she could just… give up everything. Her dance made her unique… Why couldn't she see that?
The young man frowned as he retreated into the shadows, staring fruitlessly at the forms and letters in his hands.
Because she didn't care for beautiful things. Not like Gill did, at least. Selena Vane was just like everybody else. She was petty and cruel. She targeted him for his money. The girl would take advantage of him so she wouldn't have to do anything anymore. The nerve! She would run him dry. She was a leech. Gill was lucky to get out…
Gill's eyes flicked upwards, almost involuntarily, towards the portrait of himself. No, Selena couldn't appreciate beauty. She was one of the wasted ones. And one day when her looks had gone with her ability to dance, perhaps she would appreciate her gifts then.
He made his way closer, setting the papers down on his desk. Gill's face became slightly confused as he stared into the pastel eyes that were supposed to mirror his own. But there was something off.
The portrait had changed. Gill Gray was painted with an expression of blissful innocence. But this was not the same. There was a glint in the eyes that Gill did not remember. The lines above his eyes were sharper. But most disturbing was the frown upon the portrait's lips. It was a look of such disgust… of disappointment…
Gill staggered slightly and rubbed his eyes. No. It couldn't be! But how? Why had the portrait… changed?
A horrible thought enveloped Gill Gray like a suffocating cloud. The room stilled as he came to the ridiculous notion that… a deal had been struck. That his wish was granted.
"That you should age, and I should live unchanged…" he whispered, his back to the painting. "That you would rot… with time…"
Gill's heart turned to ice as he remembered what he bargained. His soul…
Gill spun quickly back around as if to test this. The portrait's face was still as hard and mean as a moment before. It hadn't gone back to normal. It wasn't a trick of the light. Was it?
His hand reached out to his opposite self, but he withdrew just as fast.
"But how…? Why?" The small whisper didn't sound like his own as he shook his head in disbelief.
Selena. He had thought he loved the girl. Didn't he still? She betrayed him… But she gave everything up for him. Her career. Her family. Did she have a family? The more Gill Gray thought, the more he realized he didn't know Miss Selena Vane at all. Just that she loved him.
And he had thrown it all away. He had acted rashly. He was unjust and cruel. Gill Gray was wrong.
Finally making up his mind, Gill sighed and decided to go to Selena in the morning. And apologize. He wouldn't have a fiancée anymore, but he hoped to make amends. Who knows? Perhaps she could be his fiancée again in the future…
Gill tried to organize the disarray he had made of his desk but found he couldn't. He was exhausted. Giving up, he loosened his tie and stumbled to his bedroom door, not bothering to look back when he closed it behind him.
He dare not look at the portrait again. At least not until morning. When Gill could prove his eyes were playing tricks on him and this whole mess was simply… a dream.