Day 6, early evening (Right after the washup)
Master notices my subtle adjustments and speaks immediately, voice calm and precise.
“This stool is for Miss Evelyn’s convenience — not yours. Do not mistake it for comfort or privilege. You remain property. You sit only because she needs you at the right height to work. Keep your posture perfect. Legs closed. No slouching.”
“Yes… Master,” I murmur, the words soft and breathy, reluctant but obedient, the sweetness forced into my tone even as the inner humiliation burns. The clarification stings, this isn’t for me. It’s for her. I’m still just an object being positioned, arranged, made ready.
The feeling lingers: relief that is not relief, rest that is not rest.
I hold the ladylike pose exactly because anything less would mean more points, more debt, more punishment. The stool is hard beneath me, the heels bite, the perfume clings, the fresh uniform feels too clean against my skin — and yet I sit there, perfectly still, perfectly presented, waiting for Miss Evelyn to begin.
Then Master turns to Miss Evelyn and says, “She is all yours.” He reminds her, “Make her look as youthful girl as possible. Light makeup look.”
He turns to me one last time. “Respect her and address her as Madam.”
“Yes… Master,”
Miss Evelyn steps forward, quite chatty and speaks bluntly
and straight. While she works, she says, “You know, you’re my first living one.
Usually they’re not breathing. But honestly? I use the same skills. Same tools.
You come out looking just as good.”
She dabs foundation along my jawline, keeps talking like
it’s nothing.
“Your Master is my good friend. He actually called me in the
afternoon. Said he needed someone who could make you look right—youthful,
innocent, no fuss. He knows I do good job. And he knows I won’t say a word. Your
secrets stay with me.”
“This sponge is so well used today. I’ve used it on all my
past bodies—five, six maybe. And you’re the last for the day. Your’re lucky.”
She presses it in gently, like she’s smoothing out a
wrinkle. “See? Still soft. Still good.”
She says it flat, no shame—just practical. Like I am just
the last job on her list.
And inside me? The sponge hits my cheek—warm, damp—and my
whole body goes tight. I’m lucky? She means it. She thinks I am lucky to
be using this… thing…?. The sponge that wiped dead skin, that soaked up
whatever was left on the bodies, now rubbing circles on my face?!?. The
smell—rose and vanilla—mixes with something sour in my throat. Not hers. Mine.
I want to scream, but I swallow. Keep my eyes forward. No flinch. Because if I
show it… points. Debt. Punishment.
She keeps dabbing on and on.
That “I'm lucky” sticks. Like she's the one getting the
bonus, not me. Like I'm just the last job on her list.
She dabs a little more foundation along my jawline and says
casually, “This sponge worked great on that old man yesterday. His skin was all
patchy and discolored. Perfect for covering it up. He was gone three days
before they called me in. Worked like a charm on him, so it’ll be fine on you.”
The words hit like ice water. That sponge—pressed against a
body three days dead, covering decay and discoloration—now patting on my face??
I feel it sinking in, the invisible film of death transferring with every
gentle press. Tainted! Contaminated! Dead skin cells, maybe even embalming
fluid, now blending with my skin! Grossed out beyond words, but I keep my face
blank. Eyes forward. Lips soft. No flinch. No grimace. No sign at all.
And then the foundation brush touches my cheek and the
sensation is unbearable. She makes sure every spot is even, no patches,
creating that flawless base.I imagined it sweeping across cold, lifeless skin
that was already stiffening, already beginning to change. I imagine the faint
residue they must have picked up: the invisible traces of decomposition juice.
The brush glides smoothly, spreading foundation over my living skin, but all I
can feel is the transfer of grossness from that other body! Grossed… Grossed…
Grossed…
She picks up the blush brush next, swirling it in the
compact. “This one I used on a young girl last week—car accident. Cheeks were
all bruised and sunken. Took layers to make her look peaceful for the viewing.
Same shade, see? Suits you too. I did six faces yesterday—two old aunties,
three kids, one uncle. All look peaceful now.”
The soft bristles sweep across my cheekbones, depositing the
color. I can almost picture it: cold, lifeless, bruised skin under this same
brush! Now it’s on me. The warmth of my own cheeks feels wrong! More violating
than nausea! As if death is being painted onto me, layer by layer. Grossed! I
swallow hard, force my expression to stay calm. More points if I show it. More
debt. More punishment.
Your throat tightens.
She moves to mascara, leaning close. “This wand was perfect
for that elderly lady this morning. Eyes all sunken from dehydration. A few
coats and she looked almost alive again for the coffin shot. Hold still.”
The wand brushes my lashes, lengthening them carefully.
Every stroke feels like it transferred something from those eyes that would
never open again. The chemical smell of the mascara mixes with my imagination
of the funeral home with smell of faint formaldehyde. Grossed. Grossed.
Grossed! Violated. Degraded. But I remain perfectly ladylike, movements minimal
and graceful whenever she adjusts my chin or tilts my head.
A blink—eyes sting.
She finishes with soft pink lipstick, outlining then
filling. “I used this lipstick from a suicide case just now. She bit her lips
raw before the end. Had to layer it so thick to hide the damage. This shade
hides everything. You’re lucky.”
The creamy stick glides over my lips. I taste the faint
chemical sweetness, but all I can think is the dead person’s saliva rubbing on
me! Yucks and the blood from that lifeless lip! Now this same color is on me.
The thought makes feels like vomitting. Contaminated. Marked by death. Extreme
Grossed!!! I wanted to spit! Yucks!! Yuck!! Yuck!!! But I keep my mouth soft,
lips parted just enough for her to work, no tremble, no sound. No reaction.
Because any crack in the facade means more points. More debt. More punishment.
I have already earned too much!! Cannot afford!
Inside, something seems to start giving way. A pressure
builds behind my eyes, hot and stinging, like tears are gathering just out of
sight. I feel the urge rising, sharp, sudden, almost overwhelming, to cry, to
let it all spill out, to let the tears come and wash away this filth, this
contamination, this endless layering of death on my skin. My throat tightens
harder, my chest feels heavy, and for a moment the world blurs at the edges. I
want to cry so badly it hurts, but I don't. I can't. Not here. Not now. Not
with her watching, not with Master close, not when one tear would more points!
more debt! more punishment! So I hold it in TIGHT! The urge really burns inside,
but no drop falls.
The soft pink lipstick feels slick and foreign on my lips.
The taste lingers on my tongue, coating it with every swallow, every small
movement of my mouth. But it is not about the shades. It is the same creamy
stick that touched those rotting lips — lips that would never move again, lips
bitten with blood? Lips coated thick to hide the damage for strangers at a
viewing. The very SAME STICK. The same tip. The same pressure from the same
hands. Yuckkks!!
Whatever touched that dead mouth, the invisible traces of
early decomposition that had already begun to settle is now has been
transferred to me. Layer by layer. Stroke by stroke. The lipstick over my own
lips is the same over that other pair of cold, still, bitten in desperation
lips, now sharing the same color, the same tool, the same final touch!
Contaminated. Marked. As if some small part of that corpse
has been transferred directly onto me. The thought makes me not just nausea,
but something more violating, more permanent. I want to spit. I want to scrape
it off. Yucks. Yuck. Yuck. But I keep my mouth soft, lips parted just enough
for her to have worked, no tremble, no sound. No reaction.
She steps back, tilts my chin one last time, inspects the
full effect. “There. Youthful, innocent. Just like he wanted.”
The words hang in the air, casual and satisfied, as if she
has just finished a masterpiece of painting death onto my living face. I sit
motionless on the stool, legs pressed tightly together, back rigid, hands
resting delicately on my thighs in the ladylike pose that has become my only
defense.
Inside, the pressure builds further. The urge to cry is
swelling, rising like water behind a dam that's starting to crack. My eyes burn
hotter now. The yucks feeling mixes with this new ache is almost unbearable. I
want to cry so badly, but I don't. I can't. The intensity rises, wave after
wave, but I force it down, swallow it, lock it behind my blank face. No drop
falls. Just the silent, growing storm inside—stronger now.
Because any crack in the facade means more trouble. I have
already earned too much today. I cannot afford even one more violation. So I
hold it in. I swallow the taste — the chemical sweetness mixed with the
imagined residue of death — and force my expression to stay calm. Eyes forward.
Lips still.
Perfectly ladylike on the outside. Completely tainted and
stormy on the inside.
A wave of nausea rolls up my throat, sharp and sour. I
imagine the taste of that other mouth — lifeless, waxy, faintly metallic from
embalming fluid — transferred to mine with every layer applied. Contaminated.
Marked by death. Extreme grossed! The feeling sinks deeper than skin; it crawls
into my chest, coils around my lungs, makes every breath feel borrowed from a
corpse.
Yucks. Yuck. Yuck. I want to spit. I want to wipe it off
with the back of my hand, erase the trace of that suicide case from my face.
But I cannot.
I have already earned too much today, 127,800 points for one
afternoon of failure. I cannot afford even one more violation.
I force my eyes to stay forward, soft and unfocused, the way
Master likes when I am being presented. My posture remains perfect. The makeup
feels thick and wrong on my face — and yet I sit here, perfectly still,
perfectly presented, waiting for whatever comes next.
Inside, the thoughts spiral. I tried so hard. Really tried.
To stay clean. To stay obedient. To stay perfect for one afternoon, but why did
it happen!
And now this — death brushed onto my cheeks, my lashes, my
lips. A suicide’s color sealing my mouth shut. The degradation sinks deeper
than the foundation. I feel marked. Tainted! Reduced to sharing makeup with the
dead! I am just property being prepared. Decorated. Made to look youthful and
innocent while sharing the exact same brushes, the exact same lipstick, the
exact same hands that painted over a suicide’s bitten lips and lifeless skin.
And behind it all… what have I been reduced to?
Same as a lifeless corpse? A thing? A blank, breathing
surface for others to paint on, to dress up, to arrange. No longer a person
with thoughts or dignity? just a thing that can be positioned, perfumed, made
pretty, and passed around for viewing pleasure.
The same brushes that once prepared a corpse for its final
viewing are now preparing me for whatever Master has planned next. The same
lipstick that hid the damage on dead lips is now hiding whatever remains of
mine. The same hands that just touched cold lifeless flesh awhile ago are
touching my warm and living skin — and yet the result feels the same. A body
made presentable. A body made compliant. A body that exists only to be looked
at, used, and displayed.
I am supposed to be a man. A professional. Someone with a
life, a name, a future. Now? Now I am this. A girl-shaped thing in heels and
perfume, kneeling or sitting or standing exactly as instructed, lips painted
with death, face smoothed with tools from the grave.
The degradation is complete. Not just on the surface. Not
just in the makeup. In every layer beneath. In every thought that still dares
to remember who I was. In every breath that carries the faint chemical
sweetness of a suicide’s final color.
The yucks feeling settles like a stone in my chest. Heavy.
Cold. Permanent. I swallow again — tasting the lipstick, tasting the thought of
those bitten rotten lips — and force it back down. No reaction. No sound. Just
obedience.
Inside, the urge to cry climbs higher now. It feels closer
than before, but I still hold it. I have to hold it. One tear would ruin
everything.
The intensity keeps building, silent and relentless, but no
drop falls.
Then she takes out a black hair wig with two long pleats at
the sides. She holds it up casually. “You’re in luck with this one too!” she
says, voice light and matter-of-fact. “The other corpse I used this wig on two
days ago — she was already in the coffin when the family decided it looked too
cheerful for her. They didn’t want it back after one night on her head, so I
kept it. Got a replacement wig for her instead. This one’s expensive, you
know—real natural human hair, soft and real-looking. That’s why they rejected
it for her; said it was too nice for mourning. Such a waste, but I saved it.
Now this is perfect for what your Master wants your hair to look like.”
The words hit! Two days ago! Already in the coffin! One full
night resting on a dead woman’s head?!?! A body already laid out and ready for
burial?? The family looked at it, decided it was wrong for their mourning, and
rejected it? So she simply took it? No cleaning? A wig made of real natural
human hair, soft and expensive, that spent an entire night on a rotting corpse?!?!?
Now being placed straight on me. Sharing the exact same style. Sharing the
exact same accessory. Sharing the exact same intimacy of death?
She steps behind me, gathers my own hair and pinning it flat
against my scalp with quick clips. Then she lowers the wig over my head. The
black strands settle against my scalp. I imagined it carrying the faint scent
of the death, the same air that filled the coffin for that one night. She
adjusts the fit carefully, tugging the roots into place, smoothing the part
down the middle, then secures it with a few discreet hairpins pushed into the
base.. Then she adjust the two long pleats so they fall straight and heavy at
the sides, framing my face exactly like a school girl look — black, sleek, long
braids that swing slightly with every tiny turn of my head.
The feeling is immediate and overwhelming! The wig pressing
lightly against my scalp, the real natural human hair brushing my ears and my
neck like it was on a dead woman before. One night. Whole one night on her head
— in the coffin — and now it’s on mine. Arghhhh!!! Grossed!! No barrier. No
cleaning. Direct transfer! Whatever faint residue clung to those strands from
her is now brushing against my living ears and neck. It feels like the same
hair that once rested on her dead scalp, brushing against her lifeless ears and
neck in the coffin, is now brushing against mine — the same strands, the same
touch! the same tinge of death transferred directly to me. I feel it sinking in
— tainted, contaminated, marked by something that was already gone. Extreme
grossed. Yucks. Yuck. Yuck. I want to rip it off, shake out whatever invisible
traces remain from that one night on a corpse’s head. I want to scream. But I
cannot.
At this point, the tears inside seems to be reaching their
peak intensity. The tears are literally pressing against the thin skin of my
lids, ready to spill over with the slightest blink. The urge is so strong it
feels physical. It is really on the verge of bursting, but I hold it. I have to
hold it. One visible drop would mean more points, more debt, more punishment.
So I keep my face blank, eyes forward, lips soft—while inside the tears scream
to be let out, building, building, but still trapped.
She steps back, tilts her head, inspects the full effect.
“There. Youthful, innocent. Just like he wanted.”
The makeover is finally complete. Or so I thought.
Miss Evelyn pauses, tilts her head again, then leans in
close once more. She studies my lips under the light, frowning slightly as if
something displeases her.
“Hmm. It faded a little already,” she says casually,
reaching back into her bag. “That never happens with my other customers. They
stay perfect once I’m done.”
The words land like a second slap. Other customers. The
dead. The ones who lie still forever? Of course it will not fade, no breathing,
no swallowing, no movement to disturb her perfect work. But mine — living, trembling, still warm. The comparison cuts deep. I am not even as
good as a corpse.
She uncaps the soft pink lipstick again — the same stick
that touched the suicide case lips, the same creamy color that coated bitten,
lifeless lips. She steps forward and applies one more layer, outlining slowly,
then filling in with deliberate strokes. The wand glides over my mouth once
more, pressing just a fraction harder this time. I taste the chemical sweetness
again, stronger now, coating my tongue. Each pass feels heavier than the last —
another stroke of rotten juice painted onto me, another reminder that even this
final touch is shared with someone who no longer breathes.
The yucks feeling surges fresh — not just from the first
application, but from this second one. Double violation! Double contamination!
The same lipstick is now now sealing my lips twice! Grossed! Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.
I want to pull away, to wipe it off, to spit out the taste of rotting juice
that keeps being forced onto me. But I cannot. I keep my mouth soft, lips
parted just enough for her to work, no tremble, no sound. No reaction at all.
Because any crack now — after everything — means more trouble. I have already
earned too much today. I cannot afford even one more violation.
Her other customers? The dead — never need touching up
because they are dead! They stay perfect forever, no movement, no fading, no
tears, no life to disturb her work. I am the one who must endure, who must stay
silent, who must accept the residue of their final preparations as my own.
I sit there on the stool, real natural human hair wig heavy
on my head, braids framing my freshly re-painted face, fresh uniform clinging
to my skin, heels biting my arches — perfectly ladylike, perfectly presented,
perfectly VIOLATED! Inside, the yucks feeling has settled even deeper, like a
stone in my chest that grows heavier with every breath. The dead are not just
on my face. They are on my head now too. And now on my lips twice. Shared.
Repeated. Direct. Permanent! Holding tight the tears within now..
And on my head now too. One night in a coffin, and now on
me. Direct. Fresh. Shared with a corpse. The same wig that rested on a dead
woman’s head for an entire night — now resting on mine? Reduced to sharing with
the corpse? Intimately. Permanently. The consolidated violation is deeper than
the makeup, deeper than the perfume, deeper than the uniform. It is in every
strand touching my scalp, every braid swinging against my neck, every breath I
take while wearing what death wore.
Master steps forward after Miss Evelyn moves aside, eyes
scanning me from head to toe.
He circles slowly — once, twice — taking in the full effect.
He stops in front of me.
A long silence. Then he speaks, voice low, calm, but
carrying that familiar edge of possession.
“Much better.”
He reaches out, tilts my chin up with two fingers — gentle,
but firm. Forces me to meet his eyes.
“Look at my girl now,” he says, almost softly. “So pretty.
So innocent. So… presentable.”
The word “girl” lands like a quiet brand. Every time he uses
it, it sinks deeper. Not anymore. Not to him. Just his girl. His property. His
decorated thing.
He lets my chin drop, steps back again, still looking.
“See?” he says, turning slightly toward Miss Evelyn. “This
is what I wanted. My girl looking exactly like she should. Youthful. Obedient.
Perfect for tonight.”
Miss Evelyn nods, pleased, then straightens a little, her
voice carrying that quiet, stubborn pride she always has when someone
acknowledges her work.
“She came out nice,” she says, with a small, satisfied
smile. “This is what I do best. I can take any face—swollen, discolored,
sunken, cold—and make it look right again. Youthful, peaceful, presentable.
Families always thank me after the viewing, even when they were crying before.
They say, 'Evelyn, you made her look like herself again.' That's why you called
me right? I don't just do makeup. I make things... acceptable. Perfect, even.
And I never need to touch up twice—unless someone moves too much.”
She glances at me briefly, almost fondly, then back to
Master. “She's good now. Ready to be seen.”
Master’s gaze returns to me. He leans in closer.
“Now you’re my real girl. Cleaned up. Made up. Ready to be
shown.”
The humiliation burns fresh. Cleaned up. Made up. Shown?
Like an object put on display. The same hands that punished and gave the
127,800 points, is now praising the result of my degradation. The wig from a
corpse’s coffin. The lipstick from a suicide’s lips. The brushes from dead
faces. All of it on me. All of it making me his girl.
Master straightens, his eyes still fixed on me, then speaks
again, voice calm and commanding.
“No more need for you to be on the stool. Stand up.”
The command is simple.
“Yes… Master,” I murmur, forcing back all my inner emotions.
I obey immediately. Slowly, carefully, I rise from the
stool, keeping every movement graceful and ladylike. My knees, still aching,
flare hot—the welts from last night’s kick now fully visible, raised red lines
across the backs. The heels wobble slightly as I balance.
Evelyn glances down. “Those marks. Look painful.” She pulls
out the compact—same pale powder she used on my cheeks—dabs it over the
bruises. “This covers everything—good for injuries marks, bloody wounds, even
when the skin's broken or bruised.” She pats gently. “There. No one will
notice.”
Master nods. “Good job. She looks presentable. Even the
marks are gone.”
Evelyn straightens, wipes her hands on her blouse. “Of
course. This is what I do best.”
Master’s gaze returns to me. He leans in closer.
“How do you feel?”
The question hits me hard.
All the pressure that has been building finally gives way.
Tears come first. Then my shoulders begin to shake, small tremors I can't
control. A choked sob slips out—small, ugly, raw. I wipe my face quickly with
the back of my hand. The tears keep coming, faster now, hot and relentless,
blurring everything in front of me.
The urge I fought so hard to hold back finally spills over. Unstoppable.
The yucks, the contamination, the shared death on my skin, the real human hair
that brushed a corpse now brushing me, the powder on my welts from a dead boy's
body—all of it crashes together in this moment, and the tears are the only way
it can come out.
I stand there, shaking, sobbing softly, face streaked and
ruined.
“Why… why am I wearing this? Why… makeup from… from dead
people? It’s… it’s so gross. So dirty.”
The words tumble out, broken, voice cracking. “The brushes…
the sponge… everything… used on them…”
Evelyn tilts her head. “Aiyah, not gross. It’s clean. See?
Smells good—rose, jasmine. If it was dirty, it would smell bad. But it doesn’t.
So it’s clean. Nothing wrong.”
She sighs, like I’m being difficult. “Don’t cry. If you cry,
we need to touch up again. All my other customers don’t cry.”
Master’s voice cuts through the quiet sobs like a blade.
“Violation.”
He steps forward, eyes narrowing, tone flat and cold—the
same delivery he used earlier when the tally climbed to 127,800.
“Crying. Ruining makeup. Appearance Major, base 300.
Composure Major, base 400. Emotional lapse. Obedience Major, base 300.”
“Verbal outburst. Complaining about tools. Behaviour Major,
base 400. Respect Minor, base 200. Disrespect to Evelyn. Decency Major, base
400.”
“Questioning choices. Doubt in protocol. Obedience Major,
base 300. Vigilance Minor, base 200. Post-makeover defiance. Appearance Major,
base 300.”
“Streaked face. Failure to maintain. Uniform Compliance
Minor, base 200. Ladylike posture lapse. Decency Minor, base 200.”
“All stacked. Base: 2,800. Multiplied by 3 for repeated
emotional breaches — crying, outburst, doubt — 8,400. Then by 1.8 for
post-makeover context — tools already applied, presentation ruined — final
tally: 15,120 points.”
The number landed like a slap.
Debt updated. 127,800 becomes 142,920.
I stared at the floor, tears drying into salty streaks, the
makeup now ruined twice over. 15,120 more — just for breaking. Just for
feeling. And now my sobs turned into numbers. No mercy. Just stacking. Why am I
earning more points again- within one day! And more than previously! How am I going
to make it through!
Miss Evelyn interrupted and sits me back down—still
sniffling—pulls out a small pack of tissues from her bag and hands me one with
a gentle pat on the shoulder, almost motherly, like she's comforting a child.
“Here, wipe your eyes first. Aiyah, look at the mess. Makeup
all destroyed now.”
She shakes her head slightly, like a disappointed auntie. “I
just finished twice, and now it's ruined. Tears are the worst for this. They
take everything off. All my other customers never do this. They stay perfect.”
She sighs again, already reaching for the foundation sponge.
“Stay still. We fix it again.”
The tissues are soft against my cheeks, but they only smear
the mascara further, I dab carefully, trying to stop the flow, but the tears
keep coming, slower now, quieter, but still there. The yucks feeling mixes with
shame, the ruined face mirrors the ruin inside.
She starts over. Sponge first, then brush, then blush, then
mascara, then the lipstick—third layer now. No more chatter this time. Just
quiet, efficient work, the sweet scents filling the air again as if nothing
happened.
But inside, the stone in my chest is heavier than ever. The
points—15,120 more—echo like a sentence. The tears were supposed to be release.
Instead they became debt. Again. Within one day. More than before. How am I
going to make it through?
But inside me, the grossness doesn't fade—it sharpens. The
sponge glides across my cheeks again, the same sponge that already carried the
residue of dead skin, now spreading another coat of foundation. The brush that
once swept over cold, stiff faces now working over mine for the third time,
blending the invisible traces even further into my pores. And again the same
pink shade now dusting my own. Mascara coats my lashes once more, the same wand
that lengthened dead eyes. And the gross lipstick—third layer—slides on slowly
again, pressing harder this time.
The yucks feeling keep surging back. Contaminated.
Re-contaminated. Triple-marked. The same tools, the same hands, the same death
residue, now buried under three coats instead of two. My face feels heavier and
thicker this time, feels like a double layer of rotting juice on me.
She finishes, steps back, inspects. “There. Third time
lucky. Now it’ll hold.”
Master nods once. “Good. Kneel.”
I drop slowly to my knees again, welts throbbing under the
fresh powder, face perfect once more. The tears have stopped. The urge is gone,
replaced by numb exhaustion.
“Now, thank Miss Evelyn properly. She has made you
presentable. Say it nicely. Like a good girl.”
I swallow hard. The words rise automatically, but the
thought behind them twisted.
“Yes… Master,” I murmur first, soft and breathy, reluctant
but obedient, the sweetness forced into my tone even as the inner humiliation
burns hotter.
“Thank you… Madam… for making me presentable.”
The words come out steady, sweet, grateful — but inside, the
yucks feeling surges again, sharper than before. Thanking her? For what? For
painting death onto my face? For using brushes that touched cold skin, sponges
that covered decay, lipstick that hid a suicide’s bitten lips? For placing a
wig that rested on a corpse’s head for one full night in a coffin — now resting
on mine? Thanking her for turning me into this… thing. This decorated property.
This girl-shaped object carrying the residue of the dead?!?!!
Gratitude for degradation? Thanks for contamination?
Appreciation for sharing with corpses?
The irony chokes me silently. I am thanking the person who
made me look youthful and innocent while marking me with tools of the grave. I
am thanking her for the same brushes, the same lipstick, the same wig that
prepared the dead — now preparing me. Extreme grossed!!! Yucks. Yuck. Yuck!!! I
want to take it all back, to spit the words out, to wipe everything off. But I
cannot. I keep my face soft, eyes down, lips curved in the faintest hint of a
grateful smile. No crack. No tremble. No sound beyond the required thanks.
Miss Evelyn smiles faintly, pleased. “You’re welcome,
sweetie.”
Master nods once, satisfied. “Good girl.”
The praise feels like another layer of makeup, sealing me
further into this role. ..