The Family Portrait
by Larry Sells

   Noir sat on the throne with his loving adult triplets, Deckle, Becky, and Rachelle. They faced the camera hoping that this one would be able to take a picture. When the light flashed, the four shielded their eyes from the glare of the flashbulb. The vampire photographer quickly finished taking pictures of the four around the throne, then left to develop the pictures.

   Noir loved the way his vampire triplets looked in their long flowing gowns, and he knew that they loved the way he looked in his black suit jacket with ruffed white shirt. Decades escaped his vampire mind in search of him as being human, but he could not remember what he was like back then. He sighed hoping this time they would have success and be able to see a picture of themselves. There are no longer any pictures of him when he was human. They were now nothing but dust.

   The triplets held Noir in their hungry gaze. He looked at them beside him and nodded to them. They got up, left their castle, turned into huge vampire bats, and flew toward town. Noir knew he should join them and eat something, but he was not hungry. For he wanted to see a picture of himself more than anything in the world, even more than life itself.

   Finally, the vampire photographer appeared shaking his head. Noir screamed and struck the arm of his throne causing a loud bang to echo in the cold dark room. He wiped off the tears from his cheek and walked in the dark night. There was not even a moon to light the sky. It seemed that even the moon did not want to see him. Turning into a bat, Noir flew to town in search of blood.

   In front of an art studio, Noir returned to his human form and broke the door with a powerful kick. His eyes glanced over the walls littered with pictures. He stopped at a picture of a family. It looked like it was alive. Noir smiled. Noir thought that photographs from a camera were the only way to be alive through art. During his educational days he thought of art from a canvas as dead. Touching the canvas, he longed to have his picture done with his loving triplets. But Noir’s mind stopped, the artist would refuse to create a picture of them. After all he was a stranger and an intruder to the owner and possible artist. Now, he walked with more purpose in hope that he will have his life desire, a picture of him and his unusual family.

   A man walked into the studio holding a baseball bat. Noir saw him and turned into fog as the man swung the bat. It swung past harmlessly through the air. In seconds, Noir was back in solid form and caught the second swing of the bat. "Now, now, you don’t want to do that." The man just stood in front of Noir’s eyes allowing Noir to take the bat from him. "Are you the artist of these pictures?"

   The man nodded. The man knew by Noir’s fangs that this person standing in front of him was not a normal man, but a vampire.

   "They are amazing. Tell you what. I’ll let you live and would even protect you from beings like me, if you would paint a picture of me and my family." Noir entered the man’s mind to make him say yes.

   Unable to speak the man just nodded. The man smiled and thought, he just caused me to say yes, but I’ll go a long with him because he seems to be harmless at least to me. Not only that he seems to like my art.

   "Then get your stuff and follow me to my castle." Noir mentally ordered his vampire triplets to go back to the castle and wait for him in the throne room.

   When they were outside, the man motioned Noir to the car parked in the driveway. Noir nodded and entered the automobile. Together they drove to Noir’s castle.

   Noir directed them to what appeared to be an abandoned farm with a broken down house and barn. The man looked at him but didn’t understand. "Look again."

   The barn and house slowly disappeared and in its place was a huge castle. The man shook his head and quickly closed his eyes and reopened them. When Noir got out of the car, only then did the man came out of his bewilderment. He carried his bag of paints and a canvas into the castle.

   Waiting for them was the huge black raven perched on the top of the throne and at the bottom of the throne sat his triplets. The man stood in front of them as Noir sat on his throne. Immediately, the man removed his paints and brushes and started painting.

   After what seemed like hours, he was done and showed the picture to Noir. Noir just smiled and patted the man on his back nearly knocked him over. The man handed Noir the picture and Noir carried it to his triplets. They moaned at the picture. Noir looked at the raven and it cawed its approval and flew away.

   Noir guided the man outside and his mind entered the man’s. He caused the man to forget why he was standing there. When Noir left the man, he only saw the broken down house and barn and couldn’t remember why he was here. To do something about it, he removed a canvas, a stand, his bag of paints, and brushes then started painting the farm as the sun rose. When he was done, the man was happy with the multi-colored sky and with the whole landscape. Seeing dollar signs, the man packed up and returned to his studio and home.

   Noir framed his picture and placed it above his coffin in his bedroom. He smiled, entered the coffin, and slept the sleep of the dead.

©2003 Larry Sells

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