Neonjade

Thunder rattled the fine china lining the little shop’s walls before the lightening flash could fade, revealing in stark relief the figures frozen within. A frail gray mouse of a woman, with eyes the size and shape of the Limoges saucer supporting her cup of chamomile tea appeared more than shocked. She radiated paralyzing subservience as she gripped the edge of the service tray as if it represented the last solid thing on Earth to cling to. The young man on the opposing side of the table also paused in the blinding light, appearing to hover menacingly in the confining space.

“You thought you were so clever,” he said, as the brightness left the room as tense and still as it found it.

“Not really,” gray mouse squeeked, quivering, nose twitching as her head tilted to the side, observing her predator closely. “But I do think you’ll find your Earl Grey a bit more calming than even a second steep could induce.”

And she smiled.

The smile lent strength to her face. Her eyes took on a glow the young man had never seen, could never have imagined in that cloudy puff of a face. The transformation was a wonder to behold as the last sight he would ever experience. The light behind his eyes faded more abruptly than the vacating electric show, to the sound of the lady’s amused cackle.