A few minutes before nine o'clock, Claire and Tiffany arrived at the appointed place where they promised to gather up after they have finished shopping, only to find that Blythe and Jeffrey were already there.
"I need to pee. Tell the others that I'll be right back," whispered Claire to Tiffany as she headed to one of the public toilets on the side.
Tiffany walked towards Jeffrey and Blythe, only to perceive the latter standing in front of an antiques stall, staring intently at something.
"What's she looking at?" Tiffany asked Jeffrey as she alluded to Blythe.
"Blythe seemed to have found that painting really interesting," replied Jeffrey, shrugging. "I, personally, don't see anything interesting about it, except that the woman in the painting looks pretty hot to me. Haha!"
"Who? Is she hotter than me?" demanded Tiffany as she strolled towards Blythe, who was still scrutinising the piece of ancient artwork painted on a scroll. Apparently, it was a portrait of a Japanese woman holding a fan, with a melancholy expression on her face. The colours of the painting have quite faded, giving it an even sadder sensation.
Blythe, after having perceived Tiffany approaching her, took her eyes away from the old painting and began to walk away.
"Let's go!" Blythe said to Tiffany, then whispered in her ear. "Don't look at that painting, somehow, it seems a bit weird to me."
Nevertheless, it was all too late. The moment Tiffany's eyes caught the painting, she felt that she could not take her eyes off it. Anonymous and malevolent, an omnipotent desire overcame Tiffany to gain possession of the painting, which was like a lonely child eager for company, luring her into its merciless grasp.
After the stall keeper, an old man in his sixties with a grey beard, noticed Tiffany's longing stare at the portrait, he kindly said. "Miss, do you like this? I give you discount! Before, 5000 Taiwan dollars, now 3000. Do you want it?"
Suddenly, a shadow fell upon Tiffany, and a powerful voice from deep within commanded her to gain possession of the portrait right awat. Hypnotised, Tiffany blurted out as she took out three one-thousand notes from her wallet, "Yes, I do!"
At that instant, Claire, Eliza and Shaun arrived. Shaun was holding a huge suitcase containing all the things that Tiffany has bought. In fact, Tiffany has bought too many things that she had to buy a suitcase to store everything in.
"Whoa, what's all this, Tiffany?" enquired Eliza.
Tiffany did not reply as she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. She just stared blankly in front of her whilst holding the portrait scroll tightly in her right hand, as if in fear that it will be taken away from her.
"It's late already and it seems like everyone is tired," said Blythe as she noticed Tiffany's unusual silence. "Let's call it a day, head back home, take a hot shower, then hit the hay. We're leaving Taipei and going to Kaohsiung city tomorrow, so we'll need plenty of energy."
~To be Continued~
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