#tothe

The piece was made by the late Jasmin Kashmiri, and bore the name Warbling Songbird. The portrait was of the woman currently looking at the work, famous opera singer Delilah Faer. With a clean, walnut complexion, the portrait of Delilah showed the singer performing to an audience of the stars. A glowing robe of light poured around her as she sang into the microphone, the small white dots on the painting seeming to glow as a result.

Delilah smiled to herself, muttering quietly “It never really felt like that.” to the darkened and empty halls of the gallery. Despite being a performer of a long abandoned artform in the progress-obsessed Anazine, Delilah was still a star. Never the best at magic, her abilities came far later than most folks, she had a voice that any SongBorn would envy.

She hummed to herself the first piece she ever performed, at age 16 on a random open mic stage. It was always her favorite, how her alto-soprano voice danced and became one with the robust piano.

Delilah rose, adjusted her shining pearl headdress, and moved her feet in a slow waltz to the rises and falls of the quiet aria. After the accident, walking was always hard for her but as of late her feet felt lighter and more free. It was as if her soul was brought back to life. She touched the painting, feeling the textures and bumps that come with oil paint, smiling as none of the alarms went off.

It was a good day, and she hated the thought that it would be ruined by something as petty as an alarm. She always thought that the painting was odd, being that it was painted before Delilah was born, Jasmin Kashmiri being found dead in her studio within the Ursine Manor; the residence of Anazine’s government, Covena, of which Jasmin was a Seer of Dream, meaning they painted the future. The title was vague enough, Warbling Songbird, but in Old Anazinian so its real title was actually Poiul Qhera. But the singer looked nearly identical to Delilah, even down to the scar she got at Age Six for falling wrist first on a nail.