“Perfect! You are looking great! Activating in three… two… one… go! Enjoy yourselves,” Dorothy said as she activated the machine. Just like that, the two girls Vivian and Sophie, while embracing each other into a passionate kiss, froze in place completely. However, rather than converting into marble as they had done previously, the machine began shining a bright light on them which, initially, cast their shadows onto the canvas behind them. Then, the canvas was slowly pushed towards the pair. When it reached them, the girls and the objects around them entered it as if the canvas was an open window, and each part that had already entered no longer looked like it was real. Instead, it was a painted imitation. A mere drawing, with brush strokes clearly visible. Some of the finer details were lost, but that was made up for with some more impressionistic creative liberties on Dorothy’s behalf. Slowly but surely, the entire scene was sucked into a world of paint and eventually, the girls were fully flattened into a beautiful picture. They looked absolutely stunning like this. Vivian’s top had fallen over her shoulder while one of her hands was underneath Sophie’s top on her back and her other hand was somewhere within her lover’s hair. Meanwhile, Sophie had one of her hands on Vivian’s cheek and the other on one of Vivian’s breasts. Their legs were interlocked as they were laying down in a bed. This really was the pure passion between them that Dorothy had wanted to capture.
She couldn’t help but stand there for a moment to admire her work. The two models were still very new to the museum, having only been here once before, but they had been so eager to do it again. It made the painting that much more beautiful. To Dorothy at least.
“Damn, absolutely stunning,” came the voice of William from behind her.
Dorothy grinned from ear to ear without looking away from her work. “And this time, they’re here for a lot longer than an hour.”
“They’re here for the whole exhibit?” William asked.
Dorothy nodded. It was actually a little surprising to her as well. They had only been transformed for one hour last time but now, they instantly went for an entire week. They barely even hesitated! “Make sure to hang them somewhere nice. They deserve a good spot.”
“Yes, ma’am,” William said as he carefully grabbed the canvas and placed it onto his cart, after which he began moving it. “You two look beautiful and I’m sure all our guests will agree.”
Now left alone again, Dorothy stretched her arms. Vivian and Sophie had been her seventh work that day already and there were still several more to go. Honestly, she couldn’t wait to walk through the exhibit herself later when it was all finished up. She truly felt like she had outdone herself on some of these.
However, it was now time for a break and what better way to do so than to pay a visit to her favourite art piece. She picked up her lunchbox and headed out. The next volunteers wouldn’t start arriving for about half an hour so she had some time to herself.
Passing through the entry hall, it still amazed her how successful the museum had become. The idea of transforming willing people into pieces of art had sounded ludicrous to her when she first heard about it, but upon witnessing it firsthand, she was convinced. Having been a hobbyist photographer before, she just knew she had to get in on this as an artist. It just felt like the next logical step towards capturing the perfect moments.
When she stepped outside of the museum doors, she eagerly approached the fountain. Out of all of her works, the statue at its centre was still her best. At least, that’s what she thought herself. The woman’s modest smile as she stared down past the water flowing from her gourd. Her flowing toga beautifully draping over her wonderful, feminine shape, and hanging down into the pool below. The single loc of her stone hair that had fallen down over her right ear just as the conversion started. It was a beautiful statue and Dorothy still couldn’t believe that she had created it, even if it was the third iteration of it.
She sat down on the side, right by some of the stone fish that had actually been carved by herself and some of the other artists, and began unpacking her lunch. To think that none of this would have been possible without…
“Stuart?” she suddenly called out as she saw a man approaching her. “Didn’t expect to see you here on a Sunday.”
Stuart chuckled. “Well, I, on the other hand, fully expected to find you here around this time.” It was quite strange to see the bespectacled man walking around in casual clothing but since it was his day off, it wasn’t anything unusual. Despite his role as the founder and director of the museum, he had never really lost that humble and slightly awkward air around him. “I don’t blame you though. It is one of your best works!”
Dorothy felt a hint of a blush coming up that she tried subduing but she couldn’t prevent a big nervous smile from appearing on her face. She would receive compliments about her work quite often but whenever it came to this fountain, she always felt a little self conscious about it.
“Do you mind if I join you?” Stuart asked.
“Ah… by all means. The fountain’s big enough for more than one person on their break,” Dorothy said. She shuffled over to the right as if making space, even though that wasn’t exactly necessary.
Stuart gave her a friendly smile and sat down, his back turned towards the statue in the middle. “Can you believe that we’ve been open for over six years now?”
Dorothy gave him a curious look. Had he just come to reminisce? However, she decided to play along for now. “I’m still amazed at every single volunteer that walks into my office. Especially the ones that come back for more.”
Now it was Stuart’s turn to start feeling self conscious. “I guess my inventions are doing a good job then, huh?” he said nervously.
Dorothy laughed. “It’s okay, you can be proud of yourself.”
A more genuine smile appeared on the man’s face now. “When I was first working on this technology, that was one of my biggest concerns. What those that are transformed would be feeling. They can’t exactly tell us themselves once transformed. That, and of course if they can be turned back properly without side effects.”
Dorothy turned her head to look back at the marble woman at the centre of the fountain. The woman that had been standing there, unmoving, for several years now. For most people passing through, it had become so easy to dismiss her as a mere statue and nothing more. The birds certainly did so as they would often perch on or around her and Dorothy had even spotted one bird family creating a nest by her feet.
And judging by the many tests that the museum had conducted on her mental state, she was still enjoying herself greatly up there frozen in place. No matter the season, no matter the temperature, and no matter the weather. It could be a warm sunny day or a cold day filled with torrential rain. The fountain statue stood there, unbothered, and proud as ever.
“I remember feeling very hesitant to transform you that first time,” Dorothy said.
Stuart nodded as he continued to look towards the museum. “I was very nervous myself… but I knew that I had to be the first test subject myself. I couldn’t in good conscience start transforming other people before I tried it out myself.”
Dorothy smirked as she looked away from the fountain statue again. “You weren’t my best work, I must say.”
This caused the man to laugh out loud and to face his best curator. “You don’t have to remind me. I still have the picture you took at the time.”
A silence fell between them that lasted an uncomfortable amount of seconds. Perhaps now was as good a time as any to ask what had been bothering Dorothy. “So tell me why you have actually come here, Stuart.”
The man shifted a little and bowed his head down, to the point where the reflection of the sun in his glasses obscured his eyes. “Guess I can’t really keep things from you for long, huh.”
Dorothy shook her head. “You’ve always been awful at that, ever since we met in high school.”
Stuart sighed. “I wanted to kinda… ease into it but I guess I’ll just start,” he said, his tone shifting to be a lot more serious now. “Dorothy, I want to start off by telling you that you are an amazing curator. The best we have, and you’ve been doing a fantastic job.”
Dorothy sank a little as she took in the compliment. If it starts off with a compliment, then there’s most definitely something bad that follows it…
“But I also think that you are working perhaps a little bit too hard. I don’t think you’ve taken a vacation in the last two years.”
This… was actually a little surprising to hear. “Has it… really been that long?”
Stuart nodded. “As your boss, I appreciate all the hard work you’ve put into this place and I couldn’t be happier, but as your friend… I worry that you’re starting to overdo it and that you’ll end up burning yourself out.”
Now it was Dorothy that had to avert her gaze, instead pointing it behind her at the statue again. “I… guess so.”
“I think you should take a break. It’ll do you some good. And you’ve more than earned it,” Stuart continued.
“Hmm,” Dorothy mumbled. She honestly hadn’t really given it much thought. True, she had been working a whole lot, but was it really too much? Then again, a burnout was definitely something to avoid. Perhaps he had a good point.
“Now, I don’t know how long you would need, or even how long you’d want. That’s all up to you. I’m willing to give you however long you wish. Whether it’s just a week…” The man then turned around himself to stare directly at the statue in the centre of the fountain. “... or five years.”
Dorothy gasped and faced the man. Did he really just… “What are you saying?”
“Dorothy… Would you be willing to join the fountain?”
For a moment, Dorothy’s mind went blank. She was not expecting to be asked this at all. She had transformed many people into art in her time but she had yet to undergo the process herself. And now, she was asked to join her own magnum opus?! “Why me…?” was all she could really ask.
“Well, I have more reasons for why I’m asking you. Again, I think the break will do you some good, and this way, you’d still be at the museum. I reckon it might make it easier to ease into some rest,” Stuart started.
In an odd way, that did kind of make sense…
“Secondly, there’s your exhibit starting tomorrow that’s all about passion. I can think of no better way to advertise that than to have you do so yourself, filled with the passion you have for your job and for this fountain,” Stuart continued.
Again… there wasn’t really much to argue against with that line of logic…
“Third, her five year anniversary is coming up, isn’t it?”
Dorothy nodded wordlessly.
“Well, I think we should celebrate this, and you, as her artist, would make for the perfect gift, even if it’s just temporary,” Stuart said.
There was a pit forming in Dorothy’s stomach as she heard all of these good arguments, and she couldn’t decide whether that pit was of dread or of excitement at the prospect.
“Finally, that curator trainee, Adison Hicks, is just about finished with her training and I think she’s ready to begin working properly. You could be her first project.”
All of this was a lot to take in. Dorothy, the artist, the head curator, joining the museum as a piece of art herself? And not just as a piece of art but as a part of the fountain? Her fountain?! What would that look like? What would it feel like? And what would the fountain’s current only occupant standing at its centre feel about all this? The questions simply kept on rushing through her head. Normally, she was the one to cause people’s heads to spin, like she had done with Vivian just a few weeks back, but now?
Eventually, Stuart stood up and stretched his legs. “I’d say give it some thought. It’s completely up to you whether you’d want this or not, and for how long of course.”
Dorothy looked up at him, still very much at a loss. “When do you want an answer?”
Stuart actually chuckled nervously now and tried not to look into his friend’s eyes. “At the end of the day would be preferable. The exhibit starts tomorrow, after all, and her anniversary is in three days.”
Dorothy frowned at him. Of course he would spring this upon her at the last minute. She could only really think this through for the afternoon?!
“Whatever you choose to do, Adison will be at the museum later to watch you do your final work. She’s been very eager to do so.” With that, the man just… left. Leaving Dorothy to her own thoughts that were still very much rushing through her. So many feelings and emotions that she had to sort through, all for a decision she had to make before the end of the day.
And depending on what she’d choose, she could be finishing this day off made of stone.
Pensively, she looked towards the statue once again. For the first time in five years, Dorothy wished that she could speak to her and give her some advice.
Five years earlier…
Dorothy entered the museum, eager to begin her afternoon shift. It was hard to believe that the museum had existed for over a year now. It had seemed like such a wild pipedream before. Even after they opened, Stuart and Dorothy were unsure whether they would get enough volunteers but the public had proved them wrong. By a mile!
She was about to head to her office when she spotted her. A woman leaving the galleries and making her way towards the exit, where Dorothy was standing. There she was, just as the last few times. Maybe… this was Dorothy’s chance. She’d been wanting to do this, after all.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
The startled woman looked around before pointing at herself. “Me?”
“Yes, you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Dorothy said.
The stranger frowned. “I… think you might have the wrong person. I don’t know you.”
Oh dear, she hadn’t come off as too strong right off the bat, had she? “And I don’t know you yet but I hope that can change. My name is Dorothy! I am a curator here at the museum.”
The woman perked up after that. “Oh! Oh? And you want… to speak to me?”
Dorothy nodded. “I’ve noticed you visiting us almost every day for the last two weeks and I figured an introduction was in order. I’m happy I caught you.”
“Wow, has it really been that much? For that long?” the woman said. She was sounding quite embarrassed now.
Dorothy chuckled. “Hey now, no need to be shy. We very much appreciate your patronage.”
“I guess I have become a little bit obsessed with this place. I can’t really help it though. There’s something new to see all the time. And all of them look so good too! I’ve studied in the arts and I’m really impressed by all of it,” the woman explained. She spoke quite softly, as if afraid that others might hear her.
“Ah, an art student, huh? Well, then I am even further pleased to receive praise from your trained eyes!” Dorothy said excitedly.
The woman gave a shy chuckle. This museum guest was certainly even more fascinating than Dorothy had been assuming. “So… as curator you must know then. Is it really true? That all the art here is… you know…?”
“... made out of transformed volunteers? Why yes, yes it is,” Dorothy announced proudly.
Once again, the woman perked up. “Wow. I didn’t even know that was possible.”
“It did take a lot of time to perfect the technology,” Dorothy said as she thought back to the many… many months she had to listen to Stuart cursing while working on it.
“Are you the one making it all happen then?” the woman asked.
“One of the people doing so, yes,” Dorothy said.
At this point, the woman started blushing a little bit. It seems she was beginning to feel rather self conscious about her questions. However, she still ended up asking her next question. “What’s it like?”
Dorothy smirked. What a truly fascinating stranger. “Would you like to see?”
“Whoah!”
The woman hadn’t even fully entered Dorothy’s lab but she was already flabbergasted at the sheer size of the machinery inside.
Dorothy brushed past her with a big smile on her face. She didn’t normally give tours but this person was interesting to her so it was easy to make an exception. “There’s currently two options, namely marble statues and oil paintings, but our founder is looking into other avenues. For instance, he’s currently looking into a watercolour option for the painting machine.”
“And… the volunteers just get in and come out transformed?” the woman asked as she hesitantly followed the curator.
“Well, there’s a little more to it than that. I want to capture the perfect angle. The proper emotions. The best outfit. And then still, when all of that is just right, I have to flip the switch at just the right moment.”
“So it’s like photography?”
Dorothy nodded. “I guess you could indeed liken it to that, yes!”
The woman began wandering around the studio to inspect the machinery. “What’s it like for those that are transformed?” she asked eventually.
“Hmm, well, I cannot give you a first-hand account as I have yet to be transformed myself, but I can give you some testimonials. Some have likened it to a dream-like state. Others have called their existence as art incredibly fulfilling. Though there have been some that felt the inability to move or talk to be suffocating. That said, most people that come back believe that that aspect further adds to their experiences,” Dorothy explained.
For a moment, Dorothy’s guest wistfully stared at the machines. “But… the people that don’t like it wouldn’t be able to tell you about it, would they?”
Dorothy nodded. “That is true, but we do have other ways of assessing mental states. We check our collection regularly and take action should anything go south.”
“I guess you must be very prepared, considering what you’re doing. But what happens at night? I mean, during the day, people get to see the art but at night, the volunteers will just have to sit around and wait for the next day?”
“Well, yes. We initially figured that people would only want to be transformed during opening hours, but there was an increasing number of volunteers that decided to simply stay as they were,” Dorothy said.
The woman smiled as she had all of this explained to her. Dorothy figured that she was quite a shy person, and perhaps a little awkward, but the moment her mind latched onto something, the floodgates holding back a tsunami of questions would be opened. She asked Dorothy for several more details about all sorts of things. What length of time do people usually go for? What happened if someone got damaged? Have there ever been too many volunteers? What’s in the work for future options? And many more questions like that.
However, Dorothy definitely didn’t have time to answer all of them. After all, she had a job to do. “Do you perhaps want to watch me work?” she asked.
Her new fascinating friend looked a little shocked. “M-may I?”
“Of course! I think you’ll really like it,” Dorothy said.
“Then… yes please! If that’s not too much of a bother, that is.”
“Nonsense!” Dorothy said as she walked on over to the door. “Just sit there and I’ll get a volunteer in.” With that, she entered the waiting room to find three people in there. One of them she actually recognized from a month or so earlier. He had been part of a group painting depicting a picnic. As luck would have it, he was actually her first subject of the day. “Mister Truman, you may come in.”
The man, called Edward, eagerly jumped up and stepped forward. “Hey again.”
“I’m happy to see that you’ve returned! I assume then that the last time was fun for you?” Dorothy said as she led him inside.
“Oh, it was great! I couldn’t just stay away. Without my friends this time because they wanted to come and visit me while I’m art.” He halted for a moment though when he saw the woman awkwardly sitting on a chair, trying not to be noticed. “Who’s she?”
“Ah, she’s here to watch the process unfold. I told her I’d show it. Are you okay with that?” Dorothy asked.
Edward nodded. “Sure, no problem for me.”
The woman gave a grateful glance in his general direction but stayed quiet otherwise.
“Very well, then let us begin. I believe you remember how it went last time?”
The whole process didn’t take all that long. Within about twenty to thirty minutes, the excitable Edward had been reduced to a statue that depicted him about to toss a spear. There was no longer anything there to suggest that he had been a normal human only minutes earlier. He was just marble now.
As Dorothy began doing her mental check-up, her guest finally stood up and approached the man turned statue and inspected him from all angles. At his serious face as if he was about to strike down a ferocious beast. At his posture as he was bracing himself. At the way his hair and clothes had billowed in the wind caused by a fan Dorothy had set up. It was all frozen in place, perfectly captured like a photograph.
“Can he… hear us?” she asked.
“Yes, he can hear, feel, and see everything. Well, he can only see where his eyes are pointed of course, and if they happened to be open at the time of conversion,” Dorothy said.
The woman nodded and faced the statue again. “Then, I wanna say… you look stunning,” she said dreamily.
Dorothy looked up at her with a smile. There was a question on her lips that she hadn’t yet dared ask. Something she’d actually been wanting to do this whole time but, just as she had to do with all of her volunteers, she had to find the perfect opportunity that had yet to present itself.
“I think you would make for a statue that’s just as stunning,” she said.
A silence fell where only the humming of the machine could be heard. The woman turned to face Dorothy with shock in her eyes as she tried to process what she had just been told.
Dorothy, however, kept going as she activated the scan of Edward’s mental state. “You’ll have to forgive me but I stand by what I said. There’s something about you that I’ve noticed ever since I first saw you. Something fascinating. Something beautiful. Something that has really struck a chord with me. It is like you are my muse. My source of inspiration. I can understand it if you wish to walk out and never speak of this again but If you’ll give me the time of day, I think we can create something truly spectacular. Miss, will you be the centrepiece to my next big project?”
Silence returned once more, and a very awkward one at that. Dorothy had made her move. It was do or die. It was true what she had said though. Ever since she first laid eyes on this stranger, she’s had an idea floating around in her head that she simply couldn’t shake off. If this woman said no, then that would be quite the shame but then Dorothy could at least start moving on and perhaps find somebody else. But of course, there was always the possibility that she said…
“Yes…”
Now it was Dorothy’s turn to stand there in shocked silence. “You… accept?”
The woman nodded. Dorothy could hear her breathing nervously from where she was standing but it was clear that she stood firm with her answer. “Y-you… you may use me as your muse. Make me your masterpiece. I… v-volunteer.”
The gravity of the situation only now truly began hitting Dorothy. She had accepted. Her muse. Her source of inspiration. She could actually go through with her vision and this woman would be its shining star. A smile crept up Dorothy’s face that she knew would not be leaving her for the rest of the day. “Thank you… just… thank you.”
The excitement would not subside as she started working hard on preparing for the creation of her artwork. In fact, it only further increased. A tarp was put up outside the museum where the construction workers built the fountain. In the meantime, Dorothy herself alongside several others worked hard on their stonecarving of the various decorations that would be surrounding the centre as well as the rim.
But as the big day approached, the nerves really started setting in. What if she had gotten cold feet? What if she couldn’t make her mental image a reality after all? Could she really do this? Even as she and Stuart worked hard on transporting the machine outside, she couldn’t help but start panicking as if her life depended on it. She had never felt this much passion for a project before, and it was all to transform a woman that she had not even learned the name of. It was a secret that her muse had decided to keep to herself for now.
And just like that, the day had come. Dorothy stood outside the tarp nervously as she watched the people come and go.
“She’ll come. Don’t worry,” Stuart said, who was standing next to her.
“I hope you’re right…” Dorothy said. Her heart was pounding in her chest. It felt like she was about to do an exam or something. One she had spent weeks studying for without realising that there was a whole second chapter she hadn’t taken into account.
And the feelings only increased further when her volunteer finally appeared.
“I’m sorry I’m a little late. I still had to take care of some things,” she said. She sounded just as nervous as Dorothy was. It was to be expected of course. Within the next hour, she would cease to be a human and would not speak or move again for the next week. An incredible amount of time for someone entirely new to the practice.
Dorothy grinned from ear to ear. “It is okay, my friend. I’m glad you came. Are you… going through with this then?”
The woman nodded vigorously. “I can’t back down now.”
Stuart smiled at both women. “I’ll just… watch from the sidelines then and leave you to it.”
Dorothy gave him a grateful look as she took the woman by the hand. A hand that would soon be made out of stone. “I’ve prepared your contract right here. I believe I’ve already explained everything to you and what you can expect but you should still read it over again just in case.”
The woman nodded eagerly as she scanned the contract. Since she was going to be standing outside, there were some extra factors to take into account. She would, after all, be subjected to the weather as well as the presence of animals. In exchange, she would be seen by a lot more people, both museum-goers and passersby alike. “You’ll keep my belongings safe, yes?”
“They will be going into a locker only accessible by Stuart and myself,” Dorothy said.
The woman gave a giddy chuckle. “Kinda strange for a statue to be worrying about its stuff, huh?” she said.
Both women burst out into laughter. “I suppose so!” Dorothy said.
It was several minutes later when the woman finally grabbed the pen and after several more minutes, she signed the contract, and with it, her fate for the next week. Dorothy couldn’t be happier as she took the document in hand. It was like a little treasure that would serve as a memento to this day. The signature appeared to contain an ‘X’ but there wasn’t really much to glean from that.
“Very well. I’ve prepared an outfit over there as well as the gourd you’ll be holding. Please change into that,” Dorothy said.
“Alright!” the soon to be statue said before vanishing from sight into the makeshift changing booth Dorothy had prepared. In the meantime, Dorothy began setting up the machine to prime it for activation. Her excitement almost caused her to make a mistake but luckily, she caught it in time. It wasn’t long after this that the woman emerged from the changing booth wearing the long robe that she would be wearing for the next week.
“How… do I look?” she asked.
Dorothy looked at her, still wearing that excited smile she just could not shake off. “You look stunning. Are you ready?”
The woman looked back into the booth where her discarded clothes lay. Then she nodded at Dorothy. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Dorothy’s excitement began hitting peaks unknown to her now. This was it. The moment of truth. “Then let us begin!”
Dorothy began directing the woman to carry the gourd and go to the middle of the fountain. She looked quite excited, knowing that that location would be her perch for seven days and seven nights long. While there, one of the construction workers that was still present connected the gourd to the fountain system that had already been built into the set-up. It was better to do this now while the woman could still move, after all.
After this, the man left and the time had come to look for just the right pose. “Could you hold the gourd over your shoulder?”
“Like this?” the woman asked.
“Yes, yes, perfect! Now… perhaps you could let your robe droop down a little…” Dorothy continued.
“... into the water?”
“Yes, yes! Exactly!” Dorothy said excitedly. It was like she and this woman were of a single mindset shared between them as artist and model. Already, Dorothy couldn’t wait to ask her what this all felt like when this was all over again. Ah, but that wouldn’t be for a whole week. It wasn’t long before both of them realised that they had found it. The right pose! There it was!
“This is it,” Dorothy said. Her adrenaline was coursing through her body and she just knew that it was the same for her volunteer. It was really happening now. Never before had she put this much effort into a work of art and in the end, it had all been worth it. She moved on over to the machine that would finally seal the woman into stone. Her knees felt weak from the excitement but she couldn’t collapse now.
One simple button press would set the whole process in motion. It was easy to press it now but she couldn’t just do it so casually. After all, she had to press it at just the right moment. “Do you have anything to say before we do this?”
The woman thought about it for a moment. “Thank you, Dorothy, for doing this,” she said.
And Dorothy couldn’t be happier to hear those words. They would be the last she’d speak for the rest of the day, and six more after that. “Enjoy yourself, my muse. You look stunning!” she said.
The woman smiled. It was a simple, modest smile, but it was beautiful. This was it. The right opportunity. It had come. With a shaking finger, Dorothy pressed the button to activate the machine and to finally finish her masterpiece. Instantly, even from this distance, Dorothy could tell that she had stopped moving. No longer was her chest going up and down due to her breathing. Her robe and hair had stopped billowing in the wind. She was frozen in place fully and completely.
And from that point, the conversion truly began. It started out as patches of white skin at first but those began growing rather quickly. Some would connect to form bigger patches, which would connect to others to grow even bigger. And all the while, she was hardening, turning into stone so utterly and completely. The whole process lasted maybe twenty seconds but they were the longest twenty seconds that Dorothy had ever been through. Most likely, this was true for her new statue as well.
When the machine wound down, the transformation, and with it, her best work yet, had been completed. Where there had been an arts graduate before now stood a nameless statue. One she knew she wouldn’t be able to surpass for a long time. Her posture as she held up the gourd that would be flowing with water soon. Her modest smile as she appreciated Dorothy’s final compliment. This was more than just a fountain. This was a story, and she would treasure it for a long time to come.
Stuart, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally interrupted Dorothy’s stupor. “Ready to activate her?”
Dorothy nodded without looking away. “Go ahead. I want to be here to see it.”
Stuart chuckled. “Of course. Get ready then.” With that, the man left the tarp. Now, it was really just Dorothy and the former woman and since she was nothing but a statue now, Dorothy might as well have been all alone. She had really done it. She hadn’t recreated what her mind had pictured. She had made it even better. For several minutes, she could only stand there and look at her work, as if she herself had been transformed into a statue as well.
When eventually Stuart turned on the fountain and water began flowing from the woman’s gourd down into the basin below, Dorothy felt like she was about to pass out. This truly had become her masterpiece. She knew she had to start doing all of the extra work. The mental check up. The protective layer. But for now, all she could really do was say the words that couldn’t do her gratitude any justice.
“Thank you, my muse…”
The memories of that first transformation were still etched into Dorothy’s mind clear as day. She would still replay it every so often and that happened just now as she walked back to her lab from her break. She repeated the words Stuart had spoken to her moments earlier to herself, not knowing what to do with herself or how to respond to them.
“Dorothy… Would you be willing to join the fountain?”