Rainbow

Mr. Matthias of Matthias Talents, Inc., strolled up the driveway from the road, as if he were simply admiring the green glass jars perched precariously atop the picket fence. He knew that the girl and her mother were waiting, but he took his time.  He preferred to savor their anxiety, breathing in their fears with an almost feral glee.  He was their only hope, their only ticket out of this godforsaken backwater, and everyone knew that. What they didn't know is that he took their money and never made a single phone call to a movie producer or modeling agency. Mr. Matthias specialized in finding a certain kind of talent.

The sole of his well-shod foot had only barely touched the dingy welcome mat when the door was yanked open.  The girl was indeed a beauty, her skin pale and perfect, her blonde hair homespun gold.  She smiled at him tremulously, good manners overcoming her natural curiosity.

"Mr. Matthias! Won't you come in?" She held the door, and took his hat.   Her mother sat on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. She nodded to him as he sat down.  Both mother and daughter leaned forward in anticipation.

"I'm sorry, but you're just not what the producers are looking for at the moment."  Mr. Matthias had practiced his bad news face until it was second nature. But with Miss Elizabeth, he found some difficulty concealing his joy at destroying her dreams.  The rainbow in her eyes had burned with such delicious intensity that he could not help but celebrate as it flared and died.  Miss Elizabeth's shoulders slumped forward, a sob escaping.

"Please, Mr. Matthias! I'll do anything!"

Mr. Matthias specialized in finding a certain kind of talent. Talent that would pay him a significant finder's fee.  They'd pay extra if Miss Elizabeth was a virgin.  She would just disappear one day, of course, but that was the cost of doing business.





The prompt is the third definition of the word RAINBOW.


The prompt is this picture:

image courtesy of Unsplash, Creative Commons

And a quote from Sylvia Plath: "August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."