Her hands we’re black.  Calloused, from one episode or another – burns, scrapes, cuts. She retained no recollection of the events that had shortly before taken place, all she knew was there was no trace of white; palms up, palms down. As she sat with dirt in her limp hair, she looked up at the oily sky, then the dark street light, which flickered, causing slippery shadows to creep up her back and writhe beneath her skin. Nothing would be the same.

***

Celine’s white hair fell around her torso as she pushed herself out of bed. So, using both hands she scraped it behind her ears, she attempted to suppress its wild behaviour. It trailed down her back, poker-straight; and gently swayed as her body moved from side to side as she walked to the door and into the hall. Every so often a stray streak of gold would insist on infuriating her, and so it was her adept hand which was charged with the mission to fruitlessly prohibit its flight. She moved into the bathroom and found herself in front of the mirror. She very slowly turned on the tap clockwise, as to stop the water from splurging forth in enthusiasm, and drenching her entirety.  However, it was at this moment that something strange happened. The water did not emerge. Indeed the water did not emerge, but instead, black. A dark, oily liquid began to drip leisurely from the silver tap. Celine, evidently perplexed, moved closer, her sheet of hair sliding over her shoulders and over her face. With one hand, she removed the offending tresses, and with the other, held it beneath the tap, and let the sinister fluid fall onto her forefinger. The drip traced a scar which ran down onto Celine’s palm, and then it disappeared completely.  There was no sign of black, indeed as Celine puzzled over this; she noticed a regular flow of clean water pouring out of the tap. Frowning, and then shaking the bizarre occurrence out of her system, she splashed the pure water onto her face, and felt much better. She grabbed the hand towel and delicately patted away the remaining moisture; she smiled at her reflection and left the bathroom.

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