I am so dreadfully far away!

I am in the south of California and it is blagh, okay. I am at grandma's and there is no one to keep my company, so you, trusty blog, will have to do!

Eliot and I are workin' on a collab. I write, she illustrates. I'm gonna post what I have so far here so you can seeeee!

Enjoy.

(This piece is currently saved on my computer under the document name "Unicornz To Be Illustratedz)

When she was five, Elias saw her first unicorn.

It passed by her window on a winter’s night when the panes of glass were like hazy sheets of ice that glimmered in the moonlight.

With one large, unblinking eye, it looked in and exhaled. In the next moment, it had disappeared. Its warm breath left a sunburst of clarity on her window. Through it, Elias could see the darkened houses across the street.

By morning, the unicorn’s impression on her glass was still there. Over cornflakes, Elias told her mother what had happened.

Her mother stood with her back to Elias as she stirred heavy cream into a mug of coffee.

“Well,” she said, her voice laden with indifference. “You were named after a prophet.”

The word rang like a bell in the air and Elias rolled it over in her mouth for the first time. It tasted delicious.

The second unicorn came shortly after Elias’s eighth birthday. She didn’t have a party that year. Instead, her parents bought tickets to an opera performance. They said they were giving her culture as a gift, and that she would appreciate it in the future.

In the darkened auditorium, Elias sat next to a man with a thick, beautiful mustache and a monocle dangling from the pocket of his jacket. During particularly violent scenes, he would hold it to right eye and lean forward.

During intermission, he turned to Elias for the first time. His dour expression shifted to one of wonderment. “It’s you,” he said. He turned and looked around, suddenly frantic. “Excuse me, my dear. I must go.” He stuffed his monocle in his pocket and shuffled towards the aisles with the rest of the crowds that were headed towards the washrooms.

Before Elias could ask how he knew her, he was gone. He did not return for the rest of the performance.

Elias was once again in her room when the second unicorn arrived. This time, it lingered. So as not to startle it, Elias crept forward on her bed until she could rest her cheek against the window.

“Hello,” she said, and the unicorn snorted in response. It left just as softly as the last one had, without the sound of a single hoof striking against the cement. She did not know what the unicorn’s arrival meant, but she knew that it must be significant.

The next day, Elias watched her parents for signs that something had changed, but all seemed as it was before. It wasn’t until she walked herself to school that the event occurred.

The monocled man swooped out of nowhere. One moment, Elias was rounding a corner, and the next, the man had his viselike grip on her upper arm. He pulled Elias into the alley between the exotic sausage shop and the Baptist church.

Her first instinct was to scream. But then the monocled man brought a finger up to his lips and released her arm. There was something so serious and earnest in his expression that it seemed more practical to wait to see what he had to say before she started yelling for help.

“My dear,” he said, his tone apologetic. “I am sorry I acted so rudely just now. It is just that the matter I must discuss with you requires the utmost privacy.”

Elias said nothing.

The man leaned in, his face mere inches from hers. She held her breath. His gaze was searching. “My dear,” he asked. “It is very important that you tell me the truth. Have you seen anything strange recently?”