Her value to those who employed her was her ability to hide in plain sight. She was inconspicuous, unnoticed, unnoteworthy. She managed to blend into the background, seeming almost invisible. And she was a wealthy woman because of it. She never failed to carry out her assignments, to the great satisfaction of those who engaged her for her services.
She was meticulous in every way. She knew that we are all creatures of habit, so she would watch and learn, sometimes studying her targets for weeks before making her move.
To her, it was a labor of love. More often than not she would literally fall in love with her targets. There developed for her a certain intimacy between them, even though they were not even aware of her presence. She came to know their strengths and their weaknesses. She discovered the things that brought them joy, that haunted them, that made them happy, angry, sad. She knew their social and sexual proclivities. She believed she knew them better than they knew themselves.
She sometimes regretted having to do what she was so highly compensated to do. She knew that, because of her, the life they had lived before she entered the picture was over. And that made her sad. But in her heart, she truly believed that once her job was complete, they would be in a better place.
Some said that she had ice water running through her veins, but that was far from the truth. She felt with an intensity that others just didn’t or couldn’t understand. When the time came for her to carry out her assignment, the adrenaline would start to flow and her heart would pound so hard inside her chest that she was sure others could hear it beat.
She would stealthily approach her target, and without any warning, she would touch them. They would respond to her touch, turn to look at her — look into her eyes — with a confused expression on their faces.
But before they could say anything or react in any way, she’d put a finger in front of her lips, and say, “Shh.” Then she’d lean in and whisper softly and sensuously in her target’s ear, “Today is the last day of your life.”
Most of her targets got wide-eyed. Some tried to back away, others just stood there, as if frozen in place. She knew how each would react to her because she had studied them down to the smallest detail, and she was never wrong.
And then she would spring the trap. She’d grab her target’s hand and say to them, “I’m the most successful talent agent in Hollywood and I’m going to make you a superstar. Your life will never be the same again.”
Written for this week’s Photo Challenge from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie. Photo credit: Raventhird.
This, That, and the Other 
Beautiful the way you penned
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Thanks.
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You led us the wrong alley. I thought she was a assassin.
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That’s what she was when I started out, but she evolved as I wrote it! 😏
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Thought so. But very interesting twist to the story. 👏👍
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🙂 Fandango, this is a lovely one!
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Thanks, Renard.
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Excellent!! I was hoping she wasn’t “just” some sort of hit(wo)man… And I was ok with her being Death, but your ending is brilliant and took me completely by surprise 🙂 Bravo!!
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It actually took me by surprise, too. She started out as an assassin, but turned into a talent agent right before my eyes.
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When I think of the late Judy Garland (whose story was surely not unique), I suspect the talent agent/assassin could sometimes be one—certainly with child stars.
Had you seen the film “Judy”? (Not to delve into your subconscious…)
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No, I haven’t seen that movie. Is it one you’d highly recommend?
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I think Renee Zellweger’s performance is amazing. It’s a very poignant film, and since I either didn’t recall or never knew much about Garland’s years as a child star, I found that aspect revelatory.
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Haha! What a surprise! I’m afraid she might be wrong about the “better place”.- thing, though… 😀
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What a twist at the end. Well done sir!
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