Triumphant

It’s immaculate: an ivory fur coat embellished with lavish bell sleeves and a two-foot train. As the model sways, the light catches the black speckles scattered throughout the fur. With each ruffle of the coat, 99 phantom yelps fill my ears, but I am satisfied, almost giddy. While in my state of bliss, the audience suddenly gasps; my prized work is saturated in crimson paint. Globules drip down the sleeves creating sticky pools on the marble floor. Yet I smile unabashedly, because no amount of cheap paint compares to the amount of blood I spilled to make that coat.