Inserting the last cog, he took off his face mask and wiped his brow. After many sleepless nights, she was done. Grunting slightly, he propped her up and moved her silky hair away from the middle of her back. In the centre was a small keyhole.

Many called him a magician, a monster capable of returning the dead to life. While he was amused by their theories and rumors, he was nothing more than a doll maker who just happened to specialize in the passed. People payed him to return their beloved ones, perhaps in hopes of pleasing their spirits. He was more than happy to for these jobs payed quite well. His current client had given half his life's saving to him. But it wasn't just for the money that he did it.

It was the joy of creating life. To know he had power over life and death gave him pleasure beyond any other. In this area, he reigned king. Grabbing a small key crank, he gently inserted into her back before turning it slowly to the right. After several turns, the whirring of gears notified him that his work was almost complete. Moving back to the front her propped her head up, inserted the last key and closed her forehead. Clicking and clanking started before she opened her new eyes, irises shaped like cogs, and raised her head to state straight at him.

He grinned, proud of his new creation and offered her his hand. She took it without hesitation and slightly wobbling, stood up. Grabbing the crumpled photo from his pocket, he held up the aged paper besides her. They were nearly identical, save for the eyes and lines. The client had been kind enough to provide her corpse so he had left as much of the original as he could.

Putting it back in his pocket, he caresses her cheek, marveling at its authenticity.
"Welcome back, Solas."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at it again with the 2 in the morning updates! Life's great when you only get 6 hours of sleep.

Also, Solas is Irish for light, according to some website. So yeah.

QOTC: What's the latest you've stayed up?

Thanks for reading!
- FAH

Written: July 29, 2017
Published: July 29, 2017
Last Updated: ---
Picture: NanoMortis in DeviantArt