Beauty and the Beast

Tess picked up a paper clip. "Problem solved!", she announced to her empty office, as she put her pages together. She sat her pages at the desk, very satisfied with the success of the collation. Tess absently began to fiddle with the paper clip, twisting and bending it into various shapes as her mind wandered. At first, she was just playing with the simple act of manipulating metal, but soon her thoughts began to take on a life of their own. As she shaped the paper clip into a makeshift butterfly, Tess's mind started to make a strange connection between this seemingly trivial object and the mysterious manuscript. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about the way the paper clip had been bent and twisted into an unnatural shape made her think of the potential for murder. The more she thought about it, the more Tess became convinced that a paperclip bent into a butterfly - or any other shape for that matter - did not belong in a substation switchyard. The high-voltage electrical equipment, the humming transformers, and the faint crackling noise from the high-voltage buswork all seemed like an unlikely place for such a delicate object. Tess needed to read more of the manuscript. Even though she had rejected it for publication, she was drawn by the beautiful world that it represented. As Tess read about the passionate love affair between the two substation workers, she felt her emotions start to well up. She couldn't help but think about how much of herself had gone into writing that story, pouring her heart and soul into every word. Why a nurse? Why an engineer? Oh, the beauty was too much. As she read on, Tess felt herself getting lost in the story. She pictured Will and Shelli strolling hand in hand through the substation's parking lot, their love growing stronger with every passing day. And then, just as suddenly, they were faced with adventure and tragedy, forced apart by circumstances beyond their control. Tess's voice cracked as she read on, her emotions in full display. She felt like a vulnerable teenager again, lying awake at night with tears streaming down her face. Tess put the manuscript down next to the paper shredder. The intensity was wearing her out. Perhaps it was for the best....

Tess takes a nap

Tess gets ready