The Masterpiece

Dannie looked again at the female form he had sculpted, in utter incredulity.

The statue was exquisitely beautiful- an amazing work of art.

 Dannie knew that he had finally made his masterpiece.

 He jealously covered his creation with dried branches, to hide this sensuous female from public view.

 She was too hot for display.

***

Dannie tossed and turned in his bed.

He started getting a recurring nightmare in which  he would  wake up in a cold sweat after a dreadful sequence, where he saw a handsome Gandharva (A kind of demi -god) spiriting away his masterpiece  after breathing life into her. The Gandharva would then sing and dance with Dannie’s beauty queen.

Feeling a powerful sting of jealousy, Dannie would then (actually) jump out of bed to chase the imaginary Gandharva away, only to see his sculpture safe where it had been. Dannie would then go back to sleep with an immense feeling of relief.  This happened night after night.

***

After several nights like this, Dannie decided he could not stand the strain any longer. Though this was only an absurd dream- probably because of his own over-possessiveness- he decided to take the form and shift quietly to another far-off place.

When he removed the branches and lifted the statue lovingly, it felt a little heavier than before. He quietly put it back and took a close look. Then he fainted.

There was a light but clear bulge at the abdomen of his creation.

The stone woman seemed pregnant.

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