Don`t Trust Women With Red Lips by Alina Sheremeta

The bright light of the fire coming from

the enormous fireplace was illuminating the huge hall, decorated with all the details and delights of Victorian style. The tiny fiery flares were reflected in cold hazel eyes of a tall, rather young-looking woman for her middle ages, who had short wavy blonde hair and was dressed in an elegant dark-red dress, which was barely covering her skinny pale knees, and high-heeled shoes of the same gloomy colour. A gorgeous wealthy mistress, living completely alone in a luxurious mansion, was waiting for her prince this dismal Friday evening. Someone who will make her happy and worthy for a while.

An endless accumulation of sumptuous furniture, paintings and tapestries depicting ancient rulers hanging on all the walls, leaving almost no free space of perimeter, numerous pots with evergreens, old-fashioned books in tall bookcases, that were stretched to the ceiling and made of the best type of dark wood, only created the illusion of a contented life filled with relationships and welfare. Not that she was against it. Or for it. Truly, it was quite difficult to say whether she was satisfied with such a hermit way of life just by an unemotional expression on her face, which was filled with life and showed the emotions of a real, living person only out of necessity. But her graceful body and unearthly beauty were enough for her to attract all noble and not so men from her surroundings. For the first time at least. No one knew her name, but everyone was aware of her unusual gift to enchant passers-by with her grace and splendour.

The doorbell rang loudly. The woman was sitting in the armchair that was trimmed with pleasant ornamentation and padding, not hurrying to react to a guest's arrival, and, with her legs crossed, was sipping leisurely from a crystal glass one of the most expensive types of red wine resembling fresh blood. Bright red lipstick, which was standing on her snow-white face, was slightly sealed on it, and the woman got up slowly, walked gracefully to her bedroom to the dressing table, over which a huge mirror was hungover almost the entire wall, where she could show off to yourself for hours. She picked up the same bright red lipstick and carefully applied it to her plumb lips in front of the mirror, bringing them back to their fresh initial look. Only after having that done, with the same model and important gait, she went to the entrance door to meet her boyfriend for the evening.

On the doorsteps, a charming and well-groomed man of about 30 with smoothly styled black hair and a short-cropped beard met the woman. He held a huge bouquet of lush scarlet roses in his hands, which he handed to the beauty with a genuine smile. The woman's face lit up with the same radiant smile, showing her perfect white teeth. She left and went to look for a vase to put flowers in it and decorate the hall, while the guest was taking off his outer clothing. He was dressed in an expensive suit, which consisted of a tuxedo and trousers of dark blue, almost black colour, a white shirt and a black bow tie. However, his shoes were not so solid and didn`t quite match the whole outfit. It seems that he spent his last money just to make the best impression on the sophisticated lady.

Soon the hostess returned and, allowing the gentleman to take her by the hand, led him to the hall, receiving all sorts of compliments from him along the way, which concerned her exquisite taste in choosing clothes and an incredibly charming smile. She sat him down in the armchair at the round crystal table where she had sat before, opposite the fireplace, on which there already stood a vase of roses pleasing the eyes. An unobtrusive conversation began between them, about the economic crisis, about the rule of bureaucrats, although it didn`t seem that they both took these topics too seriously, since their conversation turned into a man's monologue quickly, in which he talked about his inveterate and not very decent adventures. That woman listened attentively and in every possible way supported the enlightened interest in his person, laughing at all his jokes and praising his wit. The man could not help but enjoy the sincerity and lightness of this wonderful lady. And the woman could not get enough of a pleasant company and increased attention to herself, which brightened up this dull, lonely Friday evening.

After a very short period, the atmosphere began to take on intimacy and the usual friendly conversation turned into an exchange of compliments of a more delicate nature. The man paid attention and praised all the parts of her body, beginning from her graceful figure, flawless snow-white skin, tender hands, narrow waist and slender thin legs, and ending with an attractive black mole above her lip. Mutual courtesies, accompanied by sweet, enticing whispers that increased the man's excitement and interest, came from her plumb bright red lips. Her voice sounded quiet, calm, and became more and more mysterious, clearly with ambiguous overtones. He was already ready for an interesting and passionate night, just as she was looking forward to something extremely exciting.

There were already two glasses of wine on the table in front of them, one of which was half-empty and slightly stained with the woman's lipstick. Before embarking on the most thrilling part of their meeting, allowing them to capture each other, she kindly offered the guest a drink to dilute the atmosphere. The man couldn't refuse, and took up the glass with an aristocratic grip, showing himself as a member of higher society.

- I'd like to propose a toast. A toast to a great evening and no less great hostess. Let this acquaintanceship will remain in our memory for the entire life, - the man proclaimed sophisticatedly.

- Here's to health and prosperity, - the woman responded smilingly, with a soft and fragrant voice, and made a sip solemnly.

So the man did until he emptied almost the entire glass. The sweet-sour taste filled his mouth immediately and hit him slightly in the head, relaxing him, which made the woman, who continued to look at him with admiration and naive kindness, began to seem even more beautiful in his eyes than before. He was already ready for the climax and waited for his lady's actions.

However, something went wrong after that. Suddenly, the man felt a terrible cutting pain in the abdomen, accompanied by severe dizziness. The frightened man looked in the woman's eyes, whose gaze didn't even change and remained the same, sincere and naive. His heart was pounding wildly, his mind became clouded, and his hands were shaking dreadfully. There was not a single sober thought in his heavy head. Instead, they were all replaced by only one panicky question: «What did this monster do to me?».

He tried to get up from the armchair, but his legs buckled immediately due to sudden nausea, from which the furry carpet under him, his trousers and shoes were in his own vomit. His legs gave way, and he almost promptly collapsed to the floor, dirtying himself even more in the further urge to vomit. Floundering helplessly on the floor in convulsions, choking and coughing up hardly blood, he turned his despaired, almost empty look at the woman with the glass in her hand, whose face took on a bloodthirsty look and spread into a cruel, fierce grin, which was adorned with bright red lipstick on her lips. It was that moment when he understood everything. She no longer had that charming beauty that locked him in a cage of seduction and deceit. Nothing more than a real devil of hell in a woman's guise stood in front of him, who in the last minutes of his life mocked his frivolity and accessibility to human pleasures, which became the cause of his ridiculous death. He wanted to outwit her, promising a happy life together and leaving her with nothing, but instead he fell into his own trap. However, by that time he finally realized it, it was already too late to do anything.

The woman was sitting in her armchair, enjoying the view of the bright fire from the fireplace, sipping the same red wine from the crystal glass. The fireplace was decorated with a huge bouquet of lush scarlet roses, and next to it stood a peeled varnished skull, similar in shape to a human's one. Her face was shining with the same bewitching smile with red lips.