Golden Plum:

Simone’s Notes:

Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood, clinically referred to as mania. Individuals who experience manic episodes also commonly experience depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes which present with features of both mania and depression. These episodes are normally separated by periods of normal mood, but in some patients, depression and mania may rapidly alternate, known as rapid cycling. The disorder has been subdivided into bipolar I, bipolar II and cyclothymia based on the type and severity of mood episodes experienced. Also called bipolar affective disorder until recently, the current name is of fairly recent origin and refers to the cycling between high and low episodes; it has replaced the older term manic-depressive illness coined by Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) in the late nineteenth century. The new term is designed to be neutral, to avoid the stigma in the non-mental health community that comes from conflating "manic" and "depression."

Irene Myer had never had so great. The woman had a decent childhood until her parents divorced when she was only six years old. Her step-father was highly abusive and her mother turned a blind eye. At age fourteen, Irene ran away from home. But she still had problems before that moment of liberation.

Irene first started smoking at the age of nine. She would hide her cigarettes in the usual places that kids normally would to avoid getting caught by their parents. Smoking was the only thing that made her life better. But soon, that wasn’t enough for her. At age twelve, Irene began smoking weed. As the usual cliched story went, she fell into the wrong crowd and got into heavier things. Soon, pot wasn’t enough either. Irene soon got into heavier drugs. Coke at fifteen, heroin at seventeen, LSD at eighteen, drinking at twenty-one, and the list went on. Drugs weren’t the only problem. All in her twenties, the broken angels went through five failed marriages. Her debts were a nightmare. Plus, add that was manic depression and you have a walking train wreck. Irene’s life was just one tragedy after another.

But, she had a little light in her life. Irene was a talented artist. Her apartment was also her study as well. She used to have commissions and dealers at her door and feet every single day. But lately, that was drying up too. There seemed to be no hope for Irene anymore. But then, some strange visitors came by one heavy night.

The rain was pouring outside when Syd and Ella came by the door. The bloke looked at her girl in an untrusting sense.

“You sure this is the right place?” he asked coldly. They had come here on a hunch. Their employer had told them to find the key to the future; they would have to find the Golden Plum. After a whole day of a wild goose chase, they had finally caught a break. Or so they hoped…

“Yeah,” Ella replied. “The artist of this painting lives here. I read the address carefully.” The painting she was referring to was the one of Mrs. Conner looking like a succubus with many other half-breed children all around her looking at her. The name of the art dealership where they found this painting? Why, none other than the Golden Plum! Ella took a long time studying the address of Irene Myer. She also took a picture of the painting for future reference. So here they were now at 112 Divine St. Ella showed him the photo again to remind for the thousandth time. Syd just snorted again.

“You better be right, Ella!” he snapped.

“You know I am!” his bird replied.

“You better!” he barked. Ella just ignored him and knocked on the door. They heard a shuffle behind the door. The deity couple waited. The shuffling stopped for a moment and the door swung open wide. The disheveled woman stared at the couple. Her black hair was a heavy mess. She had massive bags under her eyes. Her face looked like a pale Halloween mask. In fact, she was pale all over. The woman looked like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. All she had on was a long black robe that just hung all over her body. She looked sick all over. Her eye make-up wasn’t helping either. Ella stepped forward lightly.

“Ms. Myer…” she said. The woman looked at the deity coldly.

“What do you want?!?” she snapped at them. The deity kept her composure.

“My husband and I,” she said as she was motioning to Syd. “Are huge fans of your work and we were wondering if you had anymore paintings to sell to us! Don’t worry about shipping them yet, we’ll take our time deciding!” Irene looked at them with blood red-filled eyes. She seemed to not try to laugh out loud. Ella had some slight doubt that she would help them. Finally, the woman smirked.

“Fine!” she slurred out. “Come in!” Then she stumbled away from the door. Ella and Syd followed behind as planned. The bloke leaned into his bird’s ear.

“You sure this is a good idea?” he whispered to her.

“Go with me on this one!” she replied. “You always take the wheel! It’s my turn now! So trust me!” Syd shut in his mouth in total silence. He hated when she was right.

Inside Irene’s main studio were paintings galore. They took over the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. They all shared one theme with each other: total darkness and despair. Ella and Syd looked all around. Syd was still frowning at this whole charade, but Ella was smiling up to her ears.

“Notice anything yet?” she asked. Syd looked for a moment.

“No!” he hissed. Ella kept smiling.

“Look closer and mentally put them order!” she ordered. Syd did so in discontentment. His eyes opened wide within seconds.

“This is everything that has happened up into this point!” he exclaimed in a low voice.

“That’s right!” Ella said with a nod. “Now aren’t you glad I took over?” Syd nodded reluctantly. His bird kept smiling.

“All we have to do now is gain her trust, get her to sell the paintings, and convince her to do more.” she went on. Syd frowned at that plan. Ella noticed his face.

“What?” she asked.

“Why can’t we steal the paintings and run?” he asked. His bird rolled her eyes.

“Because,” she replied sharply. “Unlike you, I like to do things without any mess at all! We don’t anymore problems than with what we have. Besides, we need Ms. Myer to paint us more to stop Manami and her little friends! You got that?” Syd went quiet again. She had a point. He hated when she had a point.

“What are you two whispering about?” Irene snapped from the kitchen. The couple looked up quickly. Ella stepped forward smiling.

“My husband and I were just admiring the painting that you have!” she replied innocently. “We decided to buy them.” The artist popped her head out of the kitchen through the island. Her face didn’t seem to believe her at all. Ella quickly saw the woman’s soul. She quickly formed a plan in her head.

“You seem to be in torment!” Ella said aloud. Irene looked at her in suspicious.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she hissed. The female deity lightly shrugged.

“Just an observation.” she replied. Irene still kept looking at her harshly.

“What would your price be?” Ella asked calmly. Irene finally began to smile.

“Anything you like!” she said. The female deity smiled at that one. She drew out her purse and dumped out many gold coins on the floor. The artist’s eyes grew big in shock.

“Is… that… real?” she managed to ask aloud. Ella nodded with a smile on her face.

“There is more too,” she said. “If you paint us a few more.” Irene really perked up.

“Sure!” she called. “Anything you like!” Ella smiled. “And I’ll be working on you in the whole process!” she thought in mischief. The woman was plotting on how to get Irene Myer on the right path again. She knew it was going to be tough, but worth to shut the gate again. Syd looked at his bird suspiciously. He hated when she took control. She was always plotting something to do along with the original mission. This was going to take longer than he wanted it to. “Aw damnit,” he thought annoyed. “I hate when she takes control!”

Meanwhile, Edward was right at Mrs. Connor’s doorstep. He was smirking to himself wickedly. His plan was springing into action. Mrs. Connor trusted him completely. He even had her wrapped around his little finger. Now all he had to do was to seal the deal. “Mrs. Connor, you will be mine real soon!” Ed thought devilishly. Then the incubus knocked on the widow’s door.