Strange Pictures
About this book
The first mysteries appear inside images: a pregnant woman's blog illustrations, a child's drawing of a house, and a sketch made shortly before a death. Each picture seems simple until a narrator notices an omission, an impossible perspective, or a detail placed where no innocent hand would put it.
Separate investigations follow different people and different crimes, encouraging the reader to solve each visual problem on its own. Names, dates, rooms, and family relationships gradually cross those boundaries, revealing that the apparent anthology has been arranging one larger case.
The illustrations are evidence rather than decoration, so the reasoning depends on looking as carefully as reading. Uketsu explains enough for the solution to be fair while preserving the unease that comes from discovering intention inside a child's line or a domestic floor plan.
Strange Pictures is a Japanese mystery-horror novel translated by Jim Rion. Its short sections and diagrams make it quick to enter, but the final effect comes from structural patience: clues introduced as curiosities return with a much darker job to do.
Read a sample
5,004 words
Plain text
From the opening
Prologue
‘All right, everyone, now I’m going to show you a picture.’
The professor, Dr Tomiko Hagio, fixed a sheet of paper onto the classroom’s blackboard.
She pointed at the drawing on it as she spoke.
‘As you well know, I now dedicate my time to teaching, but before I started lecturing young people like yourselves, I cut my teeth as a practising psychologist. I offered therapy to quite a number of patients over the course of my career. This picture is a copy of a drawing done by a patient I treated early on. A young girl. Let’s refer to her as “Little A” for now. When Little A was eleven years old, she was arrested for the murder of her mother.’
Her words sent a ripple of shock through the students.
‘I decided to administer a drawing test when undertaking her analysis. A drawing test requires that we have the patient follow a drawing prompt and use the results to analyse the patient’s mental state. Like they say, “Painting is a mirror of the soul,” and a drawing can often offer valuable insight into the mind of its artist. In particular, drawings of houses, trees and people tend to be remarkably revealing. Now, does anyone find anything about this picture strange?’
Dr Hagio surveyed the classroom.
The students only stared intently at the picture on the blackboard, wearing puzzled expressions.
‘Does nothing stand out? At first glance, yes, it probably looks rather ordinary. But here and there pop up some very unusual points indeed. First, look closely at the girl in the centre of the drawing. Her mouth, in particular.’
Dr Hagio pointed at it. ‘It’s somewhat messy and smudged. Little A had difficulty getting the mouth right, having to redraw it many times. She managed to get the other features down in a single go, so why did she keep making mistakes at the mouth? This offers us a clue to understanding her state of mind.
‘Little A was abused by her mother,’ Dr Hagio elaborated. ‘It seems that whenever she was home, she always had to force herself to smile and act happy, so as not to anger her mother. Inside she was frightened, but her face said otherwise. Even if it was a lie. She reasoned, “If I don’t smile right, she’ll beat me.” While drawing the mouth, the feeling reawakened, and it disturbed her. Her hands trembled, and she couldn’t draw well. This same pain also arises in the drawing of the house next to the girl.’ Again, she pointed at the picture.
‘The house has no door. Without a door, you can’t get inside, right? This house mirrors the girl’s interior life. “No one is allowed inside.” “I want to be alone in here.” It illustrates her desire for a refuge from the outside world.
‘Now, finally, I’d like you all to look at the drawing of the tree.
‘The ends of the branches are sharp and pointed, like thorns. We sometimes see this pattern in drawings by criminals. It seems to express a defiant, aggressive nature. It says, “I will hurt you,” or “I will prick you.” Now, as a psychologist, I had to consider all this information together to diagnose the subject.’
Dr Hagio looked into the eyes of her students as she spoke, slowly and with careful deliberation.
‘After looking at this picture, I concluded that Little A had a strong chance at rehabilitation. Can you see why? Look again at the tree. This time, look past the branches, and focus on the trunk. There is a little bird living in a hollow there. People who draw pictures like this display a desire to protect, and a tendency towards strong nurturing love. It expresses the desire to defend the weak, and to create a safe haven for them to live in.
‘Deep inside Little A’s thorny, aggressive exterior beat a kind heart. If we gave her a chance to interact with animals or small children, we could foster that kindness and possibly overcome her aggressive spirit. That is what I surmised then, and, to this day, I remain confident in that diagnosis and recommended course of treatment. I understand that Little A is now living happily as a mother.’
Continue reading the sampleClose the sample
Chapter One
The Old Woman’s Prayer
Shuhei Sasaki, May 19, 2014
In the window of an old apartment in a working-class Tokyo neighbourhood, a light glimmered despite the late hour.
The apartment’s sole resident was twenty-one-year-old Shuhei Sasaki, a college student. He really should have been cramming for exams or working on a résumé for his upcoming job search, but that night he found himself glued to his computer screen for an altogether different reason.
‘So, this must be the blog Kurihara was talking about,’ he muttered to himself.
Kurihara was a younger student. He and Sasaki were both members of the college Paranormal Club. That afternoon, Sasaki had run into him in the cafeteria, and they had ended up having lunch together. Sasaki had been too busy with job hunting lately to attend any club meetings, so he was eager to catch up with his clubmate after so long away.
After they’d brought each other up to date and discussed the upcoming overnight with the club, naturally the talk turned to their shared interest in the bizarre and unexplained.
‘So, Sasaki, have you gathered any intel lately?’
Kurihara wore an odd expression as he spoke. In their club, ‘gathering intel’ was code for watching or reading anything related to the paranormal.
‘None. I’ve been swamped. I haven’t seen any movies, read any books or even surfed online.’
‘All right then, I’ll put you onto something juicy. I just recently found a very strange blog.’
‘A blog? What about?’
‘It’s called Oh No, not Raku! At first glance, it’s perfectly innocent, but there’s something there. Something strange about it. I can guarantee a chill, at the very least, so do give it a look.’
‘Right . . .’
In Sasaki’s experience, Kurihara was an easy-going kind of guy. He always preferred to hang back and stay out of things. So, when he recommended something with such enthusiasm, Sasaki knew he couldn’t ignore it.
* * *
12 a.m. The only sound was the ticking of his clock. Sasaki gulped as he opened the blog Kurihara had told him about.
He felt . . . nostalgic, rather than nervous. Once, there had been so many blogs like this.
Ah, blogs. The concept now almost seemed quaint. Everyone had a different take on theirs. The blogs came in all sorts of styles: some simple diaries, some hobby sites, others outlets for political rants. . . . There was so much freedom to them, there had even been a time when you could find blogs ‘written by’ cats or rice spatulas. But these past few years, the fever had died down, and you found far fewer than before.
By the title alone, you’d assume the author was named Raku, but it was such an unusual, suggestive name. A pen name? Probably.
And that exaggerated ‘Oh no’ was such a weak attempt at humor. The kind of uninspired silliness that was the hallmark of your average diary.
The latest post flickered beneath the title. It was dated November 28, 2012. So, about a year and a half ago. Meaning the blog hadn’t been updated since.
It read:
‘To the one I love most’ 11/28/2012
I am going to stop updating this blog today.
I’ve finally figured out the secret of those three drawings.
I can’t imagine the kind of pain you must have been suffering.
Nor can I understand the depths of whatever sin you committed.
I cannot forgive you. But even so, I will always love you.
Raku
Sasaki read this short, disturbing entry over and over. The more he did, the deeper the mystery grew.
He couldn’t imagine what meaning lay behind the phrases ‘To the one I love most’, ‘the secret of those three drawings’ and ‘whatever sin you committed’.
So he scrolled down, skimming past entries to see if they could help him unravel the mystery. The first entry was dated October 13, 2008. It read:
‘Hello world!’ 10/13/2008
I’ve decided to start keeping a blog from today. So, I guess I should begin by introducing myself. My name is Raku.
I was going to post a photo of myself, but while I was setting it up, I was told it’s dangerous to post personal information on the web, so here’s a drawing instead.
It’s actually by my wife.
I’ll just call her Yuki. She’s six years older than me.
When I told her I was starting a blog, I asked if she would draw a picture of me to use instead of a photo, and it didn’t even take her five minutes. That’s what you get with a former pro illustrator! She’s so talented!
But I think maybe she made me look too handsome. . . .
So, anyway, this is going to be like a diary, just me writing whatever I happen to feel like.
I plan to post every day, so I hope you keep reading!
Raku
‘Anniversary’ 10/15/2008
Hi there, it’s Raku!
I know I promised I’d update every day, but I was just so beat yesterday I went to bed without writing. Sorry. I’ll do better from now on!
So, today, October 15th, is a very important day.
It’s our first wedding anniversary!
I bought a whole cake to celebrate. It was a little pricey, but so worth it!
I ended up devouring two pieces, before Yuki scolded me, ‘Don’t eat so much! You’ll get fat!’ She’s so mean! (SOB)
The last four slices went into the fridge. That’s tomorrow’s breakfast. I can’t wait!
Raku
The entries went like that, four or five a week. They were all pretty tame, ‘I ate so-and-so’ or ‘We went to do such-and-such’, and Sasaki found no hint of anything that could be the ‘sin’ or ‘pain’ mentioned in the final entry.
Along the way, though, the couple’s lives took a turn.
‘Announcement’ 12/25/2008
Hi there, it’s Raku!
So, Yuki woke up feeling unwell, and it seems she went to hospital to get checked out this morning.
And, wouldn’t you know it, they said she had a baby in there!
When Yuki told me, I was so happy I started jumping for joy! This is the best Christmas present ever!
So, I am hereby announcing that we are going to be a mummy and daddy!
Raku
From that point on, the blog was consumed by all things baby. Raku’s entries overflowed with emotional writing about his expected child, as well as with concern for Yuki’s condition.
‘Morning sickness sucks’ 1/3/2009
Yuki’s morning sickness was really bad again today, so she could barely eat any of the New Year’s leftovers.
All I can do is rub her back. I feel so powerless.
I’ve always heard that women start craving sour food when they have morning sickness, though I guess everyone’s different.
Anyway, Yuki said she thought she could eat yogurt without feeling sick.
And so, our fridge is now packed with yogurt.
And I’m off to the store to buy more!
Raku
‘Baby bump’ 2/8/2009
Today we are entering the 13th week of pregnancy.
But it seems morning sickness isn’t through with Yuki yet.
She ate a load of yogurt again today. She’s tried a lot of different varieties, but it seems that the kind with aloe chunks agrees with her stomach best.
And speaking of her belly, she’s really starting to show.
It’s like I can see how the baby is growing! I’m so happy!
Raku
‘Cherry blossoms’ 3/16/2009
Yuki has started feeling a lot better, so today we went out for the first time in a while.
We went to the neighbourhood park. The cherry blossoms were beautiful, although they haven’t reached full bloom yet.
We sat on a bench and talked about the baby.
Things like, ‘What kinds of classes should we sign them up for when they’re older?’ and ‘What anime should we watch with them first?’
We’re rushing things a little, but imagining our lives with the baby is so much fun.
I want to start thinking up names, but we’re going to wait until after we know if it’s a boy or a girl before we do too much of that. Although, sitting under the cherry blossoms, we both agreed that Sakura would be a good name for a girl.
Raku
Up to that point, the couple’s daily life had seemed one of endless sunshine.
But then, in May, when they’d passed the midpoint of Yuki’s pregnancy, clouds appeared on the horizon.
‘Ultrasound scan’ 5/18/2009
I had the day off from work today, so I took Yuki to her prenatal check-up.
It was so moving to get a first glimpse of the baby on the ultrasound!
But apparently it’s a breech baby.
I’ve heard that breech babies can cause problems when it comes time to deliver, so that made me nervous. But the baby is still small, and I’m told they still move around a lot at this stage, so I was relieved to hear the doctor say it would probably turn itself the right way. Phew!
But there was another surprise to come.
Because the baby was head up, its pubic area was hidden behind Yuki’s pelvic bone, so we still don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.
So, I guess we’ll have to pick a name without knowing!
Raku
A breech baby . . . that’s what they call it when a baby is positioned head up and feet down in the mother’s womb, the reverse of what usually happens. This discovery would go on to become a major issue for the couple.
‘Doing our best!’ 7/20/2009
We had another check-up.
The baby is still head up.
At this stage, apparently, it’s very rare for babies to turn around on their own, so I guess we have to do it ourselves.
They taught us some exercises to help turn a breech baby. Yuki is going to be doing them every day at home from now on.
And I’ll be there every step of the way, doing what I can to support her!
We’re doing our best!
Raku
‘Hot summer!’ 8/18/2009
We had another check-up today.
We’ve both been working hard at the exercises, but the baby is still the wrong way up.
Yuki seems to be taking it pretty hard.
But we were told that with proper preparation, she should be able to deliver her breech baby normally. We’re lucky we’ve got a veteran midwife on hand!
And so, it looks like we’ll have to wait until the baby is born to find out if it’s a boy or a girl! (LOL)
On the way home, we stopped by a cafe for juice.
Yuki got a refill. Twice! We’ve been having so many hot days, it’s no wonder she’s so thirsty lately.
And since she’s drinking for two, it must be hard to keep hydrated.
Raku
Then, on September 3rd, with the due date fast approaching, something seemed to change in Yuki.
‘Baby blues’ 9/3/2009
So, today Yuki suddenly broke down crying.
She didn’t answer when I asked why, so I was totally at a loss. . . .
Maybe this is what they call ‘baby blues’?
All I could do was sit there rubbing her back until she calmed down.
She could go into labour any time now, so I can’t imagine how much stress she’s feeling.
I really need to step up and be someone she can depend on. . . .
Raku
‘Baby picture’ 9/4/2009
Yuki has made a complete recovery from yesterday and is in high spirits!
And she also finally drew another picture!
It’s adorable! She said she had imagined what our baby might look like.
When I asked her why it was dressed like Santa, she said, ‘Because this baby is our Santa.’
It took me a while, but I finally clicked.
It’s because we found out she was pregnant on Christmas Day! And it’s already nine months later. . . . The time has gone by in a flash, but at the same time seems to have lasted forever. . . .
Raku
‘Visions of the future’ 9/5/2009
Yuki drew another picture today, like a sequel to yesterday’s!
She said this time it’s her idea of what the baby would look like when it’s a little older.
She called it a ‘vision of the future’.
Since the baby is still breech, we don’t know what sex it will be, so she says she drew it ambiguously on purpose.
Talk about a pro! Most people would never pay attention to little details like that.
And I just noticed this, but I wonder what the number down at the bottom means. Yesterday’s picture had one, too.
Yuki replied, ‘It’s a secret!’ when I asked. . . . I keep thinking, but I just can’t figure it out!
Raku
‘The spitting image’ 9/6/2009
We had soba noodles delivered for dinner tonight.
Mine had shrimp tempura. It was delicious!
So, Yuki drew another vision of the future for me today.
It’s the baby all grown up!
Isn’t it cool how her hair is blowing in the wind?
Yuki said that when she was drawing it, she was hoping that, if the baby’s a girl, this is how she grows up to be.
She’s the spitting image of Yuki herself! If she really does take after Yuki, she’s going to be a beauty.
I guess she’s going to draw the boy version tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it!
Raku
‘The spitting image . . . ?’ 9/7/2009
There are only three more days until the due date!
I’m worried about the delivery, but we are all so excited to meet the baby!
Now, on to today’s vision of the future, the baby all grown up (boy version).
Yuki says, ‘I made him look like his dad.’
No way, I’m not nearly that good-looking! But I’m happy she thinks so. . . .
Raku
‘Prayer’ 9/8/2009
Just two more days!
We’re all ready, so everything will be fine no matter when contractions start.
Yuki seems nervous. But she still drew another picture!
She says that keeping her hands busy calms her down.
Today’s vision of the future is a distant one. Apparently, it’s supposed to be the baby as an old woman. She’s dressed all in white, and praying, I guess?
When the baby is that age, I suppose the two of us will already be gone. . . .
But I shouldn’t be such a downer! (LOL)
I bet tomorrow will be a granddad picture. I’m excited!
Raku
‘Tomorrow’s the day!’ 9/9/2009
The due date is tomorrow.
I started getting all worked up this evening, but Yuki just laughed at me. ‘Calm down,’ she said.
Women really are so much stronger at times like this.
I guess she’s all prepared.
But still, it looks like she wasn’t in the mood to draw a picture today. I feel bad for expecting her to do one, actually. Sorry!
I imagine we’re going to be pretty busy over the next few days, so I’m going to be taking a break from blogging.
I’m sure my next post will be a birth announcement!
Take care, everyone!
Raku
The next entry was posted about a month later.
‘Announcement’ 10/11/2009
So. It has been a while. This is Raku.
I have finally pulled myself together and am ready to let everyone know.
Yuki is gone.
The baby was born safely. Yuki’s contractions started on the due date, and we rushed to the hospital.
Everything was going fine at first, but after a few hours of pushing, the baby wouldn’t come. Then Yuki took a turn for the worse, and they had to perform an emergency caesarean.
They managed to save the baby, but Yuki passed away on the table.
The last month has flown by.
What with Yuki’s funeral and taking care of the baby, I haven’t really had time to grieve.
But sitting here, alone, writing this, the tears are falling.
It’s hard, but I have to be strong for my baby.
I will do my best to raise our child.
Raku
Sasaki sat, stunned, staring at the screen. His heart was overflowing with emotions, but he had no way to deal with them. Yuki and Raku were, of course, complete strangers to him. He’d only started reading this blog out of curiosity.
But as he was scrolling through the entries, at some point he’d found himself emotionally involved. And now he was feeling a kind of loss he’d never experienced before.
What kind of life awaited them, the father and child left behind?
Sasaki couldn’t help wondering about their futures. He was desperate to see Raku carry on after Yuki’s death and find happiness raising their child.
With that prayer in his heart, he clicked the ‘Read next entry’ link.
The page appeared.
When he saw the title, Sasaki blinked in disbelief.
‘To the one I love most’ 11/28/2012
I am going to stop updating this blog today.
I’ve finally figured out the secret of those three drawings.
I can’t imagine the kind of pain you must have been suffering.
Nor can I understand the depths of whatever sin you committed.
I cannot forgive you. But even so, I will always love you.
Raku
That was the very first entry he’d read.
In other words, after the announcement of his wife’s death on October 11th 2009, Raku hadn’t posted for three years, until he suddenly broke his silence with this entry. Sasaki read it once more.
‘The one I love most . . .’ That must mean Yuki. You would think, then, that the post was addressed to his deceased wife.
‘Whatever sin you committed . . .’ There was nothing in the blog hinting at Yuki committing any transgression.
‘I cannot forgive you.’ What could his beloved wife have done that he couldn’t forgive?
‘The secret of those three drawings . . .’ These must be the ‘visions of the future’ that Yuki had drawn as her due date approached.
So, a talented artist drew some pictures of her unborn child’s imagined future. It was an unusual thing to do, perhaps, but not particularly odd. Sasaki could only believe that, as she drew them, Yuki was full of hope that her child would live a long, healthy life.
But Raku had looked at three of those five drawings and discovered some hidden secret. What could it possibly be? Sasaki had the feeling he was standing clueless before some kind of maddeningly difficult puzzle.
But it wasn’t that he didn’t have any hints. There were those numbers written in the margins of the pictures.
Each of the five drawings had its own number somewhere. When Raku asked what they meant, Yuki had dodged the question, saying, ‘It’s a secret!’ They seemed like the key to the whole thing.
Sasaki turned on his printer and printed out the drawings. He arranged them sequentially: (1) Baby, (2) Old woman, (3) Adult (woman), (4) Child, (5) Adult (man), but the chronology was all mixed up.
‘It starts with the baby . . . Skips to old woman, then back to child . . . And adult again? That doesn’t make any sense. . . .’
Sasaki sighed and lay down on the floor. He looked out the window and saw the sky was already lightening. It would soon be dawn.
‘I have to get a bit of sleep. . . .’
He decided to squeeze in a nap before his ten-thirty lecture.
* * *
The student cafeteria was always packed after twelve. If you wanted to grab a seat, you had to make it in while the hour hand still hovered in ‘eleven’ territory. Sasaki slid out of his morning lecture just a tad early and ran for the cafeteria.
He wasn’t after lunch, though. He was after Kurihara.
The rush paid off, and the tables were still empty. He looked around for Kurihara but . . . No luck. It seemed he wasn’t there yet.
As Sasaki was thinking he should go ahead and get his lunch ticket, someone slapped him on the shoulder.
‘Sasaki! We meet again. I saw you tearing across the campus just now. Are you starving, or what?’
It was Kurihara.
The two picked up plates of rice and curry, then sat across from each other at a table.
‘Hey, Kurihara, I read that blog you told me about.’
‘It’s quite the puzzler, right?’
‘It really is. I barely got any sleep last night. I keep thinking about it, but I can’t figure it out. It’s so weird.’
‘I know!’
‘I mean, if it wasn’t for that last entry, it would be a fairly common, if tragic, domestic story.’
‘Would it?’ Kurihara asked, and his eyes flashed. Sasaki couldn’t help but flinch.
‘Sasaki . . . I agree that the last entry is creepy, true enough. But that’s hardly the only creepy thing. There’s something off about the whole story.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Well, for example . . . The entries after the birth were all deleted.’
‘Wait, what was deleted?’
‘You can tell by reading the last entry. Hold on a minute.’
Kurihara opened his bag and took out a bundle of stapled sheets of A4 paper. He put the bundle on the table, and Sasaki saw it was a printout of the blog.
‘Wait, Kurihara . . . Did you seriously print out the whole blog?’
‘Of course! I wanted to be able to read it on the way to school so I could figure it out.’
‘To the one I love most’ 11/18/2012
I am going to stop updating this blog today.
I’ve finally figured out the secret of those three drawings.
I can’t imagine the kind of pain you must have been suffering.
Nor can I understand the depths of whatever sin you committed.
I cannot forgive you. But even so, I will always love you.
Raku
‘So, it says, “I am going to stop updating this blog today.” This is the crucial line. Usually, when a person swears to “stop doing X today,” it’s understood that the action has, until now, been habitual. Like, if someone announces, “Today, I’m quitting smoking,” it’s obvious that they had been smoking up to the day before. So, in the same way, the line “I am going to stop updating this blog today” implies that Raku had been updating the blog fairly regularly up to this point.’
‘But, from the entry before—the one where he announces that Yuki died, right?—from there to this entry there’s a gap of almost three years that’s unaccounted for. That got me thinking. I bet Raku kept updating the blog regularly during those years. But then he must have deleted all of those entries, for some reason.’
‘Hmm . . .’
‘Deleting a blog isn’t that unusual. I mean, I deleted my Evangelion analysis blog I kept back in middle school. But the way Raku did it is a little odd. He left the entries from when his wife was alive but deleted the ones about his child. . . . There’s something kind of off there. I can’t figure out his motive.’
‘Now that you say it, there is something strange about it . . . And it went right over my head.’
‘There are other weird things, too. Here, read the entry for October 15th.’
‘Anniversary’ 10/15/2008
Hi there, it’s Raku!
I know I promised I’d update every day, but I was just so beat yesterday I went to bed without writing. Sorry. I’ll do better from now on!
So, today, October 15th, is a very important day.
It’s our first wedding anniversary!
I bought a whole cake to celebrate. It was a little pricey, but so worth it!
I ended up devouring two pieces before Yuki scolded me, “Don’t eat so much! You’ll get fat!’ She’s so mean! (SOB)
The last four slices went into the fridge. That’s tomorrow’s breakfast. I can’t wait!
Raku
‘All right, Sasaki, here’s a pop quiz for you. How many pieces of cake did Yuki eat?’
‘Um . . . She went after Raku for eating too much when he had two, so it’s safe to assume she only ate one, right?’
‘Right. If she’d had two, Raku could have shot back, “You’re one to talk!” And so, that day, Yuki had one piece, and Raku had two. He said there were four slices left over, making a total of seven. Which would mean they served a cake cut into seven pieces. Isn’t that weird?’
‘Yeah, it is. Most people would divide a round cake like that evenly.’
‘Exactly. I think it’s safe to assume that the cake that day was cut into eight pieces. Yuki had one, Raku had two and there were four left over. That makes seven. . . . So, what do you think happened to the other one?’
‘Uh . . .’
‘Someone else must have eaten it. Haven’t you sensed that someone else, besides the two of them, is living in that house?’
‘What?! Come on, aren’t you reading too much into this? Like, Raku probably just wrote the wrong number somewhere.’
‘This isn’t an unfounded assumption, of course. You can catch hints of this unseen third person in other entries. Let’s go back to the very first one.’
‘Hello world!’ 10/13/2008
I’ve decided to start keeping a blog from today. So, I guess I should begin by introducing myself. My name is Raku.
I was going to post a photo of myself, but while I was setting it up, I was told it’s dangerous to post personal information on the web, so here’s a drawing instead.
It’s actually by my wife.
I’ll just call her Yuki. She’s six years older than me.
When I told her I was starting a blog, I asked if she would draw a picture of me to use instead of a photo, and it didn’t even take her five minutes. That’s what you get with a former pro illustrator! She’s so talented!
But I think maybe she made me look too handsome. . . .