The Van Helsing Conjecture – Excerpt No. 171

28 February 2025

It took more effort to find a needle and thread than it did the dress. All the while her clients were making their rounds, hoping for more than a passing glimpse. The idea of living off the proceeds of sex caused her tummy to fill up with bile… or is it because of my empty stomach…

Clara burped, the acid burning its way up through her oesophagus. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, which was happening all too often of late.

A warm, cinematic photograph of a woman with rich, chestnut-brown hair, worn in a soft, elegant updo, and piercing grey eyes, scanning every nook and cranny of her cozy, dimly lit 1915 Canadian coastal mining town home, clad in a long, high-necked, button-fronted blouse with puffed sleeves, a high-waisted, floor-length skirt, and worn apron, searching intently for a needle and thread amidst the clutter of worn furniture, antique trinkets, and scattered sewing scraps, with a soft, gaslit glow casting warm shadows on the rustic wooden walls and floors, and a faint misty atmosphere evoking the rugged, seaside location outside.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.