Disappearance : A Freewrite

As the days wore on, residents of Anchor City fondly recalled their interactions with Malcolm prior to his disappearance. They spoke of his gentle benevolence, his quadrennial devotion to his craftmanship, and the solipsistic life he had decided upon. Quite a few recollected a glimmer of deep sorrow in Malcolm's optics, a gloom that had troubled him for a long while.

Gossip blew around like a whirlwind of leaves. Had Malcolm's artistry taken him beyond the people's reach? Some gossiped that he had merged with his bewitching works, entranced in a land of hues and fantasies. Others believed a siren had tempted him away with the very charms he had set loose.

Mulberry, making the most of the situation, used these whispers to create more confusion and disarray. She intimated that Malcolm had been carefree, that his haughtiness spurred him off course, and that maybe his sorceries were really an affliction under the surface. Anchor City, already doggedly seeking to unravel the enigma of his vanishing, could not stop themselves from asking if her words held any accuracy.