Tulip's Destiny

Epilogue - Tulip's Destiny

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Raine sprung up her bed to the sound of her phone's alarm. She reached for her phone from the bedside table, half-awake,  one eye still drooping from sleepiness. Immediately, she got up in a scurry reading the time, and seeing 15 missed calls.

"Shoot! I'm late!" Raine exclaimed to herself rushing to the bathroom for a quick bath. She slipped in a formal bodycon white dress highlighting her figure even more, matching the ensemble with black heels and red lips, putting her hair in a low bun.

"Ahhh! I forgot! The car's at the Casa!" She squealed, stomping her heels hard then rushed outside running to get a cab. Her phone. After getting in a cab, she realized that she forgot her phone on the kitchen counter. Raine considered going back but she'll be late, more late than she is if she were to go back.

"Why does it have to be today? When will the traffic ever stop following me?!" Raine thought to herself looking over the driver's view of lined cars almost like they're parked, not moving a single inch.

Impatient she paid the cab and ran her way to the streets, people were already staring at her. Then Raine took her heels off running even faster, carrying it, turning to the street corner she bumped into a man pushing him to the side. But there was something that made her stopped, something pulling her in and look at him. His scent... smells familiar. Nevertheless she had to go.

"Sorry! Got to go!" Raine screamed, picking up her pace again.It was not long after, She reached the gallery, breathing deeply busting the back door, "I- I'm h-here."

"Goodness, Ms. Lorraine! Where have you been?!"

"I'm sorry, I overslept and the car..." She couldn't even finish her sentence when the curator pulled her by the arm straightening her clothes for her and brushed up her hair in a swift second.

After a short ceremony, cameras clicked from all directions as Raine stood at the door welcoming the guests. Her exhibit is aptly titled "Philippine Treasures", it is an exhibition of landscapes from around different regions in the Philippines, showcasing the beauty of the country at the center of the exhibition's appeal.

She looked around for familiar faces among the smiling crowd but was immediately turned down seeing none. Raine had invited her parents and some of her closest friends, but she brushed off the sadness assuming they couldn't make it.

After what seemed like an eternity smiling and looking over everybody, guests started greeting her. "Congratulations! They're all magnificent!" A woman smiled, shaking hands with her. "You'll go places," a man added, smiling.

"Thank you." Raine continued to interact with the guests, praising her works. After sometime the crowd began to leave, there were now only a few people in the gallery, almost all the paintings hanging were "SOLD" or "RESERVED".

She was staring at one particular painting, it was at the center, the curator already told her that the portrait was out of place among all the other paintings but after some convincing the curator agreed. Raine dedicated the portrait to someone that inspired her the most during her dark days. It was also her first ever painting.

The portrait was that of a man, his eyes piercing, mesmerizing as the sea although his eyes weren't his only captivating feature but the man itself that owned it. His face chiseled and pale, calm, his smile comforting.

"Blauw van mijn dromen" the plate read, meaning Bleu of my dreams.

"A true masterpiece...!" She heard a man's voice from behind her. "I know right." Raine unconsciously replied, proud of her most priced masterpiece. Then the man said, "How much?" her back still turned on the man.