Missing Things - FIRST DRAFT

a message from across the void and far away

Carl was the first person to arrive at Krista's on Friday night. Even Sarah, Krista's wife, was out getting last-minute groceries.

"You told me not to be late," Carl said after Krista let him into the house. "I took it seriously."

"I assumed you would have taken it seriously the way Neil and Leandra take it seriously," Krista said. "They both texted me at seven twenty-nine to tell me they were running late and would be here at eight o'clock."

Carl laughed. "So you told me to be here at seven and to text if I was going to be more than half an hour late fully assuming I would be an hour late?"

"Yes," Krista said, smiling.

Carl laughed.

Krista motioned to him to follow her. "Come. I'll get you something to drink while you wait."

She lead him into the house. There were several canvases hanging on the wall in the hallway.

"Are these all yours?" Carl asked.

"They are," Krista said.

"I didn't know you painted," Carl said. "I see you sketching in the coffee shop, but you didn't show anything at the meet-and-greet so I assumed you didn't."

He stopped in front of a series of paintings of the night sky. "These are beautiful," he said.

"Thank you! I call these five Star Series. I painted them when Sarah and I were up at her sister's cottage years ago, before the pandemic. The sky was so clear and there were so many stars I felt I could see forever, which I guess I could since I was looking backward in time at a star that might not actually be where I expected it to be anymore."

Krista winked at Carl and he smiled.

"But I haven't done anything new lately," she continued. "Setting up the coffee shop and the art space has consumed all of my time and energy. You need time to feel in order to create and I haven't had much time to feel anything except my aching feet." She laughed.

Carl smiled and looked back at the Star Series. "I really like this one," Carl said, pointing at the third painting in the series. "I like the way this star stands out against the Milky Way. There's something about it that feels like it's calling to me."

Krista smiled at her painting. "I'm happy you like it. I got a lot of negative feedback for it when I showed it. It was criticized for not being realistic enough. They said that because there's no star that stands out this much from the Milky Way, it destroyed the illusion of verisimilitude or something. I don't know. It depressed me enough that I didn't want to show again. It's a massive act of courage to show your work to people, even if it's just a painting of a night sky, because it's still showing them a part of you. It isn't just the night sky; it's the night sky as I experienced it on that day, and I wanted others to experience it with me. And to be told that it was subpar was heartbreaking. But I continued showing because I wanted to share this part of myself with people and to reach out to them across the void the way that little star was reaching out with its light across the void. And if I reach even one person, I'm happy." She smiled at Carl. "I'm happy it spoke to you. I actually thought of this painting when you told me about your gender, and I thought to myself, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if he felt a connection to this painting?' And you did! Thank you. It means a lot."

Carl smiled at Krista. "It means a lot to me, too."

They heard the front door open and turned to look at who it was.

"Look who I found on my way in!" Sarah said, walking through the front door.

"Leandra and Neil!" Leandra and Neil shouted from behind her.

"Now it's a party!" Leandra exclaimed.