Through An Artist's Eyes - Book 1 - Raphael x OC x Leonardo

THE BIG APPLE || CHAPTER 2

I woke up thinking it was daylight but was quite surprised when I woke up in the hustle and bustle of New York City. The Big Apple. Seeing all the lights of the city changing night into day. Instead of trees, there were now tall skyscrapers and buildings. There were no trees or nature in sight. Only glass, metal and brick. It was very foreign to me, the gothic farm girl.

Our new home is next to a substation on Broadway Street, a place that my Dad got for us. I am starting my courses to study next year. My world revolves around fine art and art history. My passion was always the arts — seeing colors combined to make something out of nothing. My art style changed throughout my life. Recently, I've been more into Surrealism. My favorite artist during this era of Surrealism is Salvador Dali. He uses a combination of realism and fantasy. Something out of a person's imagination and dreams. Classes will be in a couple of months. Until then, I must get my portfolio ready. I hoped the new city would inspire me. I need to submit a sequence of three paintings that tell a story.

We stopped in the parking lot of the apartment block. A brick-faced building with a bit of graffiti on the side. I sighed already, thinking of the farmhouse. I missed the countryside. The smell of oil, water and smoke filled the air here. I won't be able to take deep breaths here. I would be coughing up quite a storm if I tried.

With a struggle, we all got out of the car. We didn't take any breaks with the move and our legs are sore and stiff to be in the same position. I felt the pins and needles throb in my neck when I fell asleep in a very uncomfortable position in the car. 'Very smart idea to fall asleep on the front passenger seat,' I thought to myself sarcastically. We started walking up the stairs towards the top floor.

It was a loft apartment with a huge kitchen. Carly will thrive in this kitchen. She took over the role of being the 'chef' in the house after our Mom passed. Then there was the empty lounge area next to the kitchen. I entered the loft and checked the rooms. I asked Carly which room she preferred.

"I want the bedroom closest to the kitchen," Carly answered my question. She sounded a lot more excited than me. She was always more open to city life. I gave a fake smile and took the bedroom closest to the window and the fire escape. If I needed to get away from it all, I could easily climb up to the roof and see the views.

My Dad, of course, took the last bedroom. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom. We waited for the movers to start bringing our furniture and boxes upstairs. Slowly but surely, we started unpacking the boxes one by one. We tried to make this new and empty loft into a home. I hoped we could have happy memories here.

The caretaker introduced himself as Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee was a short, old Chinese man with a bit of stubble on his chin and his gray-white hair crowning on top of his head. I could see in his old gray eyes that he had a young spirit and a lot of wisdom. His whole demeanor reminded me of a grandfather, with the old sleeveless green cardigan covering his short-sleeved white button-up shirt and brown trousers with some stains on them. His wrinkles carry a lot of what he has done in his life.

"Yes, Kawakami family, I am Mr. Lee." He said it with a slight accent. I tried to place a fake smile on my face as my Dad introduced me and my sister to Mr. Lee.

"These are my daughters, Alison and Carly. Alison and Carly, this is Mr. Lee. The caretaker," my Dad introduced us. My Dad pulled Carly next to him. I was out of reach. I just nodded and made a shy wave toward Mr. Lee as a greeting. I have no social skills and my sarcasm is a bit on the thick side.

My sister was her bubbly self. She is the extrovert in the family. I am an introvert. My ying to my yang. Or is it the other way around?

"Welcome to our apartment block." Mr. Lee stated this and handed my Dad the keys and two sets of spare keys to the loft. The extra two sets of keys are for Carly and me.

"Be very careful. There is lots of Foot Clan activity in this area." Mr. Lee stated this while I was busy packing out the photo frames from one box. Photos of my Mom with her smiling face scattered on the floor. I slowly started turning them around to face the floor. I didn't want to burst into tears in front of a stranger.

This piqued my interest in what Mr. Lee mentioned — trying to distract myself from my Mom's photos. I've never heard of the Foot Clan and I've never heard my Dad or Carly talk about them. I was curious. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. And I tend to be the cat.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lee, who is the Foot Clan?" My question took Mr. Lee aback. After a few mumbles I assumed were Chinese, Mr. Lee answered my question.

"The Foot Clan is a dangerous criminal organization that steps on the good citizens of New York City, dear." Mr. Lee gave me a short answer.

In a way, it didn't answer my question completely. Just a basic answer. A way to say: don't look into this matter any further.

After most of the boxes were moved in and the furniture was placed, my Dad ordered us some pizzas to enjoy from the pizzeria, Antonio's. It was a long and exhausting day for all of us. We said good night to each other and went to our separate bedrooms.

I couldn't sleep. I was wide awake. The sleep-in-the-car ride didn't help me much earlier. I walked to my window, overlooking the busy street below. The rain started falling into intricate patterns on my bedroom window. I was busy tracing with my finger on the window where the raindrops were forming intricate paths. I missed the countryside all over again. The bonfires, the smell of toasted marshmallows, grilling meats on the fire and enjoying the stories my Mom used to share with Carly and me. A lightning bolt struck, brightening my view for a split second, breaking my thoughts and I thought I saw four silhouettes jumping from one roof to the other. I blinked and whatever it was, it was gone.

"My imagination is getting the better of me again," I muttered to myself and aimed for my bed. I then fell asleep after a few tosses and turns.