At End's Gate

FAKING A SMILE

That evening Paige drove home a bit shaken. Her dream had actually affected her more than she chose to believe. She drove into the car park that was by the City Square. She wanted to calm herself down and the only place that helped her in times of questioning her sanity was the Redstone Art Museum. She went into the Museum and started walking down the hall, admiring the paintings on the wall. She stopped walking, to closely view a painting of eagle. The painting seemed complex but at the same time, had a simple feel to it. She quickly understood that the painting represented the need for self freedom. The majestic bird naturally represented freedom but the way the artist painted it showed the need to attain such freedom. She knew that despite the fact of living in a paradise self freedom was the hardest thing to obtain. The freedom within one's self was probably the hardest thing to come by especially in her case. She wasn't feeling as strong as she used to ever since having her nightmare. She was actually afraid of sleeping again. The thought of losing her brothers was just too painful for her to easily ignore and continue on. She continued walking down the hall until she heard a voice calling from behind her," Young lady can you leave. We're about to close."

She turned," Okay. You're new. What happened to Mr Michaels?"

"He's still the Museum guide but he was given a short break until his leg heals."

"Oh no! What happened to him?" Paige asked with an alarmed look.

"No. He's fine. He just hurt his leg trying to fix his satellite dish on his roof."

"But he's too old to do that," Paige pointed out.

"That's what we thought," the man said chuckling, " I'm his replacement for the time being. My name is Edgar White."

"Paige Sanders," she said giving the man a handshake, " Are you related to a Conner White."

"Yes I'm his father."

"Oh. I'm sorry. It's actually embarrassing that we're neighbours but we barely know each other."

"It's okay. Living in such a society where everything is catered for and everyone one is busy, people barely have a chance to interact," he said smiling," How do you know Conner?"

"We learn together," Paige answered.

"Oh. Okay. Conner barely talks about the pretty girls he learns with at school. That boy is always too serious," Edgar said laughing.

Paige finally smiled. " There's a smile finally," the tall grey haired man said with a laugh. Paige looked at the man. He had a striking resemblance to his son. The same eye colour, the same impeccable style. The man wasn't wearing clothes that seemed expensive but they looked good on him. "It's a smile but it's rather fake. Why?" Edgar asked.

"It's not fake. I'm fine."

"Child I've lived down here for a while to know the difference between someone who is happy and someone who is conflicted."

Paige shrugged but had nothing to say.

"Okay since you're a neighbour I'll give you a few minutes of walking down the hall before we close. Paige walked ahead for a while until she stumbled across a painting that fascinated her. Mr White followed behind her to tell her that her time was up. He saw her looking at the painting. "Fascinating isn't it?"

"Yes, but why doesn't it have the name of the artist?"

"I don't know. I guess it was just for the mystery of it," he replied with a smile that made her know that Mr White didn't want to give her the real answer.

She continued looking at the painting. The painting was strange. It had men who seemed to be playing a game but some of them were bleeding. "I can't figure out this painting. What does it mean?"

Mr White cleared his throat, "It's a game that was played during the war period. The kings would play for colonies thus the people you see bleeding, simply representing their suppression."

"Ho okay."

"Let's go, your time is up," Mr White said as he began to walk away.

Paige stood there for a while until she was sure that Mr White wasn't looking. She quickly took a photo of the painting with her cellphone. She rushed to the main entrance, thanked Mr White for the assistance and left. She wanted something to keep her preoccupied so as to not dwell too much on her current misdemeanor. She looked at the time and saw it was almost time for dinner. She rushed back home.

This chapter was very important to me. We all have those times when we hide our pains behind a smile. That is okay. We all do it. Feel free to comment on your views about that.