Foreigner of Fire

5 - Painting and Poetry

The brush strokes against the canvas were weak and amateur but it was heartfelt and with love. More dips in the water, more circles in the palette, a few strokes on the side of the palette before the brush went on the canvas – as instructed by the tutor.

"Relax your wrist." Ash advised. Lily took the brush off the canvas and rotated her wrist a few times to relax it. "Now, mix some water onto that red." He instructed. She listened to him without another word and obeyed. "When you paint, try to start from the side that would be most shaded and just slowly follow that fade-out to white effect towards the lighter areas."

"Okay." Lily nodded and tried to follow his instructions but her hand slipped and a bit of colour dripped out of line. "Oh, no!"

"It's fine. Here, you improvise. Or try to drown that colour out as best as you can." Ash walked over with a tissue in his hand and dabbed the canvas carefully. Lily looked at Ash as he carefully worked on her canvas and wondered if he really was the womanising player she assumed him to be. "Like I'd drown in pu – "

"SHUT UP!" She near screamed, catching the attention of half the other campers around as Ash laughed. Nope. He was still exactly what she thought he was.

"I'm for real though. I'd like to drown in you." He winked.

"Very flattering." Lily smiled passive-aggressively before letting her smile fade. "But your charm's not working on me."

"Damn it." He cursed before smirking at her. "Get back to painting though, missy." He cocked his head over at the canvas and Lily shook her head before getting back at it again.

"Aren't you working on the poem?" She asked him while engrossed in the work.

"Yeah. I am." He assured her. "Hey – no! Wait! Stop!" He grabbed her hand before the brush could touch the canvas as she tried to touch up in white. "Don't ever use white."

"Why?" Lily frowned curiously. Ash let go of her hand and took the brush from her, dipping it into the water container and swirling the brush around.

"White is never matte. It may look matte when you first apply, but after it dries," he shook his head disapprovingly. "It's going to look like a dull version with the colour underneath showing through. Besides, what you're trying to paint is cream, not white."

"Okay..." She believed him. "So what do I do now?" She asked.

"Now, you leave that alone to dry. We can re-continue tomorrow." Ash grabbed his button-down shirt and smoothed it down, taking his notebook and pen off the desk and helping Lily carry the palettes and brushes to the sink. He taught her how to place brushes and they left the cabin together, heading towards the lake. "Mind helping me out with the poem?"

"Sure." She smiled at him. "Let me see what you've got."

"I actually don't have anything. I made sure I threw any sample papers in the bin of the craft room before we got out." Ash had a poker face on. Lily sighed and took out her journal from her handbag. She opened up her journal and showed him a page, taking her pencil and drawing scribbles while she taught.

"Each 4 lines make 1 stanza. Not all lines have to rhyme. You can pick any rhyming scheme – or even change the one you picked." Lily's scribbles on the paper go unseen as Ash is lost on her face. He notes the teeniest crook at the end of the bridge on her nose and the excess hair at the end of her eyebrows. She looked so make up free and natural that he couldn't tear his eyes off. "What are you doing?" Lily snapped when she noticed, knocking Ash out of his trance.

"Whoa. Sorry." He mumbles, turning to the book. The lines she had drawn all over the paper had doubled – no, tripled – and the nostalgic feeling of being in a math lesson repeated itself, where you look away for a second while the teacher writes a number on the board and you look back to find the whole board filled. "That...Is a lot to keep up with..."

"I majored in English and Literature." She announced.

"I know." He caught his words only after he had said them. "I mean – I can tell." He threw a quick save. Lily didn't seem to have noticed his slip up.

"So, anyway," she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear and this caught Ash's attention. She looked back at him and he got lost into her tranquilizing violet eyes. Ash contemplated on whether to follow through with his next move or not and leaned in, raising his hand to cup her face.

Lily moved away in the nick of time and turned away from him. He stopped, rejected and sighed.

"Sorry." He managed.

"It's..." She replied to him in a quiet voice. "Fine." She closed her notebook and put it into her bag before getting up. "Seems like you have enough tips. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Why not tonight?" He questioned, getting up after her as she began to walk away.

"I need some time to clear my mind." Lily lied. The truth was that when he leaned in just moments ago, half of her actually tried to keep still. Half of her wanted him to kiss her and she felt her body weaken just for a split second. It almost gave in.

She felt excited and blushed as she walked back towards her cabin. What was happening to her?