My Escort

24 - The Art

Song: Sia - Eye Of The Needle
~my bags heavy, being filled by me. They weigh me down, carry them round.~

Fun Fact; Sia is my favourite singer!

***

My sister Jas, is 12 weeks pregnant! Yes, which means that she has a whole little human living inside her. I've never seen a brighter smile on her face. Actually, its the first time seeing her so excited about anything at all. She wasn't even this happy to get married and that's understandable being that she agreed please side of the family. Even her wedding, I never saw this much excitement radiating from her. I'm beyond happy for her and I'm going to be here for her every step of the way on this new journey.

Our lives couldn't have been more blessed. I've never seen so many of us so happy all at once.

Except for this one problem that has surfaced from the pits of hell.

Mark.

After that event 5 days ago, Austin arranged flights for everyone to leave L.A and back to their homes. My parents and I somehow managed to create some time in between to sit down together as a family and have dinner. They spent quality time with me then with Jasmine separately and then all of us; a strategy of trying to rebuild a bond as a family in every way possible. I'm so happy we could do this, at one point I've gotten used to not being close with my family anymore and that's not a thing I'm proud of.

I hate the fact that we allow our busy lives to come before our family and I hate it even more that we have to fight to make time for each other. Well at least now, destiny has brought us all together, finally making it possible for us to come up with some serious adjustments to our schedules so that we can plan time for each other as of now. I thanked Austin for making this possible but of course he won't take the credit.

"Wanna take a tour of the city?" Austin asks me.

"I still need to tour this damn house." I deadpan which earns a laugh from him.

"You have a lifetime for that, sweet pea. Come on, let's go for a drive."

"Okay, let me freshen up. Yeah?"

***

While driving through the city, looking out the windows like a happy poodle who's just been adopted, an art museum catches my eyes. Austin and I both share a mutual love for art.

"Stop the car. Let's go in there." I suggest.

We enter the desired building to find out that there's an art gallery going on. There's a number of persons here and snacks and refreshments stacked around.

Austin and I glance around at the iconic paintings done by different, great artists.

One of the paintings catches my eyes and I can't help myself from staring at it in admiration. It's almost like it's calling me, I feel like I'm apart of it.

A woman seeming to be carrying a massive load on her back. Head held down, back bent forward. She looks like she's struggling, distressed. The color details is as if she's fading away, losing herself slowly. Behind her seems to be a ray of darkness.

"Excuse me. I have to take this outside." Austin notifies, answering a call right away.

I barely wave him off, indicating that it's fine while my focus and my eyes are still fixated on the painting. Trying to figure it out, I take a step closer to it.

"Sometimes the weight we carry is never physical." A voice that I'm not familiar with echoes through my concentration.

I turn around to the sight of a tall, handsome, dark haired man.

"What?"

"The bags we carry are most times not filled with physical items. Mental weight tends to consume us 10 times more than physical weight. We choose not to deal with it, instead, we carry it in our hearts, thinking it will just leave. We might act fine but sometimes there's always a darkness inside that never leaves unless we face it."

I turn around facing the painting again, thinking about what this apparently wise man just said. Why does it sound so similar? Why is it making perfect sense?

"I'm Nathan." He speaks up to regain my attention and I turn around to find him extending an arm.

"Yas." I say shaking his hand, noticing a firm yet gentle grip of his own.

"You seem intrigued by it?"

"Actually, I think I am." I admit, still staring at the painting, trying to find out why. "It's funny how one painting can tell a complete story that the human mind can't even put in words." I add.

"Well, that's the idea. All my works are straight from the heart and personal experiences. To me, it gives it more life and meaning."

"You did this?" I gesture to the painting, raising a surprised brow.

"Yes I did." He humbly responds with a small smile.

I turn around to face him. "How much?"

"Well, it's kind of a lot." His smile becomes sheepish.

"How much?" I repeat.

"$5,000.00."

"I'll take it."

"Really?" His eyes slightly widening as if he's shocked and I return a slight glare.

"I'm sorry, it's my first time selling a painting so expensive."

"You take cheques?"

"Yes."

I reach in my purse for my cheque book and pen and write him the check and he removes the painting from the wall.

"It was nice doing business with you." He tells me.

"What did you say your name was?" I feel the need to know.

"It's Nathan."

"Nathan, do you have a card?"

"Sure!" He reaches in his jacket and hands me his business card, I collect it, stuffing it somewhere in my purse.

While walking out, Austin's coming back in. "Leaving already?" He asks.

"Yes."

"What's this?" He gestures to my painting..

"A painting." I state the obvious and he shrugs.

We tour the city a little more before heading home. When we get home, I take the painting into the attic, placing it on the wall.

I sit here staring at it for about 30 minutes. What is it about this painting? I keep observing it, forgetting about everything else.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you." Austin's voice cuts through the stifling silence but my focus remains on the painting, ignoring him. "Are you okay?" He asks.

"I'm fine." I say softly.

"No, you're acting differently. Something's not right." He presses but I ignore him.

He looks at the painting and observes it for a minute before redirecting his focus to me, taking my hands in his. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No." I force a smile, walking out of the attic leaving him alone in there.

***

I wonder what is going through Yas's mind. why is she so suddenly captivated and weirdly attached to the painting? Stick around for more.
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Xoxo babies!