Painting Dusk

Prologue

The sky is but a taintless canvas, everyday it is painted. The sun,the moon,the stars and the wandering clouds of different colors, colliding towards each other, from the faintest of whites to the direst forlorn shades creating harmony of a beautiful masterpiece.

My life is like the sky without the sun, the moon,the stars and the clouds. Taintless and plain illuminated and darkened but never colorful. I wait for dawn and seek twilight, a repeating cycle an endless fight.

It was always like that...

" Stendhal syndrome, a psychosomatic condition that involves rapid beating of the heart, hallucination and even emotional break down caused by an intensive feeling of connection towards a beautiful piece of art "

A deep baritone voice said from beside me. Tumingin ako sa paligid para hanapin ang kausap niya pero wala akong nakita, it was just the two of us. He had been there at this time of the hour for days with his sketch pad and some art materials. Kaunti lang ang taong may alam at may access sa lugar na ito but I did not mind because he also did not.  Well.. He didn't

" Are you talking to me?  " I glanced at my side he was facing the sunset so his side profile was on me,  hindi ko siya masyadong maaninag dahil nagrereflect sa mukha niya ang sikat ng papalubog na araw, I never really saw his face, he was beside me I think a meter of distance.

We were seated on seperate blocks of cemented pavements alongside each other. There were trees casting their sillhouettes with the dusk as their background and sa ilalim naman ay tanaw yung ilog na tila tuyot ngunit may mumunting kapuluaan ng tubig na sumasalamin sa kalangitan.

Tumingin din siya sa paligid bago tuluyang tumingin sa akin. He was smilling but his face shouts sarcasm.

I know it was a stupid question.

But my face compared with that question was probably an understatement.

I was left dumb founded.

His eyes are vast and deep as the oceans but his stare is as bright as the day , his nose as high as the skies and his physique I must say was built to impress.

" I know it's such a master piece" he said chuckling while words gracefully glided from his thin red lips. He was probably referring to the sunset in front of us or... his face.  Hindi ko na rin alam

" Well... enough to put tears on your eyes, I guess" his orbs left my eyes to stare at my cheeks.

Wait what?! Pinaglandas ko ang likod ng aking palad sa aking mga pisngi. And there I felt it, fresh hot tears

Muli niyang ibinalik ang kanyang tingin sa aming harapan absorbing the mesmerizing sunset I was just watching a while ago

" You know why I love dusks " he started while smiling at the view, silence enveloped us but he didn't mind, tumingin din ako sa tanawin sa aming harapan. Different shades of blue, yellow, and pink colored the clouds in the sky.

I was taken a back it was probably the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

" Because it proves that anything can be colorful, I love how it gives life to the plain white sky. Blue, purple, orange yellow and sometimes grey it is never the same except the fact that... it's always beautiful "

He sighed and stopped for a while observing our surroundings. The sky now turned a shade darker there were no more shades of blue yellow and pink it had turned into purple,  red and violet although it was still bright, stars were slowly showing

" Also it signifies that endings change, it might not be beautiful now but it will sooner be, as long as you decide not to stop changing until your contented "

I once again glanced at him

" ...because endings happen when you decide it to be "

He slowly tilted his head to face me. His eyes helplessly holding mine captive. I was never a fan of the color black because for me it was too grim, but something in his deep black eyes, long lashes and empty stare is doing wonders on me.

Ang liwanag na nanggagaling sa maaliwalas niyang mukha ay sumalamin sa aking nararamdaman,  warmth slowly sparked within me. I was not the type to get affected by strangers but there was really something about him, about the way he speaks and the way he stares you down your soul. It was like I'm baring myself to him.

We stared at each other for a couple of seconds. Forgetting my actual surroundings I was transported inside his expressive and meaningful orbs.

After some time, he withdrew his stare, picked a paint brush and started mixing colors on his palette

I was left there watching, as he immortalize the sky in front of us...

My life is like the sky

The sky is like a canvas

And just like that...

With graceful strokes at that very afternoon

He started...

Painting dusk

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Ps: I would like to thank my best friend Denise for the beautiful cover 😍😍😍