The girl with the blue umbrella||✔

Ten

It has been a couple of weeks since Lucinda told me to meet her in the cafe. I had come to accept Mrs Goldy's death because moping around would not bring her back to life. I had already used some of the money to pay for my mother's treatment. The doctor had said that it might take some time but she would surely recover. I was filled with joy when I heard that, I would still have my mom with me.

School was just the same as usual and Layla was still missing. It seemed like everyone had come to terms with the fact that she wasn't coming back. Yet, I still had this unsettling feeling in my chest.

Jaime had helped me a lot. We figured out a lot about Layla. She was a year older than most of us. She also loved art a lot but she was rejected from the art club. You'd think that the club that accepted the most diverse things would also accept Layla. But the people of this world turns their backs on what they don't understand or what is not like them.

Jaime and I found out that there was an art gallery she always hanged out in after she was kicked out the club, so we went to check it out together. The gallery was famous for auctioning the works of rookie artists. A lot of underrated artists got publicity this way. The gallery was painted white. The only other things that were coloured you would find were the paintings of others. I was wary of just walking because I didn't want to ruin or stain anything.

Jaime began to tell me the information her found out. Every end of the month, they auction some paintings- with the consent of of the artists of course. Very famous people come around to these events but there was an artist who always got the highest bidders. The person's works always got people bidding and bidding and bidding until some people went bankrupt. He exaggerated that part a little. He also said the best part of it all is that no one knew who the artist was except the owner of the gallery. The person wanted his or her identity completely anonymous. The only thing they knew from the signature was that it was marked C.C in the most intricate and cursive calligraphy ever seen.

If that person had the most rich business men and women draining their accounts, if it also made Layla hang out here often, then it meant that those paintings really were something.

While walking around, looking at paining to painting, we noticed a small crowd gather around a particular painting that was put in a glass case on the wall. The attention and packaging that the painting received just screamed important.

Jaime and I gasped the moment we set our eyes on the painting. It was hard to explain what it was. It showed us two worlds. Two fields. One clearly fertile and illuminated by sunlight, while the other was swallowed by darkness, seemingly barren of nature. It that wasn't the only thing. There were flowers. These flowers bloomed beautifully in the darkness while it wilted and died in the field covered with light.It felt deep. No wonder Layla hung out here.

Someone cleared his throat. That was what broke us out of the trance that we were in. There was a guy who stood in front of it, speaking it other people. He looked quite important but I felt as though he was not the owner of the painting.

"I have an announcement to make." He said, drawing the attention of the admirers of the painting. "For years, we have all enjoyed looking at the work of this wonderful artist. No, I may be wrong about that. Countless people have told me that they felt as though the paintings were looking right back at them whenever they started at it. It is true because I have also felt the same way. So, it is with the deepest sorrow in my heart that I announce that this will be the last painting we would ever see from this artist. This Painting titled 'Sober' will not be sold or auctioned. It will remain right here for the public to see. It is the wish of the artist that her last painting remains on display. And yes you heard me correctly. The artist is a female. I just thought she had deserved this much recognition at least. Thank you for listening. You can carry on." After he was done with the speech, everyone began to whisper among themselves, trying to figure out what it could have been that made this painting the last of the author's.

The crowd began to disperse and we got a better look at the painting.

"Oh! This painting is also by the famous C.C" Jaime voiced.

"It is?" I asked. I looked towards the signature at the bottom right of the painting and saw that it was indeed signed C.C. I noticed something different about the first C though. "Jaime look at this. The first C doesn't really look like a C. It looks more like an L. The curves are easily mistaken."

Jaime took a look at it and confirmed that it indeed was an L. "That would mean that the Artist's initials are L.C not C.C." He scoffed to himself.

I had a feeling that I had seen those initials, L.C, before.

"Wait I just thought of something incredible!" He said afterwards.

"What is it?"

"What if Layla was the artist?"

"What?"

"No think about it. That would explain why she always hung out here after being kicked out of the art club. And besides, L.C could mean Layla Cunningham."

"But why would she want her identity to be secret?"

"Don't be dumb Martin. She has been bullied for a long time. What if she wasn't confident enough to let people know that she was the one who made all of these? Just think."

I blinked twice. My brain was connecting the dots. "Wait what about what that guy said? Do you think he knows anything about where she is?" My heart raced at the thought of finding someone who might know something about Layla's disappearance.

We both looked towards the direction of the Man who just gave the speech. He was talking to other people now. Jaime and I looked at each other.

He said at last. "There's only one way to find out."

***
Hi people.
Thoughts?
I'm proud to announce that this book is coming to an end really soon. I think there are just two or three chapters left. I'm so exited!

I'm also going to be entering this book into the Wattys shorts contest. I might not make it into being one of the finalists but I want to know where I stand.

Wish me luck yall