Shades of Kagan

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Avian Burn's Point of View

There were a total of thirty paintings inside. Thirty-one if I'll add the unfinished piece placed on the wood stand. The color of the painting matches the stain that Kagan has right now on the side of his hand and on the apron he's wearing. The whole place is huge but not cheerful. Despite the beautiful paintings that he made, the room is dull and quiet. I don't know anything about him. Yet, here I am, uncovering the things he's good at. I didn't expect Kagan to be an art major at the university. Ngayon ko lang nakita ang mga gawa niya. I may not be an art enthusiast, but I noticed that Kagan uses acrylic paints, oil paints, and graphite pencils. Maybe, it just depends on his mood to what he's going to use in his masterpiece.

"Is this an art gallery?" Naitanong ko sa kanya habang pinagsama-sama ang mga nangyayari sa akin ngayon. Earlier, I was worried to where I am going to have my internship. Now, I was worried to what I'll be doing together with Kagan.

"Yes." He simply answered. Kagan pulled a chair and sat down, but I started roaming the place. I'm not being biased or anything, but his work is breathtaking. Kagan can pull me inside his painting as if I was really there.

"Your art gallery is called Shade?" Dahan-dahan akong naglakad habang matiim na tinitingnan ang mga gawa niya.

"Yes." He says. Kahit hindi ako tumitingin kay Kagan ay ramdam ko ang pagsunod niya sa aking bawat galaw.

"Okay," I said, still looking all over the place. My attention focused on the unfinished piece that was placed on the rack.

"Is this blackhole?" I was amazed on how it was done. Parang nakalimutan ko na tuloy kung ano talaga ang dapat kong gawin dito. Seems like I have a free pass to see all of his masterpiece.

"Albert Einstein," sabay naming nasabi kaya naman nagkatinginan kaming dalawa. From the blackhole painting, I looked at him sitting comfortably in the chair.

"I got inspired by his theory of general relativity." I nodded and stared back at the unfinished painting of the black hole. What I know is that when a massive star dies, it leaves behind a small, dense remnant core. If this core is more than three times the sun's mass, the force of gravity overwhelms all other forces, thus creating a black hole. The gravity is so strong that even light can't escape them. Hmm, I should have focused on my physics class when I was in middle school.

"Blackhole is just an empty space. It's lonely and black. It just grows and grows from consuming material torn from nearby stars. It can even swallow a whole neighboring star." I didn't notice that I had already started to rumble. Sometimes, I wonder if my life is just a living black hole. Something just died inside me, creating a hole inside my system. Mukhang ngayon ay hindi na ako makatakas. Habang malalim na tumitingin sa painting ni Kagan ay para akong hinihila paloob. I stand firmer on the ground. Will my inner black hole swallow me whole?

"Doesn't everyone have their black holes?" Nagsimulang matuyo ang aking lalamunan. Hindi ko namalayan na nasa tabi ko na pala ang binata. We're standing side by side while looking at the same piece.

"Something must die inside them, creating a massive hole from which no one can escape." Kagan looks over my shoulder. His left hand is already in his pocket. I would like to know if he can relate to it.

"But we shouldn't forget Hawking. He proved that it might be impossible to destroy, but black holes evaporate. Giving its energy to the Universe slowly." Bigla akong natigilan dahil sa sinabi ni Kagan. I don't know if we're talking about the black hole itself or just simply talking about my miserable life. If so, I wonder when my black hole will evaporate. For sure, it will take a long time.