Oblivion Of The Heart

Chapter 46 - Painting You

Chapter 46

"Wow... man, I could feel the cold from your conversation! It felt almost as if a blizzard was cast down upon me! Do you have some grudge against that shiny girl or something?" Morto asked Esperanza.

"Nope, I don't have any grudges against her. Her presence is disturbing itself. But what is this 'shiny girl' thing?" She raised an eyebrow. Truthfully, she held deep grudges against that girl. After all, she was the one who ruined her life at the academy. She felt a shiver down her spine as she recalled that girl's maniacal green eyes, which didn't befit her sweet smile.

"She shines everywhere she goes and attracts attention. So, I decided to call her shiny girl!" Morto grinned.

"Oh wow, what an amazing nickname." Esperanza sighed and said with an expression that seemed to imply the exact opposite.

"Hey!" Morto protested.

...

The Next Day.

A scrubby room, with canvases lying on the floor. The paint was splattered on the walls and the canvases. Elaborately carved sculptures lay on a wooden table, with the sculpting tools lying beside it. The room was certainly scrubby, but for Esperanza, it held the dear intimacy she couldn't find anywhere. She smiled as her fingers traced upon the beautiful geometrical patterns on the crème-colored curtain. The texture of the curtains, the paint splashed on the walls, the paint brushes lying in bowls of water, everything was the same. A scrubby mess indeed, but still, it was aesthetic for her.

She closed her eyes as the beautiful yet heart-wrenching memories flashed by.

Art was her passion. She couldn't have imagined her life without art. It was the only way she could articulate her feelings, her desires, and the hopes she had held onto for a very long time.

But, to please her father, hoping she could become a part of his world whose doors he had closed long ago, she gave it up and chose Magic as her hobby at the academy instead. It was ordained from the moment she was born, that her body held abundant pure mana. Unfortunately, she could never learn how to feel it. She believed that if she joined the academy and could control her magic and wield it, she could earn recognition from her father.

How foolish of her.

The art room was rarely used by anyone besides Paix and a second-year girl. Now that Paix was gone, it has lately been empty. She recalled that although she chose Magic, she would sneak up here at break time (because the art room was open to everyone) and paint to her heart's content. It was the only time that had been so blissful at the academy.

She fixed one canvas on the stand and took a brush that was lying nearby. She sat on a seat, placed the canvas before herself, and closed her eyes in concentration. She desperately needed to draw something. She wanted to remember the faces she yearned to see the most, the faces she had seen every day after her death, yet she could never reach out to them.

Her hand started moving. She sketched out the rough outlines, slowly forming the figures of a young man and a girl standing beside each other. She grabbed the palette which was stained with different vibrant colors and started painting it. Soon, after some time, her painting was over.

It was a vibrant painting of a young man, dressed in navy blue overalls with his dark black hair neatly curled up. Although his face was half-hidden by a side mask, it couldn't hide his effulgent blue eyes and his smile which beamed across the room. Beside him, a girl much smaller in height stood, her chocolate brown hair tied in a single braid, with brown eyes with a striking resemblance to her hair and a shy smile.

Callidus. Avyana.

She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the painting.

I miss you guys so much. Ican't wait to see the both of you again