beyond the monotonous city

fifty

It took her almost three days to get there by car.

It was nearly a 20-hour drive but she chose to ride by car as she wanted to see the world for herself, for the first time. She slept in her car, with the engine off. She ate at the various food establishments she passed by. Her parents thought she was crazy as the drive was intense. She realized they were right but if that was the first crazy thing she did, she would take it all in stride.

As she got to the apartment that was to be her home for the next four years, she wondered about the life she left behind in Miami.

She started unpacking. She realized just how little stuff she brought as there seemed to be a lot more room in her one bedroom apartment. She looked at the box holding her paintings. She had already contacted Shaun and it turns out his friend had another gallery in the same state that was willing to take her paintings.

She called her mom as soon as she was done unpacking and told her all about the journey. She didn't realize she spoke almost the whole time, not letting her mom butt in.

"Oh sorry mom I must be speaking so fast I-"

"It just brings me joy to hear you like this Lauren. You're in a happy place and I couldn't be happier." Clara said and she knew her mom must be beaming at the other end.

"Yeah," Lauren said in realization. "I must be."

--

She met up with the friend Shaun had referred to.

His name was Marcus, and just like Shaun he liked boys, and he was very cultured in the arts. They met over coffee and Lauren showed him the box full of paintings. He inspected them, one by one except for the odd painting out.

He looked satisfied. "These are mighty impressive, Lauren." He took a sip of coffee. "Luckily the gallery here I own is for modern art and these abstract pieces fit perfectly. I could put them up after the end of the month when we change collections." He took another sip of coffee. "I suggest you sell these though, if you change your mind. You can make good money out of it."

He noticed one odd painting and picked it up. He inspected it. "This one is different from the rest."

Lauren got it in her hands. "Oh, sorry this one wasn't part of the gallery."

He nodded. "I see. It has a different style. Very realistic. I see some humanist and some impressionist styles here. And the subject, you get the feeling you are instantly drawn to the subject."

Lauren swallowed. "She was a friend of mine." The past tense gave her a twinge of sadness.

He nodded. "I can tell this friend of yours was very enigmatic, wasn't she?"

Lauren found herself nodding.

He smiled, pleased. "Well that was really nice. I'm glad to receive these paintings for my gallery. They would be a lovely addition. If you change your mind about selling these and if you ever change your mind about the other painting, do let me know. I feel like it's a piece people would pay for."

That never crossed Lauren's mind. Nevertheless, she thanked Marcus for his help and went off with her painting, back to her apartment.

When she came back, she found herself putting the painting back in an empty box. She didn't know what to do with it still, though she felt it was unfair to sell it. She decided to just keep it.

As she sat down on the couch, her eyes laid on the manila envelope Sinu had given her.

She stood up and grabbed it before settling back on the couch. It was a bit crumpled, weighed heavier than it looked and with Camila's penmanship had LAUREN written on the back.