Bring Glory(Us) Life

Epilogue- Glorious Life

        It was a warm summer day. The sky was blue; puffy white clouds scudded by on a gentle breeze. The park was bursting with life. Everywhere she looked was green; green grass, leaves, plants. Breaking up the verdant landscape were colorful flowers in full bloom, casting their scents to the wind. It truly was a glorious day.

            Grace Sinclair was a lovely young woman of twenty three, with short cut blonde hair and smiling blue eyes. She was dressed in a summery blue dress that fell to her knees, above wrapped gladiator sandals. It was a Sunday, the day the Viridian Central Park opened up its lawns for local vendors and artisans to sell their wares. There were always a collection of musicians, artists, craftsmen and farmers. It was one of Grace’s favorite things to do, listening to the music, buying fresh, local produce, and admiring the art on display. Walking into the area today, she didn’t know it would be a day that changed her life forever.

            Just outside the clump of artisans sat a lone man in his early twenties, slender and fit in build, seated on a grassy hill overlooking the pond. He had longish dark brown hair in a ponytail, tucked under a floppy beanie hat. A green stud sparkled at his left ear where the lobe stuck out from the hat. He wore paint stained jeans and a stained white tank top, showing off lean muscles. Kind grey eyes stared thoughtfully at the canvas propped before him. Reaching up, he fiddled with the hoop that ran through his lower lip, helping him concentrate.

            Grace meandered over, curious about this lone artist. She came to a halt behind him, peering at the picture taking shape before him.

            “It’s beautiful,” she breathed, eyes tracing the delicate, detailed curves of the pond, surrounded by trees. Inside the shadows, small, elven faces grinned cheerfully from the brush, hiding behind trees, peeking through the foliage. Scrawled in the lower right corner was a word that looked like ‘Locky.’

            “Oh, uh, thanks,” the man said modestly, rubbing his hat as if embarrassed. Grace crouched down, holding her dress around her legs.

            “Really, it’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything so amazing in my life!” she cried, looking into his attractive face. This close, she realized he looked...familiar.

            “I just let nature inspire me and do what my gut tells me. It just kinda happens, I guess,” he said, biting the end of his paint brush, gazing at the canvas. Grace grabbed his shoulder, looking more closely at him.

            “Oh my god, Lachlan? Lachlan Barclay?” she cried to his surprise. He raised his eyebrows.

            “Yeah, that’s me.” Grace laughed, sitting back in the grass.

            “Oh my gosh, wow. I’m Grace Sinclair. We went to the same high school. We didn’t know each other but we were in a lot of the same classes so I saw you around.” Lachlan smiled, obviously not recognizing her.

            “I’m sorry, I’m really bad with faces and stuff, and I didn’t really try to remember anyone from school,” he said, shrugging good naturedly.

            “No, that’s fine. Wow, you look so different. It’s good though. You look good.” Her former classmate blushed, looking away.

            “I guess I do.”

            “What happened with you? What are you doing here? Where do you work?” she asked, firing questions at him. Lachlan leaned back as if blown away.

            “Uh, whoa there, slow down. One thing at a time.” Grace covered her mouth, blushing.

            “Sorry, it’s a bad habit of mine. So what’s up? I didn’t see much of you our junior year. Did you graduate early?” Lachlan winced, rubbing the back of his head, smiling lopsidedly.