Kenopsia

01

Eyes filled with amazement darted along the various streaks of color splashed across the canvas, before a dreamy sigh left your lips at the neatly done painting. The perfect image of the beach seemed so real that you could almost feel the warm and calm air of the ocean breeze.

“Um, excuse me? You’re not supposed to touch the paintings." A young woman interrupted you. Gasping and quickly retracting your hand back in surprise, you apologized, 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to…”

Even though the staff could somehow understand your admiration for the art pieces, this silly habit of yours still gets you into trouble most of the time. You knew that museums don’t allow visitors to touch the delicate crafts because it may affect their value. But staring at their beauty often left you in a state of wonderment; paintings and sculptures of many kinds always pulled you in, and when you find yourself slowly reaching out to touch them, someone would snap you out of it.

The lady said nothing in reply to your sheepish smile and only walked away after scolding you. You hung your head in embarrassment, yet again, before you heard something ring inside your pocket. You reached for your phone and flipped it open.

'Dad'

You pressed a button and placed it on your ear as soon as you saw the name on the screen.

“How’s it going there?” The enthusiasm of the man at the other end was evident, making you chuckle.

“It’s wonderful. Too bad you missed it… I wish you guys were here,” you said, the smile on your lips turning into a slight frown.

You loved art as much as your family did. After all, you did grow up traveling with your parents in different places to explore museums, so it kind of felt lonely to be visiting an amazing gallery like this one by yourself.

Your dad caught a cold, probably from too much work, and your loving mom who couldn’t bring herself to leave him alone decided to stay at home, urging you to attend the exhibit without them. Inviting your siblings was out of the question though for they had their weekend classes. What a bummer. You were the eldest, and having two more brothers wasn’t as chaotic as most people deemed it to be, at least because they looked up to you.

As your thoughts brought you back to some fond memories of the people who are dear to you, you found yourself at the second floor of the art gallery, wandering aimlessly as you continued chatting with your dad.

“Yeah, what a shame… Hopefully you’re enjoying yourself though, it's a rare opportunity to see the artworks of the great Guertena after all!”

You could feel the admiration in his voice, not even surprised because you’ve always known that your father greatly respected the said artist. His displays did show how incredibly talented he was.

“But I’d enjoy it more if you were all here,” you said as you passed by an odd yet beautiful painting of a woman, before glancing at its title. 

‘The Lady in Red.’

“You know how your old man is when it comes to his pills, I blame my age for being forgetful.”

"You don't look a day older though."

“I know right? I’m still quite dashing for the ladies, aren’t I?”