7 April 2012
# household challenge
The couple sat on the windswept beach, eyes cast out to the vast grey sea. their proximity measured in inches yet something about the scene gave the feeling of a vast chasm between them. Perhaps it was the expanse of the sea, or the brooding dark sky. Lisa shivered and pulled her sweater around her. A profound sense of loneliness began to creep in. It seemed as though the clouds, pressing down upon the couple would swallow them up. Lisa peered closer at the painting. The paint upon the canvas created the illusion of a heavy mist. Through the haze of fog she could see they were a middle aged couple. What were they doing there? They seemed so out of place, like they'd each walked right out of different paintings to invade this one. The woman was wearing a parka and sat with her knees tucked into her chest. The man was to her left. He was wearing swim trunks and sat with his legs stretched out in front. She, ready against the coming storm and he, blissfully unaware. The chasm was now evident. Lisa felt the dark clouds drift from the painting and take up residence within her. She stood slack jawed at the genius of the artist. At how, in this simple matter of attire, he'd made evident two fundamentally different ways of approaching life. "Hey Babe! You ready for lunch?" Lisa, shocked back to reality, watched as her husband approached from across the gallery. As he reached her she turned back to survey the painting. He glanced at it dismissively as he pulled her towards the exit. The two of them walked out into the bright daylight, yet Lisa felt the gloom and fog trailing after her. She reached out to bridge the space between them but she knew it would never be the same. Bad weather was coming and her husband never had any rain gear.
No Rain Gear • Opuss № I