Immortal Beauty
"Grab my hand!" Garry shouted desperately for the nine-year old to take it.
The little girl was both scared and confused. On her left stood her "mother" and in front of her was a stranger she met just hours before. But he wasn't just any stranger. He was Garry.
The Garry who risked his life to save her, over and over again in those dangerous rooms. The same Garry who gave her that piece of candy out of concern for her. He was Garry. And Garry was her friend. But in the face of that situation what was the little girl to do?
A child at some point in their life must've been told by their parents to "not go with strangers" and to "obey their parents". Her mother kept telling her to come be with her and her father. If she chose Garry, she would never see them again. All Ib ever wanted was be with her parents. The idea of a life without them seemed terrifying to her. Almost as terrifying as the dangers they faced in the gallery.
"Ib!" Garry and her mother yelled at the same time.
At that moment Ib decided what card she would play. It was a gamble no nine year old should ever take. Yet at the call of her name she shifted her foot and walked towards her mother.
"Ib! What are you doing?! Ib! No!" With a bright flash, Ib disappeared. Along with everything else.
The next thing Garry saw, was not the young girl, but the painting he went through just seconds before.
He was terrified but at the same time confused. 'What on Earth was he doing?' He thought to himself. He slowly pulled back his hand, which was outstretched for some reason, and looked at his surroundings.
Nothing seemed unusual. People of all shapes and sizes, old and young alike stood in awe and admiration at the works of Guertena just as he saw them before. He checked his watch and saw that a couple of hours had passed. 'Was he that into the exhibit that he didn't bother to check or notice the time?' He questioned himself.
After clearing his mind, he brushed the loss of time away and headed towards the exit.
He examined the paintings along the way and saw nothing peculiar aside from the strange paintings themselves. But then he saw one painting that caught his eye more than anything else.
It was a painting of a young girl with long brown hair holding a wilted red rose. The background and some parts of her body were covered in thorns but despite that, all she was doing was sleeping. Her eyes were closed and in her form she looked neither happy nor sad nor showed any emotion at all. She looked, Garry thought, like an emotionless doll stuck in her beautiful form for the rest of eternity.
Garry came closer to the painting but the closer he got the more painful and tight his chest became. It was a painful stabbing sensation that he had never felt before. It hurts so much but he could not relieve himself of it. He could only stare at the painting in front of him. He figured that this painting was the cause of his pain.
'Why did this painting affect him so much?' He glanced at the plaque below it and whispered its name with a painful voice.
"Immortal Beauty" it said.
He felt a sense of familiarity whilst examining the sorrowful painting. Then he flinched as he felt something sinister behind him.
He turned quickly to find a blonde girl about the same age as the "Immortal Beauty" staring intently at him. She was glaring at him, but he didn't know why.
"It's not fair." She said still retaining her hateful gaze. "Ib and I should be friends out here! You're the adult. It should've been you up there!" She clutched her left fist tightly and with the right she pointed at the "Immortal Beauty".
Before Garry could respond a voice called out for the little girl. "Mary! There you are!" An older brunette came and took Mary's hand. She looked like an older version of the "Immortal Beauty" and a striking version of "The Lady in Red". However Garry was too far concentrated on what the blonde had told him.
"Time to go home sweetie." Said the woman.
"Okay Mommy." The girl called Mary answered. As she was taken away by her mother he overheard the mother's rather loud whisper. "Haven't I told you not to talk to strangers?" He ignored her slightly hurtful statement but listened well to what Mary said after.
The blonde had answered her mother quickly then turned to face the painting. "Goodbye Ib. I'll come back and play with you again! I promise!" She said with a smile appearing on her face. She waved to the painting, as if it could wave back. Her mother dragged her away. And soon they were gone.
Garry didn't know what to think. He looked over to the painting again and for a second he thought he remembered something. Something about a quiet girl with long brown hair and a red rose.
They were tired.
It felt as if they were being chased.
Then she collapsed.
He felt very worried about her.
He carried her gently and brought her to an empty room he found.
He covered her with his coat and waited for her to wake up.
She woke up and returned the coat to him.
They were alone in that room. It was just the two of them. But despite that, they both felt happy to be with each other.
They spent the next hour or so resting and talking. He did most of the talking though.
It was fun…
…But it wasn't real.
It didn't make any sense. It wasn't a memory as he had first hoped it to be. It was simply his imagination. With a final glance at the painting he turned and left for the exit.
The museum closed that night, like it always does. But the difference now was that there was a painting that shouldn't be there. A painting whose inhabitant would neither grow old nor die nor wake up and smile as any real person would. An Immortal Beauty trapped in the beautiful and frightening world of Guertena.