Chapter 2

But my parents weren't there... So I decided to head up from the entrance and I began to wander the halls. Guertena's paintings sure were odd. The first one I saw was "Lady Taking the Newspaper." I guess inspirations stems from different places for some artists. The painting to the right of it appeared to be a hanged man. It mildly disturbed me. I couldn't get the exact name of it as there was a funny looking man with purple hair and a ragged coat staring deeply into it.

I moved on. The next painting had a word I didn't know. "? Towers." The one next to it was a little creepy. A portion of a white face with a red background stared at me. It was called "Worry."

I went down from the wall paintings to an open exhibit. Inside the roped off area were 3 headless statues in blue, red and yellow dresses. It was called "Death of the Individual." The man observing the exhibit said to me, "In my opinion, what Guertena is saying here is that 'the individual' lies in one's expression. Which is why these figures don't have heads, see? Don't you think so?"

It was kind of hard for me to answer him so I just plainly agreed with him. "I guess so."

He exclaimed with surprise, "Oho! I'm glad you understand! Yes, I'm sure that's it." He went back to look at it some more.

I moved on to the next open exhibit. It was of a fancy white couch with some red markings on it. "Reserved Seat" was the name of it. I shrugged my shoulders and proceeded.

I couldn't read the title of the next painting. "? On Table." It looked like a rod was placed on a table. I went back up to continue exploring.

The next painting was really pretty, but alas I didn't know one word! "? Diamond."

The portrait next to it was beautiful. It kind of resembled my mother. The man admiring it said to me, "What a beautiful woman... But I wonder if she was someone real? They say Guertena didn't typically paint any real people." I sensed hope and a little bit of desperation in what he said next. "But there's always a chance you know? This girl could be out there somewhere... Wow!"

The next painting was "Bitter Fruit." I didn't have too many thoughts about such a nasty notion.

An old couple was admiring the next exhibit. I smiled and giggled a little. It was cute seeing old people holding hands and admiring a work of art.

I had no idea what the next exhibit was. A big pink ball with swords sticking in it? A hipster couple was debating about its size and Guertena's popularity.

The next one was quite a garish. It was called "Taste-Cleansing Tree" but I thought it really looked like a coat rack with a bunch of rainbow strings. The woman admiring it pondered whether or not she could actually eat the exhibit... Odd.

I moved down to see a majestic work. It looked like a blue woman melting into the ground. Unfortunately, I couldn't read its name.

I walked left and saw a mother and daughter looking at a picture of a cat. The little girl was shouting about how it's such a cute kitty and her mother scolded her. I giggled to myself and was reminded of my own mother.

The last painting in the hall was an eye with the name "Enlightenment." I guess it had something to do about seeing what cannot be usually seen.

I moved on and came upon a gigantic mural. A flurry of colors and a painting of a lady in red to the right, a rose to the left. I couldn't read the first word, but it was called, "? World." Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. The classical music stopped playing. Curiosity tugged at me to leave. I hurried back to reception, hoping my parents would be there.