Chapter 1
Terra, Kasey, and I went forward, where the main exhibit was held. It was the picture I saw on the poster before. It was a really big fish head in the ocean. Its large eye looked like it was staring at me. People were crowding around it, and they were clearly very interested in it.
I looked at a notice on the wall, but I couldn't make out some of the words. It read, "Welcome to the world of Guartena. We truly thank you for ? today. We're currently holding an ? for the great artist Weiss Guartena. We hope you deeply enjoy the art of the late Guartena, whose creations carry such mystery and beauty both."
I wish I could read all the words. I knew Kasey didn't know that much more than me, so asking her would be pointless. I thought about asking Terra, but I knew she was kind of annoyed at us right now, so I kept my mouth shut.
The painting next to the notice showed a tall red woman that appeared to be scolding a blue child for . . . playing piano? I couldn't really tell. I glanced at the title, but I couldn't read the last word: "A Well-Meaning ?"
I looked around for my sisters. Terra and Kasey were going down the hall, so I hurried to keep up with them. The first thing I saw was a sculpture of a beautiful red rose. I couldn't read the first word of the title, but it was called "? of Spirit."
There was a notice near the sculpture, which stated, "Beautiful at first glance, but if you get too close, it will ? pain. It can only bloom in ? bodies."
"Wholesome bodies," Terra murmured.
"Hmm?" said Kasey.
"What? Oh, nothing," Terra said. "I was just reading the notice."
I looked back at the notice. I still didn't know the other word, but I put in the word Terra said in the last sentence. "It can only bloom in wholesome bodies." I still didn't really understand it, but…
The next painting was "The Coughing Man." I didn't really have an opinion about that one.
In the next room, the first painting was called "Selfless Guard." I couldn't really tell what it was, but it sort of looked like a white bird flying through the dark night sky. The painting next to it showed some kind of landscape, but I couldn't read the title because someone was observing it.
We walked down the hall. There was a large exhibit called, "? of ? and Stars." It looked like two silver benches on either side of the hallway. Some people looked very intrigued in it, but I didn't really understand it.
We passed by the benches. There were four paintings lined up. The first one on the right was called "? Spirit" and it looked like a bunch of different colors splattered together. The next one looked like a glass of some dark liquid. It was called "Glass of ?" so I guess I was right. But I couldn't really tell what the liquid was.
Someone was observing the next one, so I couldn't read the title. I moved on to the last painting, "Beach ?" It reminded me of, well… a beach. It looked nice and warm.
Since we saw all the paintings in this part of the gallery, we headed back to the main entrance.
"Where's Mom and Dad?" Kasey asked.
"Probably checking out one of the paintings," Terra replied. "We must've missed them."
"Should we go find them?"
"Nah. They know we're wandering around. Let's go check out the second floor in the meantime."
When we went upstairs, the first thing I saw was a window directly across from the stairs. It looked nice and sunny outside.
The painting next to it was called "Lady Taking the Newspaper." A guy was observing it from afar, so I moved aside so he could continue viewing it. The next painting looked like a man hanging from his foot. It made me a bit uneasy. I wasn't able to read the title because there was a man standing in front of it. He looked a bit odd – he had light purple hair and a ragged coat. But I didn't want to be rude and have him think I was staring, so I moved on.
The next painting was called "? Towers." I couldn't read the first word. The painting next to it showed a portion of a white face and an eye that seemed to stare back at me. It was called "Worry."
"That's kinda creepy," Kasey commented.
I expected Terra to scold her, but she didn't say anything. She was too busy staring at the purple-haired man. She seemed to feel me looking at her, because she turned her attention away from the man and looked back at me. Our eyes met, and I guess she saw that I looked a bit freaked out, because she said, "Sorry. I was just spacing out." She gave me a reassuring smile. "Let's go on, okay?" She went downwards, away from the paintings, and Kasey and I hurried to keep up with her.