"Inventing the Future"

"Chapter 29: Portrait's Request"

"Blasted seagulls and their 'gifts from above'," grumbled Jaming as he scrubbed the exterior of his second to last platform. The stuff was like cement! "I may need a chisel for this, or perhaps some kind of industrial solvent..."

"Excuse me," inquired a soft voice about ten feet behind him.

Jaming hadn't heard the woman's approach, but given who it was, this was hardly a surprise. The person behind him was always quiet. He turned to face her, his expression a little less guarded than usual. "Ah, Julia. More problems with your vacuum?"

Julia shook her head, smiling self-consciously. "No, it's working perfectly. May I ask you a question?"

"I believe you just did," Jaming replied, taking off his rubber gloves, all the while being careful not to let his skin come in contact with the outsides. As sometimes happened, his little jest fell short. Julia lowered her eyes and seemed a bit hurt. "Small joke. What do you wish to ask me?"

Julia looked up again, and she seemed to have lost some of her nerve. She held something strange in her hands. It looked like a paintbrush with dried gold paint on the bristles. Seeming to come to a decision, she rolled the brush between her fingers and forged ahead with her question. "Do you know anything about magic gold paint?"

Now Jaming was intrigued, and he came over for a better look. "I never knew there was such a thing. What does it do?"

She held out the paintbrush and he took it without hesitation, and she lowered her eyes. "Legend has it that when it is applied to a portrait, that portrait will 'come to life'."

Naturally, Jaming was very skeptical of her claims. "That's a very interesting legend, but what does it have to do with me?"

"I'm afraid it's more than just a legend..."

Jaming looked up from the paintbrush at the note of genuine heartache he heard in her voice, and he frowned. Julia was one of the few people in town who had never annoyed him, and though he had little to do with her, he hated to see her looking so sad. "Julia...Is something wrong?"

She nodded slowly, looking down at her folded hands. "Something has been wrong for quite a while. You see...I'm not like everyone else here."

Given the subject of their conversation, it only took Jaming a second or two to deduce the young woman's meaning, and when he spoke again his voice was quiet and gentle. "Are you telling me that you are a painting?"

There were tears standing in Julia's eyes as she nodded, and Jaming internally panicked at the thought of this woman breaking down, but she didn't. "I am one half of a painting. The other half wasn't brought through, and there was a reason for that. Have you ever heard of an artist by the name of Parn?"

"Yes, Meredith told me about him. Though, in all honesty, he strikes me as being something of a twit." Then Jaming bit his tongue. The rest of what Meredith told him flitted through his mind a little too late. Parn. And Julia. Damn. "Er...that is..."

But Julia laughed sadly and nodded. "He certainly could be. I'll summarize, shall I? Parn painted a portrait of himself and a woman he called 'Julia'. That's me. He agreed to join Max on a quest. That's another story..."

Jaming was hardly surprised, and he let her know they were on the same page without giving away too much of his own past. "I'm aware of his quest. And I take it that this agreement came with the stipulation that Max would do something for him in return? Something like bringing him magic paint so that he could give life to his dream lady?"

Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was a perfect 'o' as she nodded. "Why, yes! But how did you know that?"

"Simple logic," he shrugged, "Based on everything you told me, it all fits. Although, I fail to understand what you would need from me..."

Julia's folded hands grew white at the knuckles, and she looked away. "When I stepped off of that canvas, I left behind a life...and a love. I don't know if I came into being here with false memories, or if there is really another world on the other side. But whatever happens to be the case, the Parn on the other side of the canvas is not like the one who lives in this world. We were engaged to be married. And, well...as you might be able to imagine, there was quite a lot of confusion on my part when I appeared here and saw the mirror image of my fiancé standing there. And one thing led to another..."

Jaming blushed and cleared his throat. "I see."

Julia, also blushing, murmured an apology. "I'm sorry. But to make a long story short, the Parn of this world quickly grew bored and cast me aside. The last I heard of him, he was working on a new painting to replace me."

Jaming shook his head, completely unable to understand Parn's actions. He thought of Meredith, and he wondered if she would ever grow bored of him. The thought wasn't at all pleasant, and he banished it from his mind. Julia was a good woman. She did not deserve this! "I am so sorry, Julia. But I'm still confused as to where I come in."

She looked up at him, determination finally reaching her face. "I want to go home. I want to go back to my Parn. If there is a way to reverse the effects of the paint and put me back in that painting, I can't think of anyone else who would be able to find it."

"Me? Julia, I'm afraid my field is technology, not magic. I'm not sure if I can."

"I'm prepared for that outcome," She looked him steadily in the eye. "I only ask you to try. I know you do more than just fix things. That platform over there once floated on the air, if you were telling the truth. I came to you because I think you're the only person here who might have a chance at making this happen...and because you know what it's like to be in love. If someone wrenched you or Meredith from this world and into another, wouldn't you want to find her again?"

Jaming looked down at the paintbrush again. He put himself in Julia's position. He imagined himself in a new world full of strangers without Meredith there to keep him grounded. He could function, yes. But would he even want to? Sighing softly through his nose, Jaming nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Note: Julia is one of those characters who has no set place in the Georama. You can even leave her on the train if you want to. I just always put her in Veniccio for some reason. I'm on the fence about whether or not Jaming will actually succeed here!