savethecitydesu | A pleasant afternoon in the park.

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A pleasant afternoon in the park.

Who: Satomi (Open)
Where: The West Park
What: Satomi likes to paint in the park.
When: An afternoon during the weekend following the library thread.

There was something about the West Park that drew Satomi. Perhaps it was the size, it was smaller and seemed less popular than Kochi Jinja park. Maybe it was the old bear statue in the park square that ensured her presence whenever the whether was nice. Something about it comforted her and put her mind at ease. Quite the curiosity, it was.

And so Satomi had set up her portable easel in front of a bench in the park square. She was sitting on the bench with a small jar of water, an open watercolor set, a thin roll of paper towels, and an array of soft paintbrushes laid out beside her. A large tote bag with a color scheme that could only be described as psychedelic rainbow sat on the ground by her feet.

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"I'm okay, I'm ok-ow-kay," Aya replied, attempting to look reassuring but looking appropriate for someone who'd just smashed into a hard edge. She waved her scarf as an attempt to further get across the okay-ness.

She noticed the water and what'd been knocked over and instantly looked guilty, "Oh shoot-I'm so sorry! Let me-" She reached for one of the paper towels to help mop up the mess.

Satomi continued to smile, allowing the other girl to help. It gave her an opportunity to get a good look at her, after all. She recognized her from school - Shirokawa Aya, a senior as she recalled and once on the disciplinary committee. Older than her, cute if not pretty, and charmingly expressive.

"Don't worry. No harm done. This is some wind we're having, isn't it? I take it your scarf blew away?"

"I still could have watched where I was going," Aya insisted. The reference to the scarf she was holding took away some of the guilt for a moment.

"Yes to both. The wind blew it right off my neck. It carried it all the way from the parking lot and even got stuck in a tree partway here."

Satomi nodded, smile never wavering.

"Would you like to sit down, Shirokawa-senpai? There's room for one more. "

Satomi sat in the middle of the bench with all of her things on one side. There was still enough space for someone else to sit on her left.

Edited 2013-03-23 18:34 (UTC)

"Oh, thanks, I need to catch my breath a little," Aya replied, returning the smile. She took the open spot. "As long as I'm not getting in your way or distracting you.

"So..." Her words trailed awkwardly as she realized she didn't remember this person but they knew her. She tried again, "So, um, you're from Ryuseki too?"

"Izumi Satomi. I'm a second year," she said as if anticipating Aya's thoughts. "And you're welcome. I'm not distracted easily."

While speaking, she picked up her paintbrush again and set back to work on her painting. Currently, it had no distinct form and merely appeared to be abstract cloudy swirls of white and pale blue.

"It's nice to meet you then, Izumi-san," Aya said, sounding a bit 'lighter' now that that worry was out of the way. She wrapped her scarf back around her neck (a bit more tightly, in case another strong wind came by). She peered over Izumi's shoulder and watched her work in silence for a while, appreciating the strokes and her skill, before asking,

"What are you painting?"

Satomi paused in her painting while she pondered the question. What was she painting? She studied the misty image on her easel as if it wasn't her work and this was the first time she'd ever seen it.

"I'm not sure yet," she admitted somewhat bashfully. "It hasn't told me what it wants to be." Then she seemed to realize just how strange that must sound. "Oh, don't mind me. Eccentric artist talk."

"Oh no, I'm sure it makes sense," Aya said, even if she didn't quite fully get it. She focused intently on the image, as though the answer were there. Feeling as though she should say something, "It looks really nice so far. There's something there - it's not blank."

That still felt inadequate. She stared a bit longer and tried again, "It's just a matter of finding what's in there and when I speaks to you."

She looked at Izumi, as if to ask 'does that make sense'?

Edited 2013-03-25 06:50 (UTC)

Satomi giggled.

"Are you an artist yourself, by chance?" she asked, almost teasingly but not quite. "That's exactly what I meant."

She chose a slightly brighter shade of blue and began adding more color to the swirls.

"No, not exactly," Aya said, a bit embarrassed. Then, amended, "Not at all, really. I can't do more than deformed stick figures."

She frowned and talked bit by bit, gaining more confidence as she spoke. "But it feels right, you know? Instinct. It's like... writing a paper, not knowing what you really want to say, and then finding it along the way. Or finding your rhythm when doing sports and realizing you've actually been doing a play you that's been there all along, you just didn't realize it. "

"I'll have to take your word for it. I don't know much about sports. I'm not much of an athlete."

A major understatement to put it mildly as anyone in gym class with her would know. She had decent aim but that was all she had going for her as far as sports were concerned.

"I think I get what you're saying, though."

Edited 2013-03-26 03:38 (UTC)

"I'm not much of an artist so that'd make us even," Aya said, also a major understatement. "I think it's the same principle, except that your stuff comes out looking prettier.

"If you're not in sports, are you in the arts clubs?"

"Just the art club. Sometimes I peek in on the sculpture and drama clubs but I'm not a member of either."

A flicker of something like sadness or wistfulness surfaced in her eyes for a second before vanishing. It took a split second for Satomi to revert to her usual serene smile.

"What about you, Shirokawa-senpai? Are you in any clubs?"

Edited 2013-03-26 04:08 (UTC)

"Really? You should go in sometime, at least one of the clubs would take you," Aya said. "And you're an artist so you'd fit into sculpture."

The mention of clubs made Aya shift slightly, and she had to stop and catch herself before she replied. "Just kendo this year. Maybe the media club or another sports club next semester if I'm up to it but it's final year. I should be focusing on graduating and what comes next."

"Are you going to cram school? It's a good way to prepare if your parents can afford it."

Satomi noticed the slight shift and it seemed like her senpai wanted to say more than she did. She wouldn't pry, however. She didn't need to. People had a tendency to spill their secrets in other ways over time if you paid close enough attention.

"Ah, sculpture, maybe, though I'm more inclined toward the two-dimensional art forms. Theatre certainly looks fun and I love to watch it but I'm not sure acting is my thing."

Edited 2013-03-26 18:55 (UTC)

"Maybe," Aya replied, worrying with one of the ends of her scarf as though it were suddenly very fascinating. "We talked about it before. But maybe I won't even go post-secondary so working myself to the bone over it might not even be necessary. My grades are decent enough anyway that I'm not worried about getting into anywhere at least.

"It doesn't hurt to try things new and if you're peeking in anyway, you should go for it." She smiled encouragingly. "And if you don't try then how do you know it's not your thing? It's just for fun anyway."

Not go to university?

There was a rare moment of visible surprise and confusion from Satomi. Her paintbrush began moving again, this time with stronger, more vivid strokes, and slowly the ghostly face of a young woman began to appear among the swirls.

"I suppose I could give it a try. Since it's just for fun."

Though the thought of her mousy little self on stage and performing in plays was still laughable to Satomi.

Edited 2013-03-27 19:01 (UTC)

"That's right." Aya nodded, apparently cheered by what Izumi said. "They seem like a friendly group, especially their head, so I think you'd do alright. And if you decide drama's not your thing then it's okay to say you've tried it at least.

"Oh, have you figured out what your painting wants to be?" She asked, noticing the new form in the cloudy swirls.

"Ah, sort of. It's not yet clear yet but it's getting there."

As she painted, the form gradually grew more distinct. The face in the painting didn't look completely Japanese, either. Hints of thick wavy hair emerged among the swirls.

"Okay, I'll sign up. If nothing else, I might be able to help make sets for plays."

Aya looked at the blue swirls and the face, staring intently, and then she perked when she seemed to see something. "A girl in the water?

"That's the spirit." Aya nodded enthusiastically. "Like I said, it doesn't hurt to try. And you might be able to do both."

"I can try and see where it goes."

Satomi smiled then turned back to her painting. She gave her painting another one of those purely objective stares. Satomi tilted her head to the side, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe it's me from another life?"

A soft giggle.

"Maybe?" Aya asked, a bit unsure. She took another look at the girl in the painting and back at Izumi. However, the longer she looked, "Her hair reminds me a bit of you. And she's really graceful and lady-like."

"Hmm. I'm not sure I see it. But I guess the bangs look a little like mine. My hair's so straight. I wonder what it'd be like to have curls like this?"

She shook her head slightly.

"I'm glad you think she's graceful."

"Well, she reminds me of you that way," Aya said, with a sincere nod, but quickly added, "But that's just me. You're not done painting her so I might be reading her wrong.

"How long does it usually take you to finish a piece?"

"The length of time I spend depends on the piece. Some illustrations have simpler messages than others. These take less time than more complicated works. It can vary with the medium I'm using as well."

Another swirl of the paintbrush.

"I don't believe there's a wrong way to read a painting. They speak directly to a person's heart. There's what the artist meant to say and how the view interpreted it. It's not really a question of right and wrong, though."

"Then it partially depends how long it takes before you find the message?" Aya asked.

"But if there's a message in it, can't someone get it wrong on their own? What if someone looks at this and decides it's really about something far out, like it's secretly a metaphor for water pollution or an image for the current economy?"

"Maybe? I'd wonder about their logic, though. I'd be curious how they came to that conclusion from the piece I presented."

This conversation was starting to feel a uncomfortably like an interrogation of some sort. But Satomi had been the one to open the door, hadn't she? Or maybe she just wasn't used to being questioned like this. It wasn't as if she'd had a lot of lengthy conversations with people and Shirokawa-senpai had been in charge of the Disciplinary Committee last year. Perhaps old habits died hard?

"So if you were to interpret this piece as is, what message would you take from it?"

Both her expression and her voice remained calm, revealing nothing of her increasing anxiety.

"Me?" The question turned back at her, Aya seemed to falter for a moment. She worried at her scarf as she stared at the image. Finally, "It's not complete so I can't say I know what the message might be. But..."

She sat back. "I guess I'd have questions. Is she really in the water? Who's she and why's she there? Is it another 'you'? I don't really have a message as much as I'd want to know what it is." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, that probably isn't very good feedback...."

Incomplete?

Satomi studied her painting, hand still moving though the strokes didn't seem quite so certain now. For a moment, she seemed to lose control of her brush, smearing the girl's eyes into an ugly blur. Ordinarily, she would have hurried to fix the error but this time, she just sat there holding the paintbrush.

"I wonder who she is," she said in a subdued voice that bordered on monotone.

Edited 2013-04-01 04:26 (UTC)

Aya noticed the shift from the tranquil girl who'd confidently been painting earlier. The panic and guilt was clear on Aya's face,

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not very knowledgeable with art so I probably said something completely stupid and I'm sorry," she blurted. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," Satomi said in a much more normal tone. "You've actually given me something to think about. Thank you for your honesty."

She managed a reassuring smile for her senpai.

"You didn't do or say anything wrong so please don't worry or think that you did."

"You sure?" Aya asked, some of the guilt and anxiousness still there. "You don't have to tell me otherwise if I really did."

She stared at the painting again. She didn't know whether it was worth pushing her mouth a bit further right now but, "I think it's got something, though, even if it's not done yet. You're painting to find the message in it but it's still there, somewhat. Like..." She brightened and nodded. "Like cookie dough. It's not done baking so it's not cookies yet but it can still taste good and you have an idea of what it could be but you won't know until it's done. It might not even turn out to be cookies in the end but a sort of cookie brownie. It's just the answers to the recipe you decide fit best in the end."

"That makes sense."

Satomi nodded to herself.

"And cookie brownies can taste just as good as cookies and brownies." She hesitated. "Perhaps this painting will be easier to understand after it's finished, then."

Edited 2013-04-01 20:23 (UTC)

"And so can cookie dough itself," Aya said with a smile. "When you're done the painting, can I see it again? I don't know much about art so I can't guarantee useful feedback but I want to see if I can 'get' more of this girl next time."

"Sure. You can see it then."

There was something oddly embarrassing about unveiling unfinished works, Satomi thought, but she'd done better this time than she usually did. Normally, no one paid her any mind when she came here and in all honesty, she preferred it that way. Standing out from the crowd truly was an overrated luxury.

"Um, I should probably start packing up. I have some things I need to do at home," she said, sounding apologetic. "It was nice speaking with you, Shirokawa-senpai"

"Ah, right. I should get going too." She gave her scarf another light tug to make sure it wouldn't fly off again and stood. "I'll see you around, Izumi-san."

She gave the younger girl a bright smile and waved as she went on her way.

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A pleasant afternoon in the park.

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