Evening sun rays tenderly touched the meadow and drew glittering shiny waves in the lake.
Giggling sounds of friends who met after a long time, playing children as their parents have their alone time, woofing of cheerful dogs, and lovely couples who walk hand-to-hand around in this open area.
Spring breeze freely ran around with its unique smell, filling everyone with joy and freshness. Kites decorated the blue sky with vivid colors, sketching different shapes here and there.
It was another weekend of the typical spring season.
A bell sound awakened the beautiful lady from her envision. Looking out from her painting, she glanced at the couple, who rode a cycle with full of laughs. She smiled and continued staring until they disappeared from her sight.
Dearly smiling at the little child who was sitting next to her with his curious and amused eyes on her drawing, she resumed drawing the painting.
Her pencil runs around the canvas effortlessly, making a perfect painting of the scenario in the Public Park.
The spirit of the painting was extraordinary.
It reflected the beauty of the day that she grasped from her eyes as a perfect art piece on canvas. Even though she still didn’t use color yet, even though it was still just a sketch, the talent of the artist was clearly visible through this great painting. She was entrapped in her own world the whole time she created her art piece.
The little one, who was next to her, got a little closer to get a clear view of the beautiful drawing. In that process, his eyes caught a pile of books, which rested next to the beautiful lady. With a curious look, his little hand grabbed the first book which was on top of the others, and turned page by page carefully. His confusion and curiosity increased more, and he decided to raise his voice to talk to the lady for the first time.
“Who is this?” The Little boy asked with a baby voice. The lady raised her face away from the painting and smiled at the boy. She looked at the sketchbook, which was now lying on the boy’s lap, and understood his question.
“Mmm...... He is someone who was very dear to me, someone I don’t want to forget,” she said, flashing a breathtaking smile at the boy while ruffling his blonde hair.
“Is he your boyfriend?” the little one asked while tilting his head in a cute way. The young lady’s eyebrows rose a bit at the bluntness of the question and then shook her head with a light giggle.
“No baby, he is not my boyfriend. But someone I like. Like a lot.” She told while pinching his chubby cheeks.
“Then who is he? Why did you draw him on every page?” the child asked with a cute pout.
“Mm....... the only thing I know about him is his age. He will be twenty-eight or... twenty-nine years old now, and most certainly, he is the kindest person I have ever met. I didn’t see him for a very long time and that is why I drew the face in my mind,” she said with a distanced voice.
But her replies only create more confusion in the toddler’s mind. With a puzzled look, he tried to raise his curious voice again, but a sudden appearance interrupted the curious little kitten from raising his cute voice.
A woman in her late twenties or early thirties came to them, looking at the boy with a stern look. With one glance, anyone can say they are related. Most probably mother and son.
“Nick, what are you doing here? Don’t disturb her. Come here, baby” she told to the boy, giving an apologetic look to the young painter. She smiled and shook her head a bit.
“No, he is not. He is lovely,” she told to the little one’s mother. Little Nick wiggled in his seat nervously with a shy smile.
“Could you show me that with color?” he asked with a shy voice, pointing his little finger at her landscape painting.
“Oh, it’s beautiful! You are really gifted. That’s why this little monkey sitting here for this long, “. Little Nick’s mother said, looking at the lady. She smiled again and looked at Nick dearly.
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“Yes, sure Nick. Next time you can see it with colors”. She told while raffling his soft hair. With that, he got up from the cement bench and ran to his mother. Waving her hand at the lady, he turned to go with his mother but turned back to look at her.
“What is your name?” He asked cutely.
“Saya, my name is Saya,” she said with her velvet voice. Repeating the name again, this time he really bid farewell to his newfound friend, letting Saya all to herself.
Smiling at the antics of the little boy, she tried to turn her focus back to the painting, but her sketchbook grabbed her full attention, which was now lying on the cement bench next to her. The drawings on the white pages filled with the portrait of a teen boy who smiling dearly at the person in front of him. The person in the drawing looked handsome with his perfect face and dimple smile. With a longing look, Saya turned page by page, only to meet the same boy with the same smile, but with slightly different angles.
It is already fourteen years now.
Time had fled swiftly, turning a five-year-old little girl into a young, beautiful lady.
With her gifted hand, she has become one of the youngest graduates in her university at the age of nineteen. It was an outstanding achievement for her age.
But she always wondered how he was doing.
What person has he become now?
Whoever he was, she was so sure he must be happy somewhere.
She rooted him for his success, even though she didn’t really know where he was or rather who he was.
She never forgot the warmness of his embrace.
It has left an eternal impact on her.
She really wished to see him one day.
Her knight in shining armor.
A giggle left her mouth, and she shook her head at the childish thoughts she still had. He surely must have forgotten her now. It was a really long time. He must be really busy with his own family, with his girlfriend, or perhaps with his wife.
With a deep sigh, she closed her sketchbook and placed it again in its original place to glance back at the vast sky.
The sun was already bidding farewell to the world, making different shades in the evening sky. She looked at it with amusement. Nature has always managed to fascinate her.
She was always an excellent observer.
It was something she inherited as an artist.
She always preferred to draw natural objects and scenarios. Sky, sea, water, and grass were the major subjects of her art pieces. With her photographic memory, it was not a big deal to her.
She was a born artist.
Just like her brother.
She really missed her brother those days. It has been years since she last saw him. The day she entered Art College was the last time she saw him.
After that, he became swamped with his business.
Really too busy for her liking.
She actually felt hurt.
Saya didn’t like the world of business as it had already stolen two of the most important people’s attention from her.
Both his father and brother were always busy being with her.
Nor were both of them ever on the same page.
The countless fights and arguments between father and brother became really serious with each passing year. Now the gap between them couldn’t be filled by anyone. It was a long since her brother left the house.
But mother and her sister didn’t look affected by his absence. Actually, they looked relieved. In the absence of the elder child, her sister became the heir to her father’s business. According to the maids, both mother and daughter were overjoyed when the young master left his father’s business and built his own. It was something they had prayed for day and night.
However, Saya didn’t care about business issues or know anything about them. She wanted her family to be together.
But it was not an achievable target from the very first place.
Her mother, actually her stepmother, never accepted them. And her elder sister never acknowledged her once. She was never allowed to attend any business parties that they took part in. Most people didn’t even know Knights had another daughter. Both her father and brother never wanted her to appear near them. Every time she wanted to get close to them, they pushed her away from them, not regarding her feelings.
It’s not like she wanted to appear at any party.
She really despised them.
Loud noises, vivid dresses, and fake smiles were the only things shared at parties of wealthy people. She didn’t want to be a part of them. She didn’t match that world. Saya’s lack of social skills always made her different from others. She didn’t have any friends owing to her extremely introverted character and her early entrance to the college didn’t help her case either. She was the youngest one in her class. Most of the time, she was an outcast from the group of elder ones.
However, her artwork kept her busy and distracted from the outside world. It made her see beauty in every single thing around her. She let nothing affect her and was hopeful about the bright future ahead of her. With talent and being one of the youngest graduates with merit passes, she could easily continue her career as a painter. She had nothing to worry about, anyway.
Saya got out of her dreamland as someone cleared his throat. Turning to the side, she saw her driver looking at her. She was already late to go home. Today is the day they gather for dinner.
The day she really hates.
But, what to do! She had to attend.
Smiling at the old man, who she had known since her childhood, Saya got up from the cement bench and looked at her long-forgotten painting. With a sigh, she folded the canvas. She had to complete it before the next weekend. Because she made a promise to someone. She thought of the little boy’s cute face and smiled. She will not break any promises.
Even how small it is.
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