An Artist's Remembrance - Short Story

School children flooded the museum, prancing about like it was a playground.

School children flooded the museum, prancing about like it was a playground.

Their supervisors were helpless to convince them otherwise.

Brady watched with bewildered amusement. Of course, he was here for a college class, so he would have preferred a quiet environment. But the kids didn’t act all that differently from his own classmates, so he figured best to let the matter go.

He worked his way back to the main plaza, in hopes of finding the section on Greek mythology. A new exhibit had recently opened on Aphrodite, including a bronze statue, jewelry, and vases from the time. He nudged his way through the swarming kids like it was an eight-way highway with everyone driving in the wrong direction.

He caught the sight of his friends Yu and Derek crouching under a red-rope stanchion by the chimaera exhibit. Not so different from the elementary kids, after all.

After squeezing his way through the masses of squealing children, he found a sprawling canvas displayed on the wall of the Greek section.

He didn’t remember this painting, but it was stunning. The Pegasus knelt in front of the council of the Olympians with its rider, a woman draped in a brilliant white chiton, ardently proclaiming something to the gods.

Zeus towered above the rest, Poseideon bared his trident, and several other gods looked down at the Pegasus and rider in appraisal. But they weren’t the focus here, shrouded in dark clouds and shadows.

Instead, the light peeked from behind the despairing clouds to cast its divine light on the Pegasus and its staunch protector.

Brady frowned, peering closer at the painting. Had he seen this before? None of his undergraduate classes had ever mentioned it. Or if they had, maybe he was just asleep in that class. Not that he did that often.

He rubbed his finger along the metal plaque containing information about the painting.

The Mortal’s Trial, 1897. Artist - Charlotte Grainge
The Pegasus and its rider justify themselves before Olympus

He sighed. He pulled out his phone to look it up. Perhaps something about this painting would help him finish the paper.

A strange woman walked up to him, standing at his side and admiring the painting. She was about his age, he noticed- then he startled at the wild light in her eyes. They captured an intense, bright hazel.

He shook his head and looked down at his phone.

“What do you think of it?” the stranger asked in a spirited tone.

“Me?” He looked up again from his phone, for a moment.

She arched an eyebrow, curiously glancing at the device. “Yes, of course. What do you think of the painting?

His heart fluttered. “Oh, it’s wonderful. I mean, it’s strange, I’d never heard of it. I’ve been studying Greek mythology for years and I’ve never heard it mentioned in class, in research, anywhere.”

“Oh, really? Well, it wasn’t all that important, now, was it? I still remember painting it,” her vowels lilting in a singsong manner. “Do you know who this is?” She gestured toward the rider, standing proudly by her great steed.

“Athena?” Brady said distractedly.

“No, no. Not Athena. She tamed Pegasus, but that was all. This was Lyra. Rather ordinary,” she said. Brady finally drew his attention to the visitor. He peered back at the painting.

“Was she a goddess?”

The stranger shook her head. “A farmgirl. Pegasus saved her. She saved him, as well.”

“And the council… the gods were angry Pegasus would interfere with a mortal?”

She smirked. “Something like that. She was forced to defend herself before them. They eventually ceded their respect and commended her for saving Pegasus.”

“That sounds rather unlike the gods.”

“Her story didn’t end so peacefully. But at least this part did.”

“May I ask your name?”

She tilted her in head in surprise. “You hadn’t guessed? I’m Charlotte.”

A rattling, tumbling, crashing noise caught their attention from the other side of the room. Something clattered and rolled along the floor, the dour noise echoing above the children’s clamor.

Yu and Derek popped out from behind a display, acting innocent enough, but the flush in their cheeks gave them away.

Brady knew better than to say anything. They never cared how much he scolded them.

“Oh, hey, guys,” he said. He gestured his hand to the side. “This is Charlotte, she was just telling me about something we could use for the project.” He turned and no one was there.

“W-where’d she go?”

“Who?” Derek asked back.

“The girl, I was just talking with her. She was about my height, blonde? Strange eyes?”

“Dude, we came over because you were looking… a little lost,” Yu said, chuckling.

“What do you mean?”

“You were just kinda standing there, staring at something.”

Brady blinked a few times. “Right. Sorry, I’m just on edge. Finals week and everything.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. We’re going to go see the mummies, wanna come?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He feigned an excitement to join them. His two friends scampered off, blending in with the raucous kids, except they were two feet taller.

Brady examined the painting one more time and rubbed his finger over the dull plaque, an engraving there that he hadn’t noticed before.

Always curious - Charlotte Grainge