Found – part 9

Shane carried the last of Anas boxes into the studio at the back of the gallery. The apartment was a converted garage surrounded by a beautiful garden. At least, that is what Ana claimed it would be when she was through fixing it up. Shane had her doubts, but kept them to herself, lest she be drafted into helping Anas vision come to life.

The apartment itself suited Ana perfectly. Whoever had done the conversion had added tons of windows and a generous skylight, which flooded the living area with light. While the exterior desperately needed to be stripped and painted, the interior was incredible. Sunlight spread across dark, wide oak floorboards worn by years of use. The walls reminded Shane of a beach cottage, the weathered paint looking more casual than dilapidated. With the light and the comfortable ambience, Ana claimed this would be an ideal place to live and work.

Shane perched on a stack of boxes and looked around her. Ana had already propped various paintings about the room as she decided where to hang what. Shane was captivated by Anas technique”for the paintings were all her own. Her use of light and shadow to evoke mood was… Shane did not have the words to describe what Ana did, but had no doubt that she was talented.

Ana herself was a work of art, in Shanes estimation. And Shane would know. Tall and lanky, with long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, Ana moved with both grace and purpose. Her hands were strong and capable, but there was nothing masculine about them. For moving day, she was dressed casually in loose fitting jeans, sneakers, and a tight t-shirt which looked as if it had grown tight legitimately, not because she bought it that way. She looked…genuine, Shane realized. There was nothing pretentious or contrived in her appearance or her manner. She was real.

Snapping out of her reverie, Shane suddenly stood. So…Im gonna go. Ive got to meet the girls at The Planet.

Ana turned from where she had been arranging paintings, so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadnt realized Shane was even still there. She blushed slightly as she realized what a bad host shed been and tried to recover.