Chapter 32 - Psychedelic Cycladic

Dreamer

I looked around. There were several lampposts illuminating the empty yet wide street. The sign on one of the corners read Skia. The Greek word for shade or shadow. Not exactly reassuring.

How come I had never stumbled across this part of the city before? Probably because I would never have ventured to pass through that narrow strip of darkness.

Ack! Would we have to go through that again later?

While I was busy panicking at the thought, Ice placed an arm around my shoulders and urged me forward. And I immediately forgot about my initial anxiety.

We walked for a minute and stopped when we were standing in front of a nondescript structure. There was a huge wooden door in front and Ice let go of me to walk toward the entrance. I noticed that he took a deep breath before he pushed open the heavy door and faced me.

"It's not yet open, but I wanted you to be the first to see my gallery," Ice said quietly, sounding uncertain or embarrassed, I didn't know.

I, on the other hand, was speechless. This was an honor.

"Have your brothers seen this?" I asked. I still couldn't believe he kept something this important to himself. Francis had never mentioned it. "Anyone?"

"They know about it, but they haven't been here yet. They know better than to drop by without an invitation," Ice explained. "Although one of my friends surprised me one time."

Was it absurd that I felt jealous?

"Did she like it?" I asked rather sharply.

Ice reached for my hand again. "Than... Dan found it depressing. Tell me if he were right."

Oh.

I grinned at Ice. Together, we stepped inside.

The building didn't look so big from the outside, but the vast space that greeted me the moment we passed the door was remarkable. The main theme was overcast, but the walls were in varying shades and textures. There were sparse pieces of art placed seemingly randomly-and they all but teased me to find the rest of the collection. Perhaps a novice would find the motif depressing, but to me, the surface seemed alive.

Now, this was Fifty Shades of Grey.

Ice offered to take my coat because it was warmer inside. He gazed at me long after I'd handed him my coat and it was rather unnerving. He kept his eyes on mine yet I felt that he was seeing every bit of me. I flushed and looked at my sneakers peeking under the hem of my dress.

I heard Ice breathe out as he hung my coat on a rack that looked like a macerated, distorted skeleton with bony hands and fingers protruding as hooks. Had it not been overlaid in stainless steel, it would have seemed grotesque. It was still morbidly bizarre yet it was also an ingenious stand.

Then Ice removed his own jacket and I decided it was no feat to pass through that dark alley again if the reward was the sight before me. The light blue shirt molded perfectly to his body and I wondered how his jacket managed to cover the span of his shoulders without coming apart at the seams. Ice didn't appear as broad when he was wearing the grey suit. Now, he looked terribly tempting and if I didn't move away, someone help me because I was going to pounce on him and blame the aggression on stress and alcohol.

I had been under a lot of stress and I'd had quite a few drinks earlier.

Still, sanity prevailed. I might never get a chance to see the rest of Ice's art if I assaulted him now.

I stepped toward a frameless painting of an endless tunnel and noticed that the image blended with the wall. I looked at the walls, the floor and the ceiling. Everything was rendered in precise detail. I was inside an infinite passageway with several shafts at cleverly hidden corners. It was a well-crafted maze.

"This is incredible, Ice! Did you conceptualize and paint all this?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered, now slightly grinning. "Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding me? This is unbelievable!" Francis had told me years ago that the brothers dabbled in art and the kid's graphic designs and infomercials were pretty impressive, but this... this massive masterpiece was out of this world.

"Wait till you see what's around the corridors."

There were multiple hallways holding multiple art pieces. The passages looked like tunnels.

The first corridor was lined with figurines that were horrifyingly beautiful. There was a clear influence of Cycladic art with the marble figurines of faceless sculptures perched on nooks carved into the ashen walls. The statuettes reminded me of my grandparents' home. They collected artifacts from archeological digs in Peru, Macedonia and Greece. I remembered sleeping in the room where they placed all their collection and have the eyeless figures watch me as I slept.

Ice picked one of the pieces. From afar, it looked like a misshapen blob of black clay. I took it from him and traced the smooth outline. It was the form of a man, his head bent, his arms appended to his torso, his legs molded together. It was the form of a man who was restrained. There was an obvious stoop on his back and I was drawn to get a sculpting knife and carve the hunch into something else. Except that I was no artist.

"What do you think of it?" Ice asked me.

"I think there's a pair of wings hiding under this protrusion," I responded. I gently placed the figure back in its shelf and turned to see Ice, an indefinable expression his face.

"Ice?"

No response. A beat. Then he suddenly enfolded me in his arms.

And we stood there for several seconds and I allowed the heat from his body to engulf me. I tentatively wrapped my arms around his torso though I could barely reach his back because of his girth.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice muffled in his shirt.

He took a deep breath and my body moved with his. He released me and gruffly answered, "Yes."

He pulled me to another passage. This one was filled with all sorts of vases fashioned in clay, carved in marble and other stones, and cast in metal and gems. He dipped one of the urns and I saw there were three polished black pearls inside it.

"Let's play a game," Ice said. "The first one to find the vase with a single white pearl gets to choose where we'll have dinner tomorrow."

I scowled at Ice. "That's not fair. You would know where you placed it."

"Not really. I only placed black pearls in the vases, but my friend, Dan, thought it would be fun to have a white one. I never bothered looking for it before."

"Okay," I said and immediately went searching. I loved treasure hunts. I went from one vase to another, carefully tilting the tall ones so I could peer inside. I heard Ice shuffling around, but somehow felt he wasn't really searching.

"Found it!" I cried. The white pearl was small and not perfectly round, but it glistened in the dimness of the room. Ice's friend had placed it in a smooth, unornamented urn made of the same black clay that Ice had used to shape the restrained man yet to reveal his wings.

Ice took the white pearl from the vase and placed it in the center of my palm before closing my hand with his. "So you have," he said softly.

I gulped. He was so close. I cleared my throat and said, "Dinner at my place tomorrow?"

Why did I say that??

Ice stared at me hungrily then looked down at my fist that was still wrapped in his, and murmured, "Okay. Wear that."

I opened my hand and was surprised when I saw that the pearl was now attached to a thin silver chain. Ice took it from my hand and gestured for me to turn around so he could place the necklace around my neck.

"How did you do that?" I asked, astonished.

"Party trick," Ice answered simply. His hand grazed my neck and shoulder. I wanted to turn around and hug him and thank him for the gift-plus I really, really wanted to kiss him-but he'd grabbed my hand again and pulled me to the next room.

The next room reminded me of the first sketch I had caught Ice drawing. There were sketches, oil paintings and airbrush pictures of gothic artwork. Another artist might say it was sacrilege to combine different media in one place, but Ice made it work. Everything was cohesive.

All the rooms and pieces expressed Ice's creative and technical skills. There was beauty and emotional power. Every section, element and object spoke to me. Ice appeared naturally stoic, but each piece and facet conveyed depth I couldn't even begin to fathom. There was a story behind every detail.

And I had thought I was a pretty good storyteller.

With every room we explored, I got a glimpse of Ice's imagination and a taste of how he saw himself in relation to the universe. It was profound and humbling.

This gallery was an entire universe by itself. It was overwhelming. And when I let the thought sink in, I felt so tiny.

Ice looked anxious when he saw the combined look of awe and reverence on my face.

"Is it too much?" Ice asked me. Then I thought I heard him mumble, "Freud had warned me about the mortals' response."

"Freud? Mortals? What did you say?"

"Uh... my doctor. He said I should look for something to fill the void. Look for a portal, an outlet."

"Oh," I said. "Your outlet is breathtaking. Everything you made is beautiful."

"They pale in comparison," he stated as he stared at me. "They are but a reflection of true beauty."

Ice sounded like me when I tell Noah to stop hyping my work. I knew it was his job, but on good days, I found it intrusive. On most days, I felt I didn't deserve the attention.

"You're very modest to compare your art to a writer's portfolio. But I'm happy you agree that fiction, in this case visual art, is an interpreted version of actual events."

"This," Ice said, "is inspired by existence. Your concepts, on the other hand, are novel."

I was about to deny it, but Ice continued, "I want to show you something. The last chamber. But first, close your eyes."

Ice clasped my hand again and guided me to the next room. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew something was different. There was a sweet fragrance permeating the air and something brushed my legs beneath my dress.

"You can look now," Ice said from behind me.

If the other rooms held stunning 3D art, this room I found myself in the middle of was a recognizable realm of various dimensions. I could see, hear, smell and touch the manifestation of Ice's visions. The scent was saccharine sweet that when I licked my lips, I swore I tasted caramel.

I looked at my feet and saw soft, dewy grass sprouting from the grainy, obsidian earth. I knelt and touched the surreal imitation of a meadow foxtail, its flowering head tickling my skin. I knew it was another striking illusion, but the expanse around me was a mockup of a very familiar glade. I looked to my side and saw miniature cyclones frozen where they twirled. Beside them were pint-sized creatures with butterfly wings. A dark, whimsical forest decorated the walls and I could imagine crossing the threshold to the boundless woods.

Ice was silent behind me. I stood up and was taken aback when I saw two hulking beasts before me. The first one was visible under the light of the room, but the second one was hiding in the shadows.

I approached the first one and reached up to touch the skeletal forehead and sharp spikes that connected the cranium to the rest of its monstrous body. It had long legs covered in scales and feathers, its back protected by hard armor, and its sides and belly were sheathed in coarse fur.

It was glorious. An old friend.

I was going to ask Ice how he knew. But first, that other being I'd been longing to see in over a decade.

I rushed toward it. Excited. Eager. Finally!

But the ceiling spun, the walls moved, the ground shifted and I slipped.

**

Dedicating this chapter to all you beautiful people who'd inspired me to pursue this journey of CHEESE. I am finally conquering cheese... I think. Thank you, all you wonderful readers! And much love to bombinating, Devita33, @FabianaMagalhes7, freedantes, @kjayne74, dapsucksbigtime, @carelesslife, @FaithfulBreed38 for reading and all the votes and comments :-)

Sharing the song Runnin' (Lose It All) by Naughty Boy featuring Beyoncé - it's an amazing song and an amazing video with my favorite freediver, the gorgeous and gifted real life Aquaman, GuillaumeNéry. Check out his video, Free Fall. It's incredible!