Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

After the lesson today, which is about the 'Silver lining', Silla took Charlotte out of the facility.

"Looks like it'll be sunny today.", Silla muttered. She then looks at Charlotte, begrudgingly holding her woman's hand.

"Charlotte, since this will be a short walk, I wanna ask you about something. About your Reverie."

What does she want now? Charlotte complained in her mind.

"Charlotte, you said your Reverie absorbs impact and spread, right?"

Charlotte nodded.

"So what if you apply the impact before you attach it?", Silla wondered, "Or force the speed of devouring to increase?"

"I... don't know.", the girl answered.

"Fair enough.", the woman shrugged, "By the way, what is your condition for gaining back your powers?"

"To leave my haven.", Charlotte repeated Reverie's words.

"Haven huh, I see! Rowing you into a dangerous place should do the trick." Silla smiled, making Charlotte more wary.

She is unpredictable... and dangerous...

Seeing Charlotte being uncomfortable, Silla changed the subject, "Van Gogh's place isn't too far away, just a block down from here."

Charlotte looked to the front, she could see its shape. Curiosity struck her, as the building resembled more of a cottage, as much as a mansion that was made to look like a cottage.

"That's Van Gogh's place. Besides being our therapist, she also takes personal commissions, usually from rich people. Her paintings usually sell for the billions, often due to the commissioner's own will."

"What is so special about her paintings?", Charlotte did not understand much, but she knew billions is a large number.

"Her ability, she has a bunch herself. Besides being a good painter, she can see and translate emotions into art, your deepest secrets, your subconscious mind. Van Gogh can translate them into arts.", Silla explained with unusual seriousness, "I got a painting of my own too. But I burned it, it revealed too much of me."

Charlotte nodded. I wonder what my painting will be like.

 

They stopped at the front door, too small for the size of the two-story mansion, Silla pressed a doorbell. Instantly, the door opened.

Coming out is a petit woman with messy ginger hair, shadowing her bright sky blue eyes. There are freckles on her face, giving her an endearing aura. The outfit she wears is a simple white shirt stained with colors, a blue denim jacket, and brown pants.

Her eyes met with Charlotte's azure gaze, she shivered a bit as she turned her attention to Silla.

"H-Hello...", she spoke timidly, "H-How can I help you...?"

"Hi, Van Gogh! I was just checking on you, and bringing you another fellow Gem Holder!", Silla glanced at Charlotte.

"I told you to call me Vanessa...", she whispered, before checking out Charlotte with a kind smile, "Hello, what is your name?"

Charlotte felt relaxed by just being near her, maybe this is an effect of her power? 

With a calm manner, she replied, "I am Charlotte Silvi."

"What a beautiful name. I am nobody special... you might know me as Vincent Willem Van Gogh, or Van Gogh for short... but please call me Vanessa, it's the name of my Gem Holder... I do not wish for her to be forgotten..."

Charlotte nodded, "Okay, Vanessa."

She brightened up a bit, "Thank you... come in, I was just done with my current painting..."

Charlotte and Silla followed Vanessa in. The first thing the girl saw was paintings, a lot of paintings hung on the walls. Scenes of starry nights, fields of flowers, beaches, pictures of architectural ingenuity... every one of them is beautiful, on a physical and psychological level.

The ability to paint emotions...

Charlotte can feel Vanessa pouring her heart out for each of the paintings. The emotions the girl feels from them are unfiltered, so much so they may influence her emotional state.

"Oh...", Charlotte touched her cheeks, they were wet, "Oh... I'm crying."

"S-Sorry, this place is a little overwhelming...", the painter approached Charlotte, crouched down, and taking out a tissue paper, she wiped the girl's tears from her face, "You are a big girl, right?"

She pats Charlotte's head, "Don't look at them too much, maybe when you are older you can handle them. Come on, follow me."

"You guys go by yourself, I'll be here observing the paintings.", Silla said, waving them both goodbye.

Vanessa nodded, accepting the proposal. She took Charlotte's hand, which made the girl realize how soft the painter's hand was. She delicately held her hand, her eyes viewing Charlotte as something fragile.

"I will take good care of you, Charlotte, you need not worry...", Vanessa spoke as she led Charlotte from the showroom to a more normal living room, with two sofas opposite of each other, a coffee table inbetween, an office space with documents, and a scenic painting of a lake.

"This isn't much but it is still something. Sit down, I will get some snacks and drinks. What do you want?", Vanessa asked.

"Mhmm... milk.", Charlotte answered with hesitation. It was the first time she got to choose her drink, after all.

Vanessa nodded, "Milk, and would crisps be alright?", she went through the door next to the office table.

Charlotte nodded, she went along with anything. She has yet to discover anything she would dislike to consume.

She sat down on the sofa, letting the soft embrace consume her as her body began to relax. Her eyes naturally fixed on the painting of the lake, it truly gave a calming presence.

The painting depicts a still lake, painted with light brush strokes, almost like the painter just let the paint spread without manipulating the oil. But the more Charlotte looked at it, she realized the finer details of the artwork. The subtle strokes here and there, the blue line of water touching the green patch of land, give life to the still image.

It's beautiful...

"Ah, please don't look too much at the painting, it's not something worth looking at....", Vanessa spoke from behind.

Charlotte jolted out of her daze, her eyes flashed to the painter. Which spooked the painter.

"Aah! Your eyes are intense...", Vanessa took a step back, avoiding Charlotte's eyes. She looked very uncomfortable when placing down the glass of milk, a mug of Irish coffee, and a bowl of potato chips.

She sat down opposite Charlotte, fidgeting a bit. Not caring much about the mental state of the therapist, the girl grabbed a potato chip and ate it.

A round of awkward silence ensues.

"Umm...", Vanessa hummed, "Is the snack to your liking?"

Charlotte think for a bit, tasting the salt left in her mouth. The flavor of the chips is salty, but not too salty, it was perfect and Charlotte thought she could eat it forever. So she nodded, to Vanessa's relief.

"Thank you, I'm just getting used to the air fryer. I'm not sure... how it would taste.", she smiled, "Now, I think it is time for business."

Charlotte tilted her head, "Business?"

Vanessa's face showed confusion, then panic, "Ah aah! I'm sorry! Usually, people come here to tell me... for me to help them... being a therapist is hard to explain."

She began to shake, looking around the room, trying to find something.

Charlotte~ give it a try~! It'll be an eye-opening experience!

Eye-opening? Whatever...

Charlotte spoke up, "Can I give it a try?", which made Vanessa refocus on her.

"O-Of course!", she brightened up, then straightened herself up, "Ehem, so is there something troubling you lately?"

Charlotte leaned back, once again staring at the painting. What is troubling her? There is of course Silla, who forced her to do things against her will multiple times. That is very troubling.

But... that is not the trouble Charlotte thinks Vanessa can deal with.

There is another one, one that she already agreed to. She took out her phone and opened up the file that disgusted her the most.

I hate this...

She handed it to Vanessa.

Vanessa took it, "Is it okay for... me to read this?"

Charlotte nodded, prompting the painter to read. At first, she was frowning, probably reading the first few entries. Then she winced, maybe at the part where Charlotte destroyed the facility. Finally, her eyes shook, showing terror behind them, the hand holding the phone shaking.

"H-How could they...", tears began to form in her eyes. Her eyes transfer between the phone and Charlotte, before dropping it on the table.

Vanessa stood up, going around the table to reach Charlotte. She went in for a hug, surprising Charlotte in her warm embrace.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! So much suffering, so much agony! I... I didn't know...! I couldn't have known!", she cried out a stream of tears.

However, being the insensitive child Charlotte is, only one thought crossed her mind. My shirt is wet now...

"Let me... let me take on the burden for you... please wait a bit... I'll get my stuff...", Vanessa let go of Charlotte, arms still shaking.

She went into the other room. 

Charlotte tracked her as she went in. Then her azure eyes changed target, from the painter to a painting in that room. A red bush made completely out of thorns, simple as that, but the details of the painting filled Charlotte with an overwhelming sense of dread. She averted her eyes, wondering what kind of thing that was.

The Gáe Bolg Forest is something born from the last stand of a Celtic hero, Cú Chulainn. Made from the demonic spear giving the forest's name. Once it lost its master, without anyone to control it, it drank the blood of the fallen and became a forest of death.

Hearing Reverie's explanation, Charlotte could see why the forest was dreadful. If she had known of it before seeing the painting, she might have thought the Gáe Bolg Forest was cool, but with the ability of the painter, nothing but fear took hold of her.

"I'm back— oh...", Vanessa came out with a bunch of painting supplies, she was frowning when she looked at Charlotte with dread in her eyes, "...sorry... you saw it, didn't you... I really should put it somewhere else."

Before getting to comfort Charlotte, Vanessa placed the easel down in front of her office desk, a white canvas, along with the palette on a holder, tubes of paint, and different kinds of brushes. She took out a stool from under the desk and sat on it.

Vanessa breathed in a deep breath, "Here goes nothing..."

Charlotte felt Vanessa peering into her body, into her mind. Like a gentle gardener, tending to a garden, cutting off the unnecessary branches, removing vines to let the plants grow freely, replacing the soil, and singing a lovely melody into her very mind. She closed her eyes, letting comfort take over her, as Vanessa continued to paint the canvas.

=0=0=

"Charlotte... wake up, I'm done..."

Huh?

Charlotte felt someone shaking her, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was sky blue eyes, ones full of innocence. 

"Vanessa...?"

The painter smiled, "Yes, I am here. Did you have a good nap?"

Nap...

Charlotte knows the word, but she has yet to experience it yet. All she did was go to her void, nothing more, nothing less. With the effect of her hat, she may never feel truly tired. And she cannot dream. However, she does feel a weight has been lifted from her as if all of her troubles were taken away. So she just nods.

"Good... now... your painting is complete. Would you like to see it?", Vanessa smiled, she seemed excited to reveal the painting to Charlotte.

She turned the canvas to Charlotte. What the painting... no, portrait describes is something strange. A humanoid figure covered in darkness, almost like a void, dropping over it is a pure white veil, around are flowers, many different kinds of blooming flowers, both elegant and disgusting blooms... like other paintings of Vanessa, this one made her feel emotions, many, many different emotions.

"When I use my powers... I can touch your soul...", Vanessa's expression darkens, "And feels it... to paint it..."

The artwork by itself is beautiful... beautiful... the power to transform pain into beauty... the power to see the pain of others...

Charlotte continues to stare at the painting. Different emotions, all mixed to form a garden around the figure, her figure, yet two emotions stood out the most. Rage, and Joy. What could her soul see for those emotions to twist together into a morbid harmony? It was ugly to Charlotte, yet magnificent at the same time. It draws her in, her soul in bare form through the eyes and mind of an artist, the greatest at their craft.

"You can keep it if you want, Charlotte.", Vanessa touched her again on the shoulder, snapping Charlotte away from the painting.

"I will... keep it, thank you...", she spoke quietly, enough for Vanessa to smile.

"It is a pleasure, jonge vrouw.", she bowed, then she held Charlotte's hands in a warm embrace, "I will get it delivered to you tomorrow, it will be up at your place by the time you wake up."

Charlotte nodded.

"Now, it's late. You took quite a long nap, Charlotte.", she chuckled, "You should head back now."

Nodding, Charlotte gulped down her glass of milk since her mouth was pretty dry, and it would be a waste of hospitality. 

"Thank you for having me.", she stood up, giving one final glance at her portrait before going.

Going to a gallery of a room, Charlotte kept her eyes down so as to not get overwhelmed by the paintings. Before she knew it, she reached Silla's feet. Stress once against formed in her.

"Little one! You took your time, didn't ya?", Silla cheerfully asked.

"Yes...", Charlotte nodded with a small smile.

"Good! Van Gogh might not be as sociable as most people, but she's good at her job. Feels all better now?"

Again, she nodded. Silla then gave her hair a good ruffle, "Atta girl! You did good!", then she slapped her back, "Now go! I got some business with Van Gogh, I'll be back later!"

Charlotte felt relieved, she rushed past Silla and went away.

Today was a good day.