Magic Beyond The Window Part 2
Klutz

     Serena sighed, curled up on the warm window seat in her room, she
stared blankly 
out the window.  The moon hung pale and low in the sky even though it
was early in the 
say, and the pale blue sky was covered in wispy white threads of cloud.
'Funny, how the 
only magic the world seems to hold is my dreams.  This room holds all
the magic in the 
world for me, but I'm never awake to see it.  Isn't there any magic *
beyond * this 
window?  Isn't there any magic for me?' She sighed again.  'Well I'm
not getting anything 
finished by just sitting here! I should go out and * do * something!'
She swung her 
slippered feet off the small ledge and made her way down the stairs,
and out onto the 
back porch.  She felt rather silly, just sitting around for the most of
the morning.  Usually 
her days in this house, in this city 'world' something seemed to say,
were much busier, 
with only a few minutes at Lita's or Rei's or anyone's for a few
moments of peace.  
Serena stood up again and walked out into the roses that filled their
back yard.  Pulling a 
small Swiss army knife out of her pocket, she clipped a few red and
white roses off at the 
stem, and carried them back inside to put in a vase.  Once they were
arranged to her satisfaction on the kitchen table, she lifted her coat off the
hallstand and went out with a small sketchbook and pencil in hand.
     She walked for what must seemed like eons of peaceful silence, but
was really only about ten minutes until she came to a quiet park nestled in
quietly at the heart of 
Tokyo.  Sitting down on an empty bench, she began to draw.  She drew
the trees, the 
flowers, the children playing on the swing set, the couples that walked
through and the 
groups of friends out for a picnic lunch. Finally, she drew the sky
line and a few ducks 
and small animals playing along the shore of the lake.  By this time
she was feeling much 
calmer.  Smiling to herself she started to draw a few pictures,
starting at the Queen's 
wedding, moving on to her birth, the births of the guardians and who
they would become, 
her childhood days on the moon, and finally, though her eyes watered at
it, the final days 
of her kingdom. She slammed the cover of the book closed and let her
pencil fall to the 
grass.  Drawing things like that was emotionally draining, but
obviously worth it.  You 
could see the emotion, feel it, like it was palpable when you looked
into the paintings, as 
they looked into your soul.  But this was a good thing, because it gave
her a few new 
ideas. 'I could make one whole hallway in the gallery!' she thought
excitedly.  'It could 
be the beginning of the silver millennium to its chaotic finish! 
People would love it, and 
then we could start doing portraits of individual lives for other
people!' "Oh wow!" she 
exclaimed, and stood up sharply, but not with out slamming her head
into something, hard.
     "Ow!" someone else exclaimed.  Making use of her sharp decent backto the 
bench, she grabbed her pencil up off the ground and turned around
angrily to see who had 
been watching her this whole time.  Her eyes iced and at the same time,
melted a bit when she met another pair of midnight blue eyes.
     "Darien, right?" she asked coldly.  He nodded, having the decency
to look at least 
a little embarrassed. "Care to tell me why you've been watching me this
whole time?" He looked away, back to the children on the swings.
     "I wanted to see some more of your work, and maybe how you did it.
 I've never seen so much emotion in a piece.  It must take a lot out of you." He
replied softly.
     She nodded. "Fine then.  I have to go, I have paintings to paint."
She said, turning away quickly.
     "Oh, wait!" he said quickly. She paused and turned.     "Yes?"
     He looked down a little, at the ground or his feet she didn'tknow.
     "Would you like some icecream or something?" he asked.  "I mean,
if you have to go, that's ok, but I'd really like to ask you a few questions."
Something inside her 
tugged.  She felt that if he had turned and walked away right then, she
would have gone 
with him.  It was if a knot of rope was on one side of her back, and
the rope went right 
through her stomach, to tie around him, so that if he went one way, she
would too, like it or not. 
     "Well, sure.  That would be ok." she answered finally.  His head
snapped up and he smiled brightly.
     "Great!  Come on, I know this place with great ice cream calledIo's Caf‚."
     "Oh, not there!  My friend owns it, and if I come in with a guy
I'll never hear the end of the match making!" He looked surprised but nodded.
     "Ok then, I know another place down by main street, if that's ok?"
he offered uncertainly.
     "Sounds great, let's go!  My stomach is growling already!" she
said laughing, and 
they headed in that direction, talking about life in general, their
friends and funny things that had happened over the years. 
     The meal went quickly, and Serena found herself more interested in
him than she would like to admit.  Eventually though, the meal was over, and she
regretfully told him 
that she had to go, because she had some work to do on a new idea with
Lonnie.  He had 
nodded and watched as she walked back the way they had originally come,
until she disappeared from sight.
     She knew though, because she could feel his puzzled gaze on her,
and it confused her all the more.  
     Finally, reaching the house, she skipped up the steps, pulled the
key out from the 
crack in the foundation, and let herself in.  Peggy wasn't downstairs,
but as Serena 
slipped of her shoes, she could hear the sounds of the pottery wheel at
work above her.  
Smiling, she dropped her sketchbook on a small table by the door and
went out making 
some tea before settling down on the couch to pore over the day'ssketches.  
     They were good, she admitted to herself, if a little rough around
the edges from 
being done fast in a highly emotional state.  She could easily find a
few places where her 
hand had rubbed across the page, spreading lead and shadow where it
shouldn't be.  But 
other than that, she thought they could work out for the exhibit shehad in mind.
     "Something new, Serena?" Peggy asked from behind her.  Serenaturned and 
smiled at Peggy, who was wiping her hands off with an old towel she hadwet.  
     "Yeah actually, I have this great idea, I thought I'd talk to you
about it first before going to David."
     Peggy laughed.  "I sure hope so!" Serena laughed too, then paused,
offering the book to her friend.  Peggy dried her hands and set the towel aside,
flipping through the 
book.  "A kind of history of exhibit?" she asked.  Serena nodded.
     "Yeah, a kind of 'the life and times' thing."  
     Peggy nodded.  "I like it!  Do you want to finish up the last two
paintings in the 
garden series before we take this to David?  Or should we tell him in
advance, so we can book the gallery for say. February?"  Serena laughed.
     "February?!  You seriously think we can have all of these done by
then?" she 
asked.  Peggy grinned, picked up her cup of tea, which had cooled, and
drank it all down in one gulp.
     "If I can do that, we can paint all of these and the two garden
series paintings by 
February." She said, and Serena cracked up.  Peggy always did strange
things like that when she was in a good mood. 
     "Alright, deal.  But right now," Serena yawned, "I'm exhausted. 
I'll see you in the morning Peggy."
     Peggy looked at her funny.  "But Serena, it's only, what, 7:30 in
the evening!"  
     Serena shrugged, "Eh, maybe it'll be worth it for the dreams.
'Night Peggs." And 
with that, she wandered sleepily up the stairs and into her soft warm
bed, where she promptly fell asleep.  


Er.to be continued when either someone like Antigone gives me some
inspiration, or I find the time..-_-; MKwww.lunap.comlunap@lunap.com
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