Finding Hope

[DarkEmpress]

This thread is closed for KieranSoares, I hope you will enjoy it with us.

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Hope was staring out the window, aimlessly, her mind a million miles away. The apartment was a complete wreck, but she neither had the energy nor the inclination to do anything about it. To be truthful, she didn’t want to be here today, anywhere but here.

Tony had come home in a foul mood again the night before and had managed to drag her spirits down with him. He always did that. She knew she had a lot to be grateful for, they had a roof over their heads and food on the table, but Hope couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to life than this? Surely her entire existence couldn’t possibly revolve around the mood that Tony was in? She was tired of constantly walking on eggshells around him, careful to say the right things, do the right things, be what he wanted her to be.

Somewhere along the line she had lost herself. Hope didn’t know who she was or what she really wanted anymore; her entire life was centred around Tony.

Frustrated, she ran her fingers through her raven hair. It fell listlessly around her shoulders, reflecting her entire psyche. She tried really hard to think when last she did something for herself, something that she really enjoyed, and she honestly could not come up with a single thing. She has always loved reading and she had a natural knack for creativity, but home was a stifling place, a place that did not allow such things to exist. They were simply not important, even though they were to Hope.

Determination flared in her eyes as she flung her handbag across her shoulder and walked out of the apartment. A few blocks later, she found herself walking past one or two art galleries and she stopped, staring, mesmerised. She had forgotten how beautiful it is. The saying goes that every artist dips their brush into their own soul, and paints their own nature into their piece of art, and Hope had a glorious day just staring at each presentation and losing herself in the wonderful depth that each piece contained.

It wasn’t until her phone buzzed for the third time, that Hope realised that someone was trying to get hold of her. She didn’t have to look to see who it was. She took it from her bag and answered it with a simple, “Yes.”
“I am in an art gallery, doing research for my thesis,” she lied, having to explain her absence from home.
“Do you want to join me?” she asked, knowing full well, he wouldn’t be caught dead in an art gallery. He was being childish, making her feel guilty, and Hope decided to ignore him, though she knew it would probably lead to a fight.
“Okay, bye,” she said, hanging up.

Hope wordlessly placed the phone back in her bag. Her eyes had never left the painting in front of her. It was a painting of a woman, more a silhouette that made you wonder who the mysterious woman was, what she was thinking. Whoever painted her did it masterfully, almost lovingly.

God, what she would give to have someone who could see her like that. Hope was completely oblivious to the fact that someone was watching her…

 

[KieranSoares]

"She's lovely, ain' she?" A light Irish accent alerted her to a man behind her. "Belinda was 'er name. Bell, I called 'er. God, I miss 'er."

Up beside her stepped a lean and incredibly tall man, pulling his long and shaggy dark brown hair back in a ponytail. His face was framed with short hair that extended down his jaw and onto his chin and upper lip. There was some unkempt stubble on his face, though, saying he hadn't shaved that day.

He adjusted his white dress shirt which hung untucked over blue jeans and hiking boots, and smiled to Hope handsomely, "Fellow art lover? Or fellow artist?" So he'd painted the woman.

 

[DarkEmpress]

A voice spoke up behind her and Hope startled. “Belinda,” she whispered, smiling gently at the painting, who now had a name. Hope turned slightly and watched as a very tall man stepped into her view. He fit the description of an artist, perfectly, the long hair, and a white shirt that she could just imagine having paint blotches all over.

“I’m a fellow art lover,” Hope acquiesced, smiling at him curiously. “I certainly cannot paint like you do, though I wish I could,” she confessed. Hope turned and stared at the painting a few moments longer.

“You say that you miss her,” Hope asked, turning to look at him again. “What happened?”

 

[KieranSoares]

"She was an absolute Saint, tha's what happened. After I finished paintin' this, she went to Japan t'help with the tsunami relief. The buildin' she was in washed out an' she nearly died savin' two little lads from bein' crushed. She passed away o' sickness from an infection she got from a bad cut there. Died a month later just after seein' the finished painting for the first time. Tha's why I won't sell it, lots o' art dealers ask."

But then he shook his head, "Bloody 'ell, I'm sorry fer depressin' ya. The name's Daniel Monaghan, but friends call me by th' name I work under, Dana." He offered her his hand in greeting. He had big hands, very steady and warm, and there was a bit of paint under his fingernails.

 

[DarkEmpress]

Hope listened to Belinda’s story and was quite shocked at the outcome of it. She looked back at the painting with a sense of nostalgia. It was the only thing left in this world of a very brave woman. Hope just stared at the painting for a long time, writing it to memory.

“The story behind each one is fascinating,” she simply said.

Hope smiled at his apology and shook his hand, her hand looked absolutely dwarfed in his. “Dana,” she said in greeting. “I’m Hope, pleasure to meet you.” Hope glanced around the gallery, and she realised that the majority of the paintings on display were his. The style was the same. All of them women, gorgeous women, and they were all in the nude.

“You paint from models?” Hope asked.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Most o' the time... but there's one aroun'- oh, here." He led her over to a darker painting of a fair woman with ebony hair and calm blue eyes. She was sitting at the edge of a lake with a large clay jug in her hands, filling it from the clear water. "I don' know where this one came from. I painted 'er from a dream I 'ad." He smiled fondly upon his work, stroking his chin in thought.

"Listen, I know we jus' met and whatnot, but would ya consider bein' a model for me? I've meant t'ask all the women who come through, but... none of 'em are anythin' I'm lookin' for. You're the first." He produced his business card from seemingly nowhere and offered it to her.

 

[DarkEmpress]

He led Hope to another stunning painting of a dark haired woman and she found herself staring at the artwork, admiring his work. “You must have a vivid imagination,” she commented.

He continued to tell her of his current endeavours and Hope was absolutely shocked when he offered her his business card with a request that she be his next model. Hope stared at the card in disbelief and then looked back up at him. “Me?” she asked perplexed. She had to admit the thought was quite inviting … erotic even. “And you’d need me to be nude?” she stammered.

“I’ll have to think about it,” she said quickly, safely placing the card in her bag where Tony wouldn’t find it. God, Tony. He would absolutely freak. Hope nervously nibbled on her bottom lip. “Thank you for the offer though,” she said genuinely pleased, before she hurriedly exited the art gallery.

As she had thought, Tony was in a foul mood when she got home. He summoned just about every vulgar thought he could find and hurtled accusations at Hope until she felt like she wanted to melt into a little puddle on the floor. He finally drank himself into a stupor at around eleven that night, and that was the first time that Hope let her mind go back to the chance meeting she had with Daniel.

It was the first time in a long time that Hope felt that anyone had noticed her, even spoke to her. Tony had isolated her completely, to the point where she felt like she was doing something wrong by just talking to Daniel.

She angrily wiped the tears away and fished his card from her bag, staring at it for a long time. She wanted to do this, even if it cost her dearly. She needed to do this for herself.

Once Tony had left the next morning, Hope carefully dialled the number on the card.
“Daniel? Hi, it’s Hope, we met in the art gallery yesterday?”
“I would love to be your model,” she simply said.

 

[KieranSoares]

"That's awesome!" He replied excitedly. She could practically hear the smile on his face. "And you can call me Dana, sweetheart, remember that. When are you next free to come down to the studio? I'm here anytime. Hell, I live here." He chuckled. He sounded so incredibly excited, more excited than Tony had ever been about anything to do with her. The last time Tony had been hyper about doing something with her was back when they'd first gotten engaged and he took her on a trip to Paris just to let her see the Mona Lisa as she'd dreamed of doing all her life beforehand. Ever since then, Tony didn't spare much excitement for her, only fleeting happiness.