Chapter 3: A Shared Passion.

When Olivia and Liam became friends, new common things were found in their interaction more especially the finding of art. It emerged naturally – Liam once told her that he loved the sketches she did during one of the walks they would take together, and Olivia asked him to come to her studio. In return she was stunned to learn that Liam once pursued his hobby of painting what he admitted as a youth sport although he mentioned that he engraved paintings whenever life happened but did not elaborate.

Olivia's studio was a small, homey, brightly lit studio located on the outskirts of town and opened directly to the sea view with big windows. Paintings were placed on easels, standing both painted and waiting to be painted on them. The smell of fresh oil paint and thinners combined with the fresh smell of the sea coming fom the opened window; soothing and energizing at the same time.

One day Olivia gave Liam a white canvas with all the brushes to paint on that canvas. "Why not give it a try?"she said smiling saucily at me.

Liam thought for a moment, his thumb tracing over the now slick texture of the canvas. "It's been years. I laughed and reminded her, "Sweetheart, you don't even know how I'm making love to you."

Olivia knew that there was not right or wrong here," she told him in as calm tones as she could muster. "Just paint what you feel."

And thus it was that with some amount of hesitation– at least at first– Liam commenced to paint. Where there was doubt, conditions quickly transitioned to become something more habitual, reflexive. Out of the corner of her eye Olivia saw him, she herself was painting with the same brush in her hand. His sessions were slow yet animations, appeared as if the process of painting made him recall the part of him that he had left behind.

But as hours taken by painting progressed, the studio was full of gentle hum of creativity The sound of brushing against the canvas could be heard from time to time interspersed with laughter or with people muttering their ideas. The view of the shore Olivia absolutely adores painted her: the waves rolled for the one on top of the other.

another in a bluish and white colour combination. Liam's work, on the other hand, were more peppy and general: an array of orange and blue vortices as if they had heartbeats.

"I forgot how free it feels, "said Liam, as he moved slightly away to discuss the progress whether done on canvas or paper. His shirt was painted, painted rather, and there was a blue line along his cheek, but his eyes glowed, and for the first time Olivia noticed, he truly was alive.

Smiling, Olivia placed her hands on her hips as leaned her head to one side to check his painting. "It is pulsing with energy : that is always noticed as yours at once."

"And yours," Liam said it with some degree of worship in his tone. "It is very calm, you feel like the ocean itself has come down and given you its view."

This passion for each other remained one of the strongest points of their relationship; there were no need for many words. So, in the studio, they can share pain and inspire each other to try something new and come up with better thoughts and ideas. Liam convinced Olivia to try painting in dramatic colours, and Olivia taught Liam how to add details needed to paint detailed light and shade onto his artwork.

Gazing at Olivia one day long after the summer had started and the sun threw its streaked gold across the room one afternoon, Liam stopped to observe her painting. They watched her intently and with appreciation as her those lines on her forhead showed her concentration and then the swift movements of her brush on the canvas. And he was amazed at how smoothly she turned her visions into reality, having the impression that there was no difference between her heart and her hand.

"Olivia", he whispered, these words disrupting the friendly quietness.

She raised her head up, and her face was stained with a dot of red; her eyes were full of curiosity. "Yes?

"Many times I didn't complete such feelings in a long time," he said, the last words being unusually emotional. When I am with you, when you hold my hand it is as though my soul was made whole."

Tears welled up at the back of her throat when he said that. Placing her brush aside she moved closer to him, her eyes never leaving his gaze. "I share the same opinion," Murat replied, and she gave a whispery response. "I have never known how much I needed a light in my life before you came into my life."

At that time amidst the beautiful splashes of red, blue and yellow and the low drone of the sea beyond the window, Olivia got to appreciate this man by her side. Liam was not just her painting partner, her friend, or her friend with benefits – for all those years, he was her other half – her inspiration, her companion and maybe her lover.

Watching each other as they both stood in front of the paintings that contained parts of their souls it developed into great friendship. It was a base on which a stable and loving relationship was and could only be built – a base of trust and creativity backed up by the acknowledgment of one's soul by another.