Part 2 : Alaric the curator

Thea hugged the old book she had just bought from one of the nearby flea shops, it was her good fortune to find the book she was looking for in that shop. Even though it was a little dusty with brown spots because it was stored for a long time, the book was still in good condition, a sign that the shop owner took good care of his merchandise. Sometimes Thea prefers to buy old or used books compared to new books in expensive and air-conditioned bookstores, Thea realizes that living away from her parents she has to save a lot.

Thea's footsteps stopped when she was in front of the museum. It had been a long time since she had been to a museum, maybe a few years ago when her school organized a tour of the big city. She lived in a quiet little village, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Instead of a museum, there wasn't even a mall. Without a second thought, Thea walked into the museum.

Thea's footsteps in her sneakers echoed in the museum. The museum was quiet with only a few visitors, less than twenty people, Thea being one of them. Thea continued to walk past paintings and white pillars that supported the roof of the museum.

Her feet stopped as she was in front of a classic baroque-style painting, the faint scent of oil paint and wood wafting from the painting. The canvas depicted a noblewoman sitting at her dressing table facing the mirror, a man who seemed to be her partner standing behind her back. The man seemed to be whispering admiringly to the woman, but Thea's breath caught as she realized the man's hand was gripping the woman's neck. It was a gentle grip, not strong but it symbolized that he had her in his arms.

She squeezed the strap of her bag.

The sound of footsteps approaching her from behind brought Thea back to reality. She turned around. Her gray eyes widened to see a tall man behind her, wearing a dark woolen coat with a high-collared shirt, one of his hands stuffed into the coat pocket. His profile was clearly sculpted in the museum lights, his firm jaw and piercing golden brown eyes. There was no mistaking it,

Alaric Liu Grayson.

Thea held her breath.

How could the man who helped her last night, staring at her with a raspy voice that seemed protective of her now be right behind Thea. It was as if the universe was working together to make them meet again.

Or so Thea thought before she noticed the business card Alaric had given her. Curator or museum director, that was Alaric's job. Was this the museum he managed?

"I knew it was you." Alaric smiled kindly, in stark contrast to the look in his eyes. "The girl from last night..."

"Elwood," Thea interrupted quickly realizing Alaric was confused as to what to call her, she realized they hadn't even been formally introduced. "Theavine Elwood."

"Ah yes...Thea." Alaric nodded. "Is it okay if I call you that?"

Alaric clearly wanted to call Thea by name instead of Thea's surname. As if they were already familiar. Thea's lips twitched at the thought, wanting to protest but she herself called Alaric by name directly.

"No...problem," she replied with a noticeable reluctance. Silence, she didn't know what else to say. Thea was the type who was not good at opening conversations with people she just met.

Alaric stood next to her, observing the painting that Thea was looking at earlier. "Isn't it beautiful? This painting only arrived a month ago. Do you know the hidden meaning of this painting?"

Thea blinked quikly in surprise as Alaric suddenly asked her a question. She gulped her saliva slowly. "This woman is quite the insecure type, because she has a sad look on her face with all the makeup on her desk, while he's trying to cheer her up, whispering in her ear."

Thea decided not to mention the man's hand that was gently gripping the woman's neck. Alaric turned to Thea who was fidgeting with the strap of her bag.

"That's all?"

"Huh?"

"Looks like you missed something, Theavine Elwood."

Thea stammered at Alaric's words. I wondered if Alaric could read her mind and realized that Thea had intentionally left out other details of the painting.

"You mean...the man's hand gripping the woman's neck?"

"Do you know what that means?"

Thea shook her head innocently, pretending not to know. And Thea didn't notice the corner of Alaric's lips lift, seeing the shake of her head.

"The man is quietly gripping the woman's neck, the man's grip is gentle but at a dangerous point. And he wants her to depend on him." Alaric, turned to face Thea. "It was an obsession."

Thea rubbed the nape of her neck at Alaric's almost whispered words, somehow she felt goosebumps. Ah...maybe it was the air-conditioner museum, Thea tried to think positively.

"Do you only like paintings? This museum has other rooms that display other than paintings." Alaric quickly changed the topic, before he sank further into Thea's innocent gray eyes.

"Really? What are the collections here?"

Alaric was stunned by Thea's sudden enthusiasm. Those gray orbs sparkled, looking at Alaric curiously and seemingly hungry for knowledge.

"There are carved stone statues, Chinese calligraphy art and foreign books and manuscripts." Alaric was silent for a moment as he realized Thea continued to stare at him. Instead of being mesmerized by his face – as other women usually were whenever they saw Alaric – Thea seemed more curious about his museum collection.

"Sounds amazing." Thea sighed curiously, she was no longer gripping the strap of her bag like she did earlier, her self-defense gesture had collapsed. "But, I haven't explored all the paintings in this room. I'll look through the paintings first."

Alaric nodded. "I can accompany you." Alaric casually walked next to Thea, their heights were quite contrasting, Thea only reaching Alaric's chest. "You know what? I'm pretty good at being your tour guide." There was a joking tone in his words, making Thea not reject Alaric's offer to accompany him.

But it turned out that Alaric's words were not entirely true. The man could explain the paintings there very expertly. Thea was amazed to hear Alaric's explanation which was comfortable to hear and easy to understand. He was like an expert in history.

They stood in front of one of the paintings featuring Cupid in flight. Suddenly Thea remembered something.

"Uhm... I remembered your business card, are you the director of this museum?" Thea asked cautiously.

Alaric smiled and nodded. "You're right. It just so happened that when I came out of my room I saw your little back looking at the paintings. It's a good thing I wasn't mistaken." Alaric chuckled.

Thea smiled awkwardly. Looking at the watch on her wrist, she realized that she had been in the museum for almost an hour. She had planned to go home quickly after looking around for a while.

"Sorry, I have to go home first."

"Ah that's right, it doesn't feel like we've spent a long time." Alaric also looked at his watch. "I didn't expect discussing paintings with a student girl like you to be so much fun, Thea. It makes me lose track of time."

A faint frown appeared on Thea's forehead, she had only told Alaric her name, never once had she said she was a student. Did her appearance explain her status?

Not wanting to think any further, Thea discarded the confused feeling. "I also enjoyed spending time with you, Mr. Alaric. I gained a lot of knowledge from you." Thea bowed her head slightly. "I'll leave then, see you soon."

"Yes, see you soon Theavine Elwood."