Chapter 3 third chapter

In another place, in another time, Aliette Peters might have been a successful artist.From her earliest memories, her senses have been sensitive to the nuances of color.She can see colour, smell colour, and hear colour. Her father's voice was blue and sometimes red. Her mother's voice was sepia. Her teacher's voice is yellow. The voice of the grocer is pink. The sound of the wind in the woods is green. The sound of running water is grey. ※※※ Aliette Peters is twenty years old.How she looks depends on her mood or how she feels about herself: she can be plain or striking or stunning.She was never just pretty though.Part of her charm is that she doesn't care much about how she looks.She was a little shy and soft-spoken with an almost inappropriate quietness.

Aliette was born in Rome, so she speaks with a pleasant Italian accent.She loved all things Rome, and she once looked down upon the city from the top of the Spanish Marble Steps.At that time, I felt that the city was my own.As she gazed at the ancient temples and the colossal Roman amphitheatre, she realized she belonged to an era in which she had wandered in Piazza Nueva, listened to the fountain of the Four Rivers, wandered past the monument dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II① (Note: Victor Emmanuel II [1820~1878], King of Sardinia, unified Italy and became the first king after the unification of Italy. After occupying Venice, he expelled France from Rome Army, the capital of Rome, the implementation of a constitutional monarchy. - Annotation) of the Wedding Cake Monument in Piazza Venezia.She has worked in St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum and the Borghese family ② (Note: Borghese family, an Italian aristocratic family. Its members played important roles in Italian society, politics, and culture from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. role.—Annotation) spent countless hours in the gallery, admiring Raphael ③ (Note: Raphael [1483～1520], Italian painter and architect during the High Renaissance, whose main works include murals in the Vatican Palace "The Debate on the Sacraments" and "The School of Athens", other masterpieces include "The Sistine Madonna", "The Transfiguration", etc. - Annotation), Brother Bartholomew, Andrea Del Sart ④ (Note : Andrea Del Sarter [1486-1530], a representative painter in Florence during the Italian Renaissance, with perfect composition and technique, and fluent brushwork in his works, such as "The Birth of John the Baptist" etc. - Annotation And those eternal paintings of Pontaumer.Their brilliance both captivated her soul and depressed her.She wishes she had been born in the sixteenth century and knew them.To Alette, they are more real than the people on the street.She wanted very much to be a painter.

She heard her mother's sepia voice: "You're wasting paper and paint, you don't have the talent." ※※※ At first, the move to California was a little unnerving for her.Aliette has been worrying about how she will fit in.Still, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise for Cupertino.She enjoys the shade the small town has to offer, and she loves working for Universal Computer Graphics.There are no major galleries in Cupertino, but Eliot always drives to California to visit galleries there every weekend. "Why are you interested in that stuff?" Toni Prescott would ask her. "Come with me to 'PJ Mulligan'."

"Don't you care about art?" Toni laughed. "Of course. What's his last name?" There is only one cloud hanging over Aliette Peters' life.She's a bit manic-depressive.What often tormented her was anxiety, a feeling of isolation.Her mood swings often went unnoticed even by herself, and she would plunge from elation highs to despairing misery in the blink of an eye.She is helpless with her emotions. Toni is the only person Alette talks about her problems with.Toni has a solution for everything, and the usual solution is: "Let's go play!" Toni's favorite thing to talk about was Ashley Paterson.She had been watching Ashley as Shane Miller talked to her.

"Look at that timid bitch," Toni said scornfully, "she's the Ice Queen." Elliott nodded. "She's serious. Someone should teach her how to laugh." Toni snorted and said, "Someone should teach her how to fuck." ※※※ One night a week, Elliot goes to a San Francisco church for the homeless to help deliver food.A little old woman was particularly looking forward to Aliette's arrival.She was in a wheelchair, and Aliette would help her sit at the table and bring her warm food. The old woman said gratefully: "Honey, if I have a daughter, I will make her exactly like you."

Aliette held her hand tightly, "I can't bear such a compliment. Thank you." But her inner voice said: If you have a daughter, she will look like a pig like you.Aliette was horrified at the idea of ​​such a thing to herself.It was as if someone else inside her was saying the words.This sort of thing happens all the time. She had gone shopping that day with Betty Hardy, a woman who belonged to the same church as Alette.They stopped in front of a department store.Betty was admiring a dress in the window. "Isn't that beautiful?" "Cute," said Elliott.That's the ugliest dress I've ever seen, and it suits you just fine.

One evening, Aliette dined with Ronald the sexton. "I'm really happy to be with you, Elliott. Let's be together more often." She smiled shyly. "I like that too." And what she thought was: Impossible, you idiot.Maybe in the next life, bastard.She was terrified again.What's wrong with me?But she didn't have any answers. Even the slightest blunder, intentional or not, would make Alette furious.She was driving to work one morning when a car cut in front of her.Gritting her teeth, she thought: I'll kill you, you bastard.The man waved his hand apologetically, and Ai Lite smiled sweetly, but the anger in her heart was still there.

※※※ When that cloud fell, Aliette would imagine people in the street having a heart attack or being hit by a car or being shot in the back and dying.She would rehearse these scenarios vividly in her mind.After a while, she would be filled with guilt again. ※※※ On emotional days, Aliette was a complete different person.She is genuine, kind, compassionate and helpful.The only thing that would spoil her joy was the knowledge that the darkness would come upon her again and she would lose herself in it. ※※※ Every Sunday morning, Aliette goes to church.The church has some volunteer projects: delivering food to the homeless, teaching after-school art classes and tutoring students.Elliott would teach the children's Sunday school lessons and do some nursing work.She volunteers with all charities and devotes as much time as possible to them.She especially enjoys giving painting lessons to young children.

One Sunday, the church held a bazaar to raise funds for charity, and Elit brought a few of her own paintings for the church to sell.The Reverend Frank Servagio looked at them in amazement. "These are...these are fantastic! You should be selling them in the gallery." Ai Lite blushed with shame, "No, it's not very good. I just drew it for fun." The bazaar was crowded.Those who made it to church on time brought their friends and family, and to keep them entertained, bazaar organizers put up arts and crafts booths and game booths.There are beautifully made cakes, incredible handmade quilts, homemade jams in beautiful jars, carved wooden toys.People go from stall to stall, tasting sweets and buying things they don't use the next day.

"But it's for charity," Elliott heard one woman explain to her husband. Ai Lite looked at the paintings she hung around the booth, most of them were landscape paintings with bright and vivid colors, each one was ready to come out.She was full of doubts. "You're wasting money buying paint, boy." A man walks up to the booth. "Hello. Did you draw these?" His voice is dark blue. No, idiot.Michelangelo ① (Note: Michelangelo [1473～1564], an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet in the High Renaissance. His main works include the statue "David" and "Moses", the mural "The Last "Judgment" and the architectural design of the teaching dome of St. Peter's University in Rome, etc. - Annotation) stopped by and drew them.

"You are very talented." "Thank you." Do you know what talent is? A couple of young people stopped in front of Ai Lite's booth. "Look at those colors! I've got to have that one. It's a nice painting." All afternoon, people came to her booth to buy her paintings and tell her how talented she was.And Ai Lite wanted to believe them too, but every time the black curtain fell, she thought: They were all deceived. An art dealer passed by. "The drawings are lovely. You should sell your talent." "I'm just an amateur," Aliette insisted.She declined to discuss it further. By the end of the day, Alette had sold every one of her paintings.She gathered up the money that was being paid her, stuffed it into an envelope, and handed it to Reverend Frank Servagio. He took the money and said, "Thank you, Elliott. You are so talented and bring so much beauty to people's lives." Did you hear that, mother? ※※※ When Elliott is in San Francisco, she spends hours visiting the Museum of Modern Art, and she also frequents the de Young Museum to research their collection of American art. Several young painters are copying paintings on the walls of the museum.One young man in particular caught Alette's attention.He was in his mid-twenties, lanky, fair-haired, with a sharp, intelligent face.He is copying Georgia O'Keeffe ① (Note: Georgia O'Keeffe [1887~1986], American modernist female painter, famous for her semi-abstract paintings depicting nature, as well as large flowers and animal bones. She has done a lot of Paintings depicting the New Mexico desert, works such as "White Barn, No. 1" etc. - Annotation) "Petunias", he painted quite well, the artist noticed that Aliette was observing herself. "Hello." His voice is warm yellow. "Hello." Elliott said shyly. The painter nodded towards the picture he was painting. "what do you think?" "Great. I think it's great." She waited for her inner voice to say: for a dumb amateur painter.But it didn't happen, she was very surprised. "It's wonderful." He smiled and said, "Thank you. My name is Richard, Richard Melton." "Alette Peters." "Do you come here often?" Richard asked. "Yes. Come as often as possible. I don't live in San Francisco." "where do you live?" "In Cupertino." Not "It's none of your business" or "Don't you want to know" but "In Cupertino."What's wrong with me? "It's a lovely little town." "I love it." Not "What the hell makes this a cute town to you" or "What do you know about cute towns?" It's "I love it." They finished the painting. "I'm hungry. Can I buy you lunch? De Young's has pretty good food." Aliette hesitated for a moment. "Okay. I like it there." Not "You look so stupid" or "I don't have lunch with strangers" but "I like it there."For Aliette, this was a new and exhilarating experience. ※※※ The lunch was very agreeable, and not once did the hostile thoughts enter Aliette's head.They talked about some great painters, and Alette later told Richard that she had grown up in Rome. "I've never been to Rome," he said, "maybe someday." Aliette thought: It would be interesting to go to Rome with you. Just as they were finishing their lunch, Richard saw his roommate across the dining room and called him to the table. "Gary, I didn't know you were coming here. I want you to meet someone. This is Aliette Peters. Gary King." Gary was in his mid-twenties, with bright blue eyes and shoulder-length hair. "Nice to meet you, Gary." "Gary has been my best friend since middle school, Elliott." "That's right. I've got ten years of Richard's affairs in my hands. So if you're looking for a good story..." "Gary, aren't you going somewhere?" "Yes," he turned to Aliette, "but don't forget my offer. Good-bye, you two." They watch Gary go.Richard said, "Alette..." "what?" "Can I see you again?" "I would." Very much. ※※※ On Monday morning, Alette told Toni about her experience. "Don't have anything to do with the painter," Toni warned. "You'll live off his fruit. Are you going to see him again?" Elliott smiled. "Yes. I think he likes me. And I like him. I really like him." ※※※ The matter, which began with dissenting opinions, ended in a terrible and violent dispute.Reverend Frank is leaving the ministry after forty years in the ministry.He was always a very kind and considerate pastor, and the congregation are very sad to leave him.They had a secret meeting to decide what to get him as a parting gift.A watch...money...a vacation...a painting...he loves art. "Why don't we ask someone to paint a portrait of him with the church in the background?" Everyone turned to Elliott, "Would you like to paint it?" "I do!" she said happily. Walter Manning was an older member of the church and one of its largest donors.He was a very successful businessman, but he always seemed resentful of other people's success."My daughter is a good painter, maybe she should paint," he said. Someone suggested: "Why don't they both paint and we'll vote on which one to give to Reverend Frank?" ※※※ Alette set to work on the painting, which took her five days.It was a masterpiece, brimming with the love and virtue of its owner.On the following Sunday, the congregation gathered together to examine two paintings.People gasped in admiration when they saw Aliette's paintings. "So lifelike, he could almost walk off the canvas." "Oh, he'll love this one." "This picture should hang in a museum, Elliott." Walter Manning unfolds a drawing his daughter drew.It's an acceptable painting, but it lacks the fire-like enthusiasm of Aliette's paintings. "This one is also very good," said a church member tactfully, "but I think Elliott's is better." "I agree." "Alette's portrait is that..." Walter Manning spoke. "This decision must be unanimously approved by everyone. My daughter is a professional painter." He stared at Ai Lite, "not a half-learned half-assed. She took this painting as an act of kindness. We cannot refuse her." "But, Walter..." "No, sir. There must be agreement on the matter. Either we give him my daughter's drawing, or we give him nothing." "I like her painting very much. Let's give it to the priest," Elliott said. Walter Manning smiled smugly and said, "He'll be very happy to have it." ※※※ That night, Walter Manning was hit and killed by a car on his way home, and the perpetrator fled. When Aliette heard the news, she was stunned.