then the tour guide shifted, so that they were close enough that their arms could brush against each other and it could still be considered an accident. All it would take was for Nick to take one step closer... “Houses of Parliament, Sunlight Effect,” Nick had answered, the words surprising even himself. Mainly because it wasn’t true. Or, it hadn’t been. He had never been much of a Monet fan. Too many florals. The seascapes were nice, though. But he preferred paintings of dark skies or city outlines. Coursing rivers or raging oceans. Paintings that made him feel something. Monet had never made Nick feel anything before. But staring into that boy’s eyes, that stranger’s eyes, Nick had blurted out the first painting that had come to mind. And just like that, a Monet painting made him feel something. Because the tour guide’s eyes were the perfect storm of blue and grey, a slightest hint of sunlight behind the clouds. And in that moment, Nick’s favorite painting really was a boring study of the Palace of Westminster. And he had thought that maybe he wouldn’t mind if it were true. Maybe.
Katie Whisler is a college sophomore from Northeast Ohio where she majors in both History and English and minors in Classical and Medieval Studies. She was awarded first place in the fiction category of the Echo Student Literary Competition for her piece Impressionism, in Effect, featured here.
Fiction 97
