Finding Sarah

Prompt: Going Home  |  Genre:  Spiritual? (Could use some suggestions)  |  Word count: 500 words exactly

The heat from the spotlight was stifling her. She had to wear a dress with a Chinese collar neck. Urgh!  When was this going to end?

“Mrs. Thomas... err...?”, the journalist suddenly looked a little unsure of himself. He must have never dealt with “an eccentric” before.

That’s what they had called her, the media. Eccentric! What a blanket statement that one word was!

“Oh sorry! Can you please repeat your question?”

“Yeah sure. I was asking you about your inspiration for the exhibition.”

“Oh... that.”

They always ask that. No matter how many times she had answered it. Strange, how everyone but fellow journalists read each other’s story. Some time ago, she had asked a reporter to go read her earlier interview when he began asking her the same questions. He felt offended! Why?! When it was just the most logical thing to do? But they had labelled her snooty, and her agent had a tough time. Bad publicity is good for an artist, but not always. You had to be careful.

“Mrs. Thomas?”, he seemed a little impatient now.

“Oh yeah... I’m here. The inspiration for my painting... I’ve said this before as well...” Sarah began when she saw her agent raising her eyebrows in warning. “... it’s about a person’s journey home.”

“Yes, Mrs. Thomas, we know that already, but can you explain what you mean by that exactly?” Oh yes, he was definitely getting impatient. And moody.

Sarah was beginning to get annoyed with him too. So she simply said, “I think it’s truly difficult to put art and its inspiration in words. Every time you see a painting, or a word, its meaning differs depending on your state of mind or current beliefs. To structure it, as you are asking me to do now, would be to confine it and limit its possibilities.”

She could see she had hit that jackpot with that one. The crew members were nodding their heads as if they had just heard a prophet.  The journalist just looked steamrolled. He knew she had not answered his question, but he didn’t have a comeback. She had used the “eccentric” card on him. There was simply no escape.

The interview came to an end.

She was finally back home, cuddled up in her favourite spot—her husband’s lap.

“I’m tired of these interviews. Why can’t I just paint and be done with it?”

“Honey, these appearances help sell your “brand”. You had decided to do this because we needed the money for the house. But if you don’t want it anymore, we can stop.”

“No... it’s ok. It’s for a little while anyway”, she sighed.

She mused about the question once again... her inspiration for her exhibition. Her paintings followed the same theme. A girl in silhouette facing a stormy sea... facing a dark, overgrown forest... facing a dry, endless desert... facing a bright starry sky. It was about a girl facing life and finding herself. It was all about going home.