He spent three hours on this, using a significant amount of oil paints, but barely managed to get close to the right shade.
* * *
The traitorous phone wouldn't stop ringing. Constantin opened his eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight, and picked up the receiver.
“Van?”
He sat up sharply in bed, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
“Sophie, hello.”
“Hi. Did I wake you?”
Constantin glanced at the clock.
"Two in the afternoon, seriously?"
“I lost track of time last night while working on my paintings, but it's all good. I'm glad to hear from you.”
“I wanted to ask, how do you feel about Thai cuisine? How about dinner together?”
“As you can probably tell, my appearance answers your question,” he laughed. His voice was still hoarse. “I'd love to.”
“Great! I'll send you the address. See you soon.”
“See you.”
Constantin leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. Then he opened them again and stared at the ceiling. His mind gradually dispelled the sleepy haze, and he descended to the studio with coffee in hand.
Yesterday, being a captive of mental illness, he hadn’t paid much attention to what he was painting. It was more of a healing ritual and an attempt to distract himself than a serious approach to his work. But today, standing before the painting with a clear mind, Constantin thought it turned out rather well. He hadn’t managed to capture Sophia's eyes, but he painted the mist over the river. The veil above the blue surface of the river conveyed that very sapphire color. A female silhouette, in a long white shirt, with loose dark hair and a wreath in her hands, stepped along the riverbank. The longer Van looked at this girl, the more it seemed to him that she was the mist, or that the mist had created her.
He loved nature like that. In his time, Constantin was inspired by landscapes and the romance of villages, and this left an imprint on his heart, helping him to feel the pristine nature more sensitively. Perhaps that’s why, even during a panic attack, he painted what grounded him. Namely, nature and the color of tranquility, the color of her eyes.
At 6 PM, as agreed, Constantin arrived at the cooperative filled with numerous gastronomic spots and started looking for the name Sophia had sent him. The neon bright green sign read "YAY THAY." Across from it, hills stood like a natural wall, shielding them from the outside world, and above, hundreds of hanging lights had already lit up.