Flash Fic Day 4: An unfinished work of art, a mycologist, a sense of foreboding.

 Prompt: An unfinished work of art, a mycologist, a sense of foreboding.

Photo by Nicholas A. Tonelli

Cicadas buzzing loudly outside would distract the lab assistants all the time. The mycologist was usually unbothered by the noise and kept on with her work, as she was on that bright summer afternoon when she first met the painter. She was observing spore samples through a microscope at the back of the lab, taking notes periodically and mumbling to herself under her breath when one of the assistants knocked, “Doctor? There’s someone at the door asking for you.” She waved a hand absently and nodded before shutting off the desk lamp. She followed the assistant to the main lab area where she was greeted by a flood of sunshine and warmth. She much preferred being by the large, arched windows through which she could see the path to the forest and keep a tab on the bugs. The cabin-turned-lab was quite the cozy space and it always made her happy just being there. Her good mood quickly soured as she got a glimpse at who was waiting for her under the awning. She stepped outside into the humid summer air, crossed her arms, and cleared her throat. The woman turned around and a smile lit up her face, “Hello, Doctor! So wonderful to finally meet you. I don’t believe we could sit down and have a chat somewhere?”

She had a bad feeling about this lady. For the past few months, she had been getting several phone calls and emails from someone claiming to be an agent for an artist whose work she allegedly purchased without permission. She had ignored the messages believing they were scam attempts until the man showed up at her door with ID. She had turned him away on multiple occasions, and it looked like someone else was now here to try and take her legitimately purchased artwork away.

“No, I don’t believe we could. Did Morgan send you?”

“Ah, but Morgan works for me, so… I guess I sent him the last few times?”

“You? You’re the artist?”

The woman chuckled. “I believe so. If you would just let me explain…”

“Absolutely not. I bought the painting at one of your art galleries and I showed your agent the paperwork for it.”

“May I ask why you are so hesitant to part with the painting? I told Morgan to offer you ample compensation, and I imagine you could use this to expand your research.”

The mycologist did not want to admit that indeed, she could use the money to delve deeper into the symbiotic relationship between fungi and insects. She also did not want to admit that the painting was the reason why she chose to specialize in mycology after her bachelor’s in Biology.

“That’s none of your business. I bought the painting legally and I don’t want to sell it.” She grumpily turned on her heel to walk away.

“Please. I just need it for a few weeks, and then it’s all yours again.”

Morgan had failed to mention this part, it seems. She was a little superstitious for a scientist and considered the painting her lucky charm, though it would probably not hurt to let the woman have it for a little while…

“What do you need it for?”

“You see, my agent accidentally put it up for sale when it was actually incomplete. I was away for a year and didn’t know it was gone until I came back, and by then the sales records had been destroyed. It took us a while to find you, Doctor.”

“Oh.”

The woman sighed. Her eyes softened. “I’ve wanted to complete it for so long. It means a lot to me. It’s one of the artworks I first created, way before I became a renowned painter. I had it in my apartment window to dry and that’s how I got noticed.”

The mycologist ended up spilling her feelings about the artwork and letting the painter inside the lab, where the painting hung on one of the wood-panelled walls. They looked up at the piece of art, an abstract painting with vivid colours that had somehow brought them both to this place and time. The mycologist’s sense of foreboding had been wrong, but she was right about the painting being her lucky charm.