Chapter 12

A week passed. Pierre spent his time working in the studio. When he realized that he’d run out of charcoal, he couldn’t be bothered to go buy more, so he kept putting it off. Eventually, after a long painting session, he went to the artists’ lane to pick up some supplies. He stopped to get some rolls for himself and Leon later, then realized that the sun was setting; he hadn’t realized how late in the day it was. The sky was bright red as he walked along the banks of the river toward their boarding house. He looked at the colored reflections in the water and stopped to sit on a bench as the sun finally disappeared—he thought that it was beautiful as it faded.

As he stared at the water pensively, he wondered what the future held in store for him. He watched the small rapids in the river splashing until the sky began to darken, but it was a pleasant night, and there was enough visibility from the gas streetlights, so he reached for a bottle of wine in his bags and thought it wa