"Anatole, does Mr. Howard know your grandma?" I asked carefully.
Sai and I stopped walking, so Anatole went ahead. She innocently looked back and nodded her head. "Yes. Mr. Howard was looking for grandma when he got here before, but grandma didn't want to see him," she pouted.
Sai covered her mouth. "Is your mom, Iseul, here too?"
Anatole shook her head. "No, I never met my mother. Grandma said my Mom will never return, but I don't really care. She just told me my Mom's name is Iseul and she's quite pretty and talented."
Iseul died a decade ago, and Anatole is telling us that she never had the chance to see her mother. Howard Brent also knows her grandmother. Knowing the fact that Iseul's mom asked Brent to paint her daughter a decade ago, there's no doubt... This girl is...
"YOU'RE ISEUL'S DAUGHTER!" Sai and I exclaimed.
Anatole nodded again. "Oh, so you're talking about my mom?"
I exhaled a huge amount of air after knowing such important information. Iseul never told me she had a daughter! Wait, does she even know she has a daughter? She never mentioned this, I swear!
"OH MY GOSH!" Sai gasped.
The sunlight hit her face, making us see her features more. I noticed her eyes, which made me stare at them for a long time. Anatole had emerald eyes, just like Iseul's iris. The wind made her hair move, and it felt like everything was moving slower as I watched her curly hair flow.
"You really are... her daughter." I whispered. She looked like Iseul. but as a kid. There's definitely no doubt that she's her daughter. She resembles Iseul so well.
"Hey! You three!"
I immediately glanced at where that voice was coming from.
"How dare you tell my child that painting is not bad?! How dare you brainwash them!" the man was screaming from afar, but he's definitely talking to us.
"Oh no! Let's run!"
"Fuck, he's holding a bat." My eyes widened when I saw some people following the man. They were also holding wood.
"Bloody hell..."
"Let's go! I know a place to hide!" Anatole ran as fast as she could, and we followed her.
I ran faster so I could carry Anatole. "Tell us where to go."
"Turn left!"
Sai and I were running as fast as we could. I realized we're now in a forest; we just left the neighborhood.
"Where are we going?" I asked Anatole while running.
"Just run straight, Yohan!" Anatole said.
"Shit! I don't want to die here! Dad save me!" Sai cried. We were both catching our breath, but we couldn't stop running.
"There's no other way here," I said while running as fast as I could.
"There is! Just go straight," the kid said. I just followed her.
They were still following us, but we were ahead of them. This is fucking nerve-wrecking!
"Anatole, I don't know where we're going," I started to panic when I saw no paths to take.
"Stop! Let's hide here; follow me!"
It's a large tree, and there's an opening through its big roots. We got inside the tree, and there's enough space for the three of us, surprisingly.
I sat down, catching my breath.
"Who the hell are they?" Sai asked.
"I think they're those kids' parents." I didn't expect them to be that violent!
"Uh, Yohan and Sai, we need to stay here for a while; they're still there," Anatole said after gazing through a small space. "I know some of them, and they really hate art. That's why their children hate me too."
I haven't even processed the fact that Anatole is Iseul's daughter! We just got chased by angry parents, for Pete's sake.
"So that's why those kids are doing the wrong things. Great, just great," Sai said in disappointment. "By the way, how did you know this place?"
"I hide under this tree's roots every time!" Anatole laughed.
"What? Why?" I frowned.
She kneeled and removed some leaves from the ground. My eyebrows rose when she got something from it. It's a wooden box.
"What's that?" Sai asked.
"I paint under this tree because people can't find me here," she said as she opened the box. "These are my artworks, they are not that beautiful because I don't know if I'm doing it right."
I gasped and started looking at her work. She painted on old papers.
"Oh my goodness, these look so pretty!" Sai praised.
"What materials did you use to make this?" It's definitely not acrylic or oil paint.
"Hmm... I made paint using chili powder, turmeric powder, charcoal, red cabbage, soil, plant oil, beeswax, milk protein, and many more that I can't even remember. Grandma won't allow me to buy paint, so I just made mine instead."
I was stunned. "So it was your first time using acrylic paint at the workshop?"
"Yup!"
"You just made that paint by yourself, and nobody taught you..." I whispered.
"Mhm!" she nodded.
"You're so talented! Oh my goodness!" Sai hugged Anatole, and she giggled.
I had no words to say. Anatole made me admire her. At such a young age, she was able to explore and make various paints using natural resources. I feel bad that she had to hide everything that she loves doing because people here hate art. In such a small space like this, she would always hide just to paint.
"Once we come back here again, you won't be painting in the shadows," I declared.
"Is that even possible?" she asked. "Can I be able to paint without hiding, Yohan?"
"We'll do anything for you to paint freely, okay? I'll even bring you more painting materials so you could paint anytime," I ruffled her hair.
"Trust Yohan, Anatole. He will help you; he's the kindest person I know! Well, next to Mr. Brent," Sai said.
"Are you really my mother's friend?
I pursed my lips. "Yes. She's my chingu. It means she's my friend."
"What is she like?" she asked again. Sai looked at me with her eyes turning teary.
"Your mom was a painter just like you and yes... she's the most beautiful woman that I've painted," I said.
Anatole was elated. "I knew it! That's why grandma told me mom's talented. I also dreamt about her before," she laughed. "It's a silly story. Is it okay to tell it?"
"Of course!" Sai responded.
Anatole sat down while finding something in her wooden box.
"It happened last year when I stayed under this tree for a long time. Grandma grounded me for a month because of it. I didn't notice that I was painting a lot that day; I fell asleep here and then woke up at night. I wasn't alone at that time, so I assumed it was a dream."
She showed us a painting that made my heart beat faster. It's a girl... with green eyes... and long curly hair.
"The lady here showed up to me. I don't know who she was... but when my eyes saw her, I immediately said, 'Mom?' So I assumed my mommy looked like her."
Tears were falling from Sai's eyes. "What did she say to you?"
"She said she didn't know me and then told me to go home because it was late in the evening. It's a silly story, right?"
Iseul showed up at Anatole... without knowing that she's her daughter.