Darius held up the brush next to Serena's silhouette to measure how much she would take up on the canvas. He squinted one eye shut, sliding his thumb slightly up the handle to measure the space she'd take on the canvas. Satisfied, he began sketching, light, decisive strokes to map her place in the painting's world.
He reached for a triangle flat brush and dipped it into the palette smeared across his arm. A few long sweeps defined the background- soft shadow, faint silver, quiet blue.
Every now and then, he would look at Serena to confirm his next stroke. She was so engrossed in whatever book she was holding that he found it cute.
Serena, on the other hand, was surprised at the pictures and the words in the book. It was not store-bought, but handmade specifically for Darius. Some of the painted pictures had begun to flake off due to age, but Serena could still make out the images.
