Chapter Two
Life had been good to me since I had moved here. Sometimes, upping and leaving is a good thing, yes it is hard at the beginning but it is usually worth it most times once you find your bearing. When I first got here, I just wanted to sleep all day and eat hors d'oeuvre but I could not do that for long. I had a dream that had to be a reality as soon as possible.
When I got here, the first thing I did was look for art galleries that were accepting new artists or had openings for work displays and all. I was pretty new to how this all worked but I knew what I wanted. I had not found any openings yet and I was beginning to get anxious, I mean I cannot expect to immediately get one as good things take time but I am still anxious. I took a deep breath and I felt a little level-headed after that. I had been working on some paintings just before I left home, so I have been occupied with completing those. I painted watercolor art and hyperrealistic art too, they were my strengths. For me, art was therapeutic, it took my mind off things and helped me to keep a calm mind about things. Some days were hard for me and others not so much. Moving to a different country was scary and exciting but it is also lonely and scary most times than exciting, but I am willing to push through as I feel that I am supposed to be right here and I know that the time will come when I will feel more at home here and won't even think of wanting to leave Paris to reside somewhere else, maybe to visit but not to move.
I was currently taking a walk as I needed to clear my head so I could breathe, I woke up today overwhelmed with emotions, I felt like I was suffocating and I needed to get out of my apartment. I was missing my mum, my dad, my friends, I was missing everything but I knew I was where I was meant to be so packing up and moving back was out of the question, I had to push through, I needed to and I was going to. I took a quick break at a cafe. I sat just by the window so I could see everyone that is walking by. I ordered my breakfast and ate there in silence. As I was eating, a man came up to me
"Hey, is anyone seated here?"
"No"
"Would you mind if I did?"
"No, you can seat here"
"Oh ok, thanks. The name's Jaylen", he was dark-skinned but you could tell he was mixed with Italian or something along that line, maybe Spanish but I wasn't sure. He had a fade cut with the part that had hair taking a wavy shape, the style that boys were crazy about these days.
"Kai"
"That is a unique name but it's cool"
"Thanks"
"You new here?", he asked me
"Yeah, just moved here a month ago from America"
"Wow, cool. Creating a path for yourself or finding who you are right?" he joked with a smile and I smiled back
"I moved here about two years ago from Canada and now I don't want to leave"
"That's crazy dude"
"I know but sometimes, it is exactly just what we need. It may never feel like it in the beginning but it will eventually and you'll be grateful you took the step. It's all about perseverance and knowing what you want. It gets better over time dude."
We sat in silence for a while until he spoke up again
"Do you live around here?"
"Not so far but not so close either"
"Well, I hope to see you around Kai." With that, he got up and left. Everything he had said started ringing in my head, it always takes time, everything always takes time and if he did it, I can too. Sometimes your feelings are the only thing you need to let you know if where you are is where you are meant to be or not and I knew I was meant to be here. I walked back to my apartment feeling way better than I did in the morning when I woke up, and with newfound inspiration and hope, I began to continue my work. It is going to be alright Kai, it will be.
I looked at the time and only then did I realize that I had spent practically the whole day painting, wow. It was seven pm and I did not even have lunch and it was just then that I realized that I was hungry and I had to feed myself. I was in no mood to cook and lucky for me, there is a restaurant close by to where I live and that is where I went to have my dinner. I freshened up and changed and went out, I was also planning a walk as the city is even more captivating at night and I needed to have that pictured in my mind. Maybe one day, I'll bring my canvas and equipment out and paint different parts of the city at night.
I got in and the I was amazed as usual. Whenever I entered a place here, I would still be very much captivated with its beauty like as if it is my first time entering. I took a seat and looked around the restaurant. It was fairly spacious, there was a piano with a man playing away, the restaurant front was glass so you could see the outside from inside and they had tables and chairs just outside too. There were paintings around one half of the wall, there was a chandelier in the middle, it was simple and pretty, the restaurant had a homey yet classy feeling to it. I could tell it was one of the favorites of people as there are many people here.
I was still taking everything in waiting for the waitress or waiter when Jaylen walked up to me with a woman and two other guys.
"Yoo Kai, wassup man"
"I'm ait. Fancy seeing you here again"
"I stay just around and I'm guessing you do too", I nodded my head in response to him.
"Meet my friends. Gerome, Roman and Jordyn." The dude he introduced to me as Gerome was dark-skinned and he was sporting a curly fade hairstyle on his head. He looked to be about 6ft tall. The other guy, Roman, was light-skinned but you could see that he was mixed. He was sporting a buzz cut and looked to be a few inches shorter than Gerome. Jordyn on the other hand was white, had dirty blonde wavy hair, and looked to be a foot shorter than Gerome. Gerome looked like he was the tallest or rather he is the tallest because even Jaylen looked to be a bit shorter than him although, Jaylen was taller than Roman.
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Kai"
"Nice to meet you Kai", Gerome said while shaking my hand, Jordyn just waved at me and Roman shook my hand too. We spent the evening getting to know each other and all and I found out a few things about each one of them. Dinner was fun and I am beginning to feel like I have a few people I can lean on, I might be rushing into it but that is how I feel and I hope they feel the same way too.