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Airah let out a sinister chuckle and a huge sigh of relief as she solved the final puzzle of the game. She was so good at escaping and she knew it.
“You did it again Airah. It’s like escape rooms were built for you.” Billy, her favorite escape partner, bowed and applauded her. Airah seldom had real friends but she had warmed up to Billy instantly the first time she met him at an escape room. Together, they cracked codes and solved mysteries and puzzles. They were like a formidable team. Airah knew the walls of all the escape rooms in the city like the lines on her palms.
However, the one code Airah couldn't seem to crack was her life. Her entire life was like an enigma she couldn't escape. The portrait in front of her reminded her that her existence was almost a mirage. Airah cleared a strand of hair from her face and looked intently at the painting. It was one she knew so well. Her father, JK was the artist of the very controversial painting that adorned the walls of several museums and escape rooms in the city. JK, just like his grandfather, was a very talented artist. A genius of his time.
The painting made great waves in the news just before Airah was born. It wasn't just about how captivating the art was but also about the mystery that later surrounded it. Articles on the Internet reported that it was a painting of a woman sitting on the sand on a beach. She faced the waves while holding onto a silver box by her side. A little to the left was a seagull standing graciously with its white wings ready to take flight.
Arya had the exact box on her shelf. Behind the arm of the woman was a signature, JK 1993- the artist. Several copies of the piece were recreated. However, it became a mystery when the image of the woman mysteriously disappeared from every copy of the painting that ever existed around the world. No expert could decipher what happened. Not even JK himself. It was the greatest puzzle of time.
“Airah? Are you okay? Do you wanna escape this one?” Billy pointed to a dark room.
“I think I'll call it a night. See you soon Billy.” Airah bade Billy farewell and headed straight to her apartment. She could not stop thinking about the portrait once again. Her little victory had been smashed by the reality of her existence. Airah's mind traveled back to the last memory she had of her mother. Her memories of the woman were vague. She must have been three years old when they went to a beach market. They’d sat on the sand watching the display of beautiful sea ornaments when her mother said to her, “Airah, life is sometimes an illusion but I will return to where I ought to be only when you find the key. Then, you'd have solved the puzzle.”
The woman kissed Airah’s head. Airah turned when something hit her from behind. It was a paintbrush. When she turned back, her mother was gone. That was the last Airah ever saw of her mother. It was like she just disappeared and her father would never speak of it. Now that Airah thought harder, she remembered her mother had an inscription of her father's initials on the back of her arm. Airah always thought that it was cute how they loved each other.
As soon as she got into her apartment, she went straight for the little silver box on her shelf. Airah pondered as she studied it intently as though she had never seen it before. She looked at her father’s famous painting on the wall. It was the original. She moved closer and ran her hands through it. A brush fell from behind. It was her father's favorite paintbrush. All the memories of him that she had tried so hard to suppress came flooding her in that instant. She had resented the man for not telling her much about her mother’s disappearance.
“When my grandfather gifted me that brush, he told me that it was enchanted but I didn't believe it until I painted my dream. The kind I longed for and wished for it to be true in real life. The day my dream came to life, the world was thrown the greatest puzzle of time. My dream came ripping through the canvass Airah. I couldn't believe my eyes that day but she was the best thing that ever happened to me. You are proof of that.” Those were her father’s dying words.
Airah’s heart skipped a beat with her mouth wide open. The mystery was beginning to unravel before her eyes. She recalled the inscriptions on her mother's arm. They were indeed her father's initials. She couldn't bring herself to believe that her mother was the woman in the painting who had come to life. She was the dream he had painted and wished for - the reason her image mysteriously disappeared from the portrait. Airah was stunned and petrified at the same time. Blood rushed through her head. She looked at the brush still in her hands and threw it against the painting.
She was shocked to see that the brush went through and into the painting with ease. Airah thought she was going crazy. Gently, she placed a finger on the portrait and it went right through. Her eyes popped and curiosity gripped her every fiber. Slowly she let her entire body through the painting. Airah felt as though she had transitioned into another world. She found herself standing in a beach market. She saw people buying and selling. She saw the calming waters and she heard the soothing waves. It was as though she was spinning around. When she turned, she saw a woman and a little girl that looked exactly like her. A paintbrush had just landed on the little girl's back. Airah held her mouth in her hands and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw the woman sitting alone this time. By her side was a silver box. Airah recognized the scene from the original painting. A tear escaped her eyes. To her left was the seagull. It spread its white wings ready to take flight. Suddenly, its wings dropped. It started to walk towards Airah and in its mouth was a tiny silver key.
Airah closed her eyes again. This time when she opened them, she was back in her apartment with the silver key in her hand. Quickly, she grabbed the silver box and opened it. She found a paper inside of it. “Dear Airah. You are not a puzzle to be solved. You are perfect just as you are. More than magic, more than an illusion.”
Airah looked at the portrait and this time, there was the image of a woman sitting on the sand.