The Art Traveler, Onyi Kenine ‘22

The Art Traveler

Amani means dreamer, and that’s what she was. A dreamer. She was a girl who just wanted to get away from everything and everyone after her best friend died in a car crash.

Laliah had been her best friend since second grade. The girls did everything together: shopping, laughing, partying, studying, and whatever else you could think of. Laliah was one of the few people that could bring Amani out of her shell. Amani struggled with living in the moment, and Laliah helped her do that. Without her, Amani felt lost, and she has seen no sign of her since the car crash, which made her feel as if she was missing a piece of herself. So she just needed a break before her new beginning in college because everything was getting too much. All she wanted to do was travel as she did with Laliah. And that’s what she did. She traveled. Amani went to their favorite cafe, The Perfect Cup, to grab breakfast on a sunny Sunday morning. Something about that place intrigued her. It’s probably all the pretty art that hangs on the walls. One day she sat down near the window, taking a picture of her bacon, egg, and cheese with her lavender chai tea, she wondered and the painting in front of her was one of their favorites, Water Lily Pond by Monet in Giverny, France.

And within a blink of an eye, she was there. She was so happy she could cry. This picture brought her so much joy that it was her lock screen. It reminds her of serenity, and serotonin, and helps her breathe when she can’t. As she was standing on the bridge looking down at the lilies, a man came up to her, the one and only Claude Monet.

“I thought you were dead,” cried Amani.

“I am, but only in your world, not mine,” Monet replied.

“This is probably one of the best days of my life. If only my best friend was here to see this. Can we take a selfie?” Amani asked.

“Sweetheart, you need to live in the moment. That’s the problem you have. Let this be for yourself and just take it all in before you are whisked away. It wouldn’t make sense anyway, because I am dead,” said Monet. Amani nodded her head and stood back to observe this beautiful scene and took pictures of it. Later on, she and Monet had Cassoulet together at his cottage for dinner. If only Laliah were here. Before they parted ways, they hugged each other, and Monet gave her some good advice.

“The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration. I think you should find richness in something, preferably nature because it never lets you down.”

When Amani returned, she thought a lot about what Monet said. “How can someone be so powerful and inspiring even though they are no longer alive?” But she still listened to him.

Now, ever since Amani started traveling into art, she started going to art museums and spending more time with nature. These paintings and calm nature scenes cleared her brain and helped her deal with the pain of losing Laliah. One day, she went to The Art Institute of Chicago. The AIC has one of the largest Monet collections in the world (the girls’ favorite artist). As she was walking around, she saw Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass). As she was about to take a picture, she got sucked in. She learned the people were on their annual family picnic. When Amani asked why the other family members weren’t featured in the picture, one lady said, “Because we are the outcasts of our family. They love us, yet they don’t understand us.” That resonated with Amani a lot because she feels like people don’t understand, except for Laliah and her family. Without her, everything seemed harder, and she had trouble living in the pres-

ent because she was always thinking about times when Laliah was alive. She remembers how content those four people were, even though they were apart from the rest and she thought, “Maybe I should start living like them. Who cares what other people think of me as long as I’m happy, right?”

Summer was almost over. Amani had a blast traveling inside paintings. She had also gotten into the habit of enjoying nature, as Monet had told her. College was starting in a week, and she was still struggling to find her footing without Laliah. The entire week she wasn’t sucked into paintings, which was weird. So on the day before she left for college, she went to The Perfect Cup. She ordered her lavender vanilla chai tea and ate her BEC one last time. Instead of taking a picture to remember it, she took it all in by savoring every part of her meal slowly and observing her surroundings. It was the last Perfect Cup trip for a while and she didn’t want to miss a thing by taking it for granted. She noticed a new painting, The Canal In Amsterdam by Monet. This painting was special to the girls because, over spring break, they went to Amsterdam and took a boat right underneath it. As Amani was thinking about that day, she felt a strong wind push her, and she was in Amsterdam. A guy had invited her to join the boat and, of course, she couldn’t say no. This was one of her favorite pastimes. As she got in, she realized there were other people on the boat which disappointed her because she wanted to have this moment alone. A few minutes into the ride, someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Monet and behind him stepped Laliah. Amani squealed, “OMG, THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING, THIS JUST CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!” Laliah said, “Long time no see old friend! How have ya been?’’ The girls hugged it out as Monet watched with joy. Laliah is the same as she’s always been.

“I’ve missed you so much, Lay,” Amani cried.

“I know, I know.”

As the girls were catching up, they watched the sunset together with Monet. Before it was time to go Laliah gave her friend one last message.

“Amani, I want you to remember that I’m always with you. I want you to enjoy life the same way you did with me. Go into college with an open mind and don’t dwell on the past. You are gonna have a blast. All you have to do is focus and live in the moment. I love you, Amani, don’t you ever forget that.”

The next day Amani woke up and as she looked out the window, she smiled at the sky. She knew Laliah was with her and they would be going through the college experience together and that made her happy.

Onyi Kenine ‘22