THESE HIDDEN WINGS

[161] MENTOR

I WALKED AROUND the statue, stopping at the front again, marveling at the craftsmanship displayed.

Eyes trailing over the expression held in those marble eyes, I couldn't help but feel inferior.

"You can say what you're thinking, you know," Lucas encouraged, his voice sounding farther away, as he pushed from the wall, folding his arms, soft gaze settling on me.

"I know you said you like it, a huge relief by the way," he grinned shortly, "but I want to know what you think of it," he finished, his smile fading into a more spaced, curious look.

I glanced over at him at this remark, managing to initiate a small smile I thought would ease him into firmly believing I did quite like this gift, before looking back at the statue in a thoughtful haze.

"She looks so-" I began hypnotically, taken again by the sculpture, signing as I studied her stone face. My gaze trailed back to him, uncertain of the right word-"brave." I finished.

Gaze traveling up the statue too, Lucas moved toward me, "It's nothing I can't see you in you right now," he gushed with a slight shrug.

I couldn't help but snort amusedly, stepping closer to the statue, eyes trailing down the spear. I grazed the slab the sculpture sat on, steady and firm in her hand.

It looked like she had held it a thousand times. Like it was part of her now.

Releasing a short riddled breath at the thought, I moved on, marveling at the craftsmanship and the details of the fine lines on the spear. Mr. Ogustus was definitely Lucas' mentor.

It was something that was quite cleary seen, yet there was a difference in the sculptures.

Mr. Ogutus made his like he was doing it from a memory, or from a picture he had seen a long time ago. Lucas brought out the fact that the muse was still alive, and still ruling, her hand around that beautiful spear to this day.

This made a small smile appear for a second on my face, life. That's what Lucas' sculptures looked like- like they still had life, and hope.

"This," I signed, my fingers trailing gently down the length of the detailed spear, "makes her look like a warrior,' Inbreathed lowly, trying to form the words through the signs.

"L-Like someone who could win a battle," I finished, turning to face him slightly, uncertain if I had made any sense, and outrightly embarrassed that he would see what was going on inside me.

That I felt inferior to a statue of me.

Like the lesser being,

Not to say that I wasn't thrilled he saw me differently from the rest of the world, as if he opened the door to who I was inside, whilst others only watched through a window, but rather, It was a feeling that was quite hard to describe.

A feeling of not being able to reach those expectations that he had seen in me, was what was bothering me now.

These feelings were only squashed by thoughts or ridicule, calling myself pathetic for thinking like this, like I was ungrateful for not just accepting this gift.

I should be happy, and here I was, developing even more insecurities. My life was not like the movie I expected.

I was not the shy heroine who turns brave after thirty pages, no-

I would like to believe I was learning, and yet sometimes it felt like I hadn't even passed square one.

"I'm sure you've won many battles," Lucas suddenly stated, his hazel eyes a thoughtful glimmer, studying my face.