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gradually downward, gently glazed in the smolder of orange
candlelight. My father cautioned me to mind my footing.
But I stepped upon the hem of my night-coat enough times
to draw criticism. “Art should fill your feet as well as your
hands, my boy. Grace is the grammar of art. Never forget
that.” When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I could see
cold marble flooring, polished so completely it resembled
grey glass. We stopped just short of a huge room, where a
massive archway emerged from the sparkling sea of marble.
It was like the chiseled mouth of a great whale, perpetually
breathing orange light and threatening to swallow the world.
“You still want to see your wretched mother and your
worthless brother and sister, do you?” I must have nodded,
for we proceeded beyond the yawning archway.
Quite suddenly, one memory cannibalized another. I
could hear my mother’s voice—my true mother, which
should not be misinterpreted to mean my real mother. Truth
and reality should never be confused for one another, as the
two are often bitterest of enemies. I could hear her clearly,
superimposed atop the memory of my father’s gallery.
“Flesh obligates us, doesn’t it, Vincent? It can determine
who and what our family will consist of, if you let it. It can
force mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters upon us,
solidifying our families as surely as a seating chart carved
from prehistoric bone. In truth, we are not beholden to such
conventions, as I’m sure your father has already explained
to you. Skin can be severed, blood rechanneled, even bones
can be broken into bridges that span worlds. We needn’t be
troubled by the whispers of the flesh, Vincent. They are the
bearers of half-truths and complete lies. What is the skin
when compared to the dreams they imprison? You and I
have different skin, but we are closer than shadows at dusk.
I am your true mother, Vincent. And I always will be, no
matter what your skin may tell you.”
My mother’s words faded into the prior memory, where
I stood before a large sculpture within my father’s great
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