quote: "The Curator" Paradox of the Locus (A.Glass 2016)

 

Checking her wrist watch, she is now running late for an appointment with a well known art dealer from Chicago who has recently contacted her. Leaving her apartment wearing the new coat that her friend brought back from Europe. Waiting for the elevator, Vilus checks her phone again, thinking that she should reply to Sarah's call. Tonight her mind is entirely focused on the meeting with this prominent art dealer, who buys on behalf of local public galleries in both Chicago and Detroit. She will try and offer the backlog of art that has accumulated at the gallery space, her hope is to convince the dealer that some of the artists are now established in the New York art scene. This could be an opportunity to shore up some funds to pay down the debt owed. The lift opens and she enters, tapping the G button for the ground floor, Vilus decides to make a quick call to Sarah, she lifts her bag taking out the cell phone, leaning the phone on her shoulder, pressing it against her cheek, at the same time checking the contents of her bag making sure she hasn't locked herself out.

“Hey Sarah, sorry I missed your call...Was in the shower, got an appointment with a dealer from outta state.”

“Great! Dinner too?”

“Professional duty, so yes.”

“Remember the other night when were talking about that guy you met and his strange name...We couldn't find him on the Internet.”

“Satran Kaevon”

“Yeah, anyway, If you recall my story about the air-hostess that I knew who may have known that guy.”

“I preferred the other story that night,” Vilus replies, smiling referring to Sarah's monologue of her sexual entr'acte.

“Seriously, this is interesting, I found her on LookPlace. I guess after three years, she wasn't that cheery to here from me. But check this out, she did mention about this guy Satran Kaevon, they didn't date, but spoke a lot. Sounds like the same guy. Hey? Also she isn't an air-hostess anymore. She claims that he advised her not to fly to a country on a certain day, month and airline, a country she had never heard of...”

“Sure it's the same guy?”

“...Well this is the weird bit, she says she invited him back to her apartment for some wine, she thought he was joking about this country. But he was serious, she takes out a map, he points to Malaysia, but he calls it something else. An odd name.”

Leaving her apartment block Vilus walks across the footpath to its edge, she holds out her hand to wave down a cab – amidst an evening that is accompanied by a deathly chill, once again the night-sky is clear. “Malaysia?”

“You remember, the pilot that killed all those people, crashed a plane into a jungle. A murder suicide a year ago?”

“Sarah you're reading into this far too much. Just coincidences, don't even know if it was the same person. She sounds nuts,” Vilus replies, referring to the ex-air hostess.

“I think there's something in it. Why would she lie?”

“But what does it all mean anyway? Look I gotta go, sorry sweetie. Strange days indeed. But I'm stressing about the gallery.”

“I know, sorry. Too much free-time at the moment I'll see you tomorrow night. Sent out heaps of invites, hope we get a good crowd.”

“Sans the lackeys”

Her friend laughs.

“I'll give you a call after the meeting, let you know how it went,” Vilus says, as a cab pulls up along the curb, she opens the door and gets in.

“Ok gorgeous talk to you then. Bye.”

Vilus checks her hair with a hand mirror. Hoping she doesn't look too tired for the impromptu meeting.