Microscopes and Canvases - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 33
Miss Penrose never rushed Beatrice.
Each morning, she simply placed a new specimen on the workbench and had Beatrice take her time examining its structure carefully through the magnifying glass.
How the leaves curled around the stem, where the leaf veins branched, how the sporangia curved at their tips—only after the eye had thoroughly absorbed the subject would she allow drawing to begin.
Beatrice’s old habit of carelessly smudging forms gradually improved. Her hands were naturally nimble, and after just a few practice sessions, she quickly recovered her touch; Miss Penrose encouraged her warmly each time.
At lunch, the two would make a spot in the studio and share a sandwich, and in the afternoon they’d dip biscuits in strong black tea.
Their conversation ranged widely, but Beatrice’s favorite stories were undoubtedly Miss Penrose’s tales of adventure.
Hearing about the time she’d been drained by twenty leeches in the Equatorial Jungle, or how she’d spent two sleepless nights enduring the stench to sketch the so-called Corpse Flower, she lost all sense of time.
And Beatrice’s passion for botanical illustration flourished abundantly under Miss Penrose’s guidance, nourished like fertile soil. Ten days had flown past all too quickly.
“Now then, shall we take a moment to look back?”
That afternoon, after ten days of lessons had ended, Miss Penrose set down her brush and smiled brightly.
On the workbench lay roughly a hundred sketches that Beatrice had produced, stacked neatly one upon another.
The first day’s work still had blurred contours, caught in a spell of light and color, but by the final sheet, the arrangement of leaves and the flow of leaf veins had come alive with striking clarity.
Miss Penrose held the final sketch up to the light streaming in from the window and examined it carefully.
“In just ten days you’ve come this far. Your fundamentals are excellent, your observation remarkable, and with that passion—well, you’ve learned quickly indeed.”
She set the final sketch down and looked at Beatrice directly.
“Now, listen carefully. What you must remember is that botanical illustration in a research paper is never a drawing the artist creates alone.”
“I’ll remember, Miss Penrose.”
“The researcher shares with the world what their own eyes have seen, borrowing your hands to do it. So you must constantly ask your partner what they’re seeing, what matters to them, and listen carefully to their answers. The artist and the researcher are one body, inseparable.”
The artist and the researcher are one body.
Beatrice took those words deep into her heart.
“One more thing. I’d hope you don’t lose the artistry you possess.”
“My artistry?”
“Recording plants in accurate form is our duty, but when the beauty of nature hidden within is recognized and cherished, the work naturally becomes art.”
“I see…”
“People use such strange standards, saying ‘Moss is the servant of plants,’ ‘It’s an inferior plant that bears neither flowers nor fruit.'”
As if those words weren’t worth hearing, Miss Penrose gave a playful shrug. Then she picked up the moss specimen from the workbench, cradling it gently in both palms, and lowered her voice with quiet seriousness.
“But a handful of moss blooming in a damp marsh holds a universe deep enough to spend a lifetime exploring. Those of us who seek that potential are creating works every bit as sublime as the grand prize of the Salon Exhibition.”
“…Thank you, Miss Penrose.”
Beatrice struggled to contain the surge of emotion rising in her chest.
In just ten days, she had learned so much that it felt as though her entire life had shifted. How wonderful it would be if she could continue studying with such a remarkable teacher.
“You’ve been such an enormous help. If I get stuck on my work, may I come back and ask you? There’s so much I still want to learn.”
“That’s the thing—it’s become rather difficult.”
Miss Penrose laughed openly.
“I’m leaving again next week, you see. This time I’m heading to the Unexplored Lands Beyond the Equator, and it will take quite a while to return.”
Even as she said this, Miss Penrose gently patted Beatrice’s shoulder.
“But when my research report is published, let’s meet again. I want to see the finished work with my own eyes.”
“I will.”
Beatrice couldn’t hold back any longer and threw her arms around Miss Penrose. Her embrace carried the warm scent of sunlight.
“And take this. I’ve carried it with me since my first trip to the jungle—now it’s yours.”
Miss Penrose removed the portable magnifying glass from around her neck and pressed it firmly into Beatrice’s hands.
“Thank you. I’ll go now, Miss Penrose.”
After exchanging farewells and leaving the studio, Beatrice quickened her pace. She walked faster and faster, until her heart grew so full she was nearly running.
She paid no attention to the startled glances people threw her way, her mind burning with the urge to tell Patrick as quickly as possible.
That she was ready to step into this new world that had opened her heart so wide, that she wanted to learn so much more.
Beatrice rushed down the long corridor of the Annex Building and threw open the door to Annex Room 101 with force, calling out loudly.
“I’m here!”
* * *
Patrick, bent over the microscope in a corner of the room, slowly lifted his head. For the first time in ten days, they were facing each other properly.
“Beatrice?”
At first glance he seemed composed, but his cheeks were slowly warming. Seeing the welcome in his expression, joy bloomed across Beatrice’s face.
“I’ve become so curious about moss. I have so many things I want to ask you. You’ll help me, won’t you?”
He said nothing, simply gazing at her. He looked for a long, careful moment before asking softly.
“Where shall we begin?”
“Everything. All of it. I understand nothing, so teach me the basics, teach me everything. I want to learn.”
Their eyes met gently in the quiet air. Patrick gazed at Beatrice for a long while more, his expression warm and tender.
The cold conflict of days before had been forgotten entirely. It was a moment when both of them realized there was no need for pointless pride.
“Come closer and sit here.”
Patrick pulled back slightly from the microscope and drew a chair up beside him for Beatrice. As she sat, he casually drew the microscope toward him and slid it in her direction.
“You’ll be amazed when you see for yourself.”
The two of them sat shoulder to shoulder at the narrow desk. Beatrice brought her eye to the lens. All she could see was a blurry smear of green.
When Patrick reached over and turned the focus screw with delicate precision, the hazy image snapped into sharp relief as if by magic.
What had looked like a formless lump of moss transformed in an instant into something intricate, like fortress walls carved in miniature.
“Oh…!”
The exclamation escaped her before she could stop it.
Watching Beatrice’s wonder, Patrick felt a deep smile bloom across his face.
It no longer mattered what skill he possessed.
Being with someone who understood the beauty of the micro universe he loved—such a precious presence—was all that mattered.
Just like now, being with her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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