Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Aria loved how she and Alex purposefully spent more time together, but it did mean taking more time off from work than she’d ever done. Natalia was doing a phenomenal job of stepping up in her absence.
“I can’t thank you enough for all you're doing. Please let me know when you start to feel overwhelmed,” Aria said, addressing her staff as they ended their weekly meeting in the conference room.
Natalia laid her hand on top of Aria’s and answered, “Hey, we’re all grateful to you.
You’ve taken care of us, making sure that our jobs were not affected even though you were grieving.
This is the least we can for you,” she replied as everyone agreed with nods and words of affirmation, including Gio and Luna.
When they all filed out of the room, Aria saw that she had missed a call from Alex.
“Hey, sorry, was in a meeting. What’s up?”
“Hey, cara mia.” She grinned at the affectionate term. “Can you get away a little early this afternoon?”
“I think that can be arranged. What do you have in mind?”
“Good, I’ll pick you up at 3:00. It’s a class. Something fun. Not sure if it will be too messy, but just in case, I can meet you at your house so you can change.”
“Hm, that sounds interesting, but yeah that should work. See you then.”
“See you soon.”
Later that afternoon, Aria rushed home to change into jeans and a flowy yellow blouse. She was just buckling her sandals when Alex knocked on the door.
When she opened it, she walked right into his open arms and hugged him tightly.
“I’ll spring you from the office early more often if I get that greeting,” he said, mumbling into her hair.
Stepping back and smiling widely, she answered, “Where are we going? You haven’t given me any hints.”
“You’ll see.”
As Alex and Aria pulled up to what looked like an art studio, she was instantly intrigued.
“Where are we?”
“Let’s go inside and find out,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Settling down at a table, Aria looked around at the make-shift classroom in a spacious studio. Floor-to-ceiling windows made the room look like they were sitting outdoors, and right outside the windows was a plant-filled courtyard. There were about four other groups at tables around the room.
The instructor introduced herself and welcomed them to the class.
“Benvenuto. Welcome to my Kintsugi class. My name is Luisa, and this is my studio,” the instructor said with open arms.
Aria took in her shoulder-length, silvery grey hair and long, gauzy green dress and was mesmerized by her commanding presence as she stood in front of the class.
“I love our rich Italian heritage in the arts, but my travels have taken me around the world to discover the inspiring art forms of other countries and cultures. Today, I want to teach you about the art of Kintsugi from Japan.”
Aria looked at Alex, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Luisa continued, sharing the history of this Japanese form of art.
“A Japanese legend tells the story of a mighty shogun warrior who broke his favorite tea bowl and sent it away for repairs.
When he received it back, the bowl was held together by unsightly metal staples.
Although he could still use it, the shogun was disappointed.
Still hoping to restore his beloved bowl to its former beauty, he asked a craftsman to find a more elegant solution.
“The craftsman wanted to try a new technique, something that would add to the beauty of the bowl as well as repair it.
So, he mended every crack in the bowl with a lacquer resin mixed with gold.
When the tea bowl was returned to the shogun, there were streaks of gold running through it, telling its story, and—the warrior thought—adding to its value and beauty.
This method of repair became known as kintsugi.
“‘Kintsugi’, which roughly translates to ‘golden joinery’, is the Japanese philosophy that the value of an object is not in its beauty, but in its imperfections, and that these imperfections are something to celebrate, not hide,” Luisa explained.
Excited murmurs travelled around the room.
Alex, Aria and their fellow classmates were each given a box with a bowl broken into large pieces. Luisa demonstrated how to put the bowls back together again with the gold-colored resin.
Aria had been given a cobalt blue bowl with variations of yellow and brown veins on the inside. She took her time filling the gaps with the shiny resin, waiting patiently for each piece to dry enough to continue.
Luisa gave instructions throughout the class, affirming that it didn't matter if all the pieces didn't fit back perfectly or that there would be imperfections in their finished products.
“Beauty,” she said, “is found in those imperfections. Life never fits together as perfectly as we may have planned, but even with the cracks, we can find purpose and joy.”
Aria was deeply moved by her words, and starting to understand why Alex had brought her here.
She looked at him with tears brimming and whispered, “Thank you.”
He wiped her tears with his thumb. “Anything for you, cara mia.”
“I think that you're my gold bond. You help me put my pieces back together.”
He shook his head, placing his hand on her cheek and answered, “No, Aria.
You've done all of this yourself. You’ve proven how strong you are by choosing to find purpose in your life.
You're writing again, and soon I believe that you'll pursue your dream of becoming a published writer.
I'm just grateful to be here to see it, to admire your beautifully restored bowl.”
Aria nodded wordlessly, knowing that tears would follow if she tried to speak. Squeezing her hand, he let her turn back to her bowl.
She had a few moments of frustration when she couldn’t get a few pieces to fit back perfectly, but remembering Luisa’s words, she carefully filled in the imperfect spaces with the gold bond.
Alex was right. She had found a strength she didn’t know she possessed over the last few years.
As she continued to put the pieces of her bowl together, it started to take shape and resemble something new.
Imagining what it looked like originally, she inspected the newly finished creation in front of her.
Leaning her elbows on the table and holding up her head in her folded hands, thoughts of what her life could look like going forward lit an ember in her soul.
Luisa’s melodic voice interrupted her thoughts. Aria looked up into the woman’s kind face, her eyes swimming with what seemed like depths of wisdom.
“What do you think of your bowl now that you’re finished?”
Aria considered the question for a few moments.
“I think I’m just beginning.”
A knowing smile spread across Luisa’s lovely face, and she nodded as she walked to the next table.
Making arrangements with Luisa to return the next day to pick up their bowls, which would need to dry, Aria and Alex left the studio, waving goodbye to their classmates and thanking her for a memorable class.