Of the questions she had been expecting, that wasn’t one of them. Looking up suddenly and over at Jack, Veda smiles nervously before shaking her head.
“I have not read much, I am afraid. I have not heard that story yet.” The name itself was one completely unfamiliar to her, as well. Her lack of experience in all of this, though, was normal enough that she didn’t worry too much about it.
“Well, it’s a very old story, from ancient Greece,” Jack explained. As he fell into a storytelling voice, his stutter faded. “Long ago, there was a sculptor named Pygmalion. He was the greatest artist in the land, and he lived for his work. He didn’t have many friends, or go out much,” he added with a small, awkward smile, “but he didn’t care – all he wanted to do was make beautiful art.
One day, he started work on a new statue. He made it in the image of a beautiful woman, and he worked on it day and night, pouring all his heart and skill into it. By the time he was done, the statue was so perfect, you could almost believe she was alive.”
Jack gave a dry chuckle. “And the thing is, the statue was so real-looking, that even though he knew she was just a statue, Pygmalion fell in love with her. In the end, he prayed to the goddess of love to bring her to life, and the goddess granted his wish and turned the statue into a living woman. Her name was Galatea, and when she was awakened, she fell in love with Pygmalion too, and they lived happily ever after.”
The myth had been one of Jack’s favorites for a long time; anyone who knew about his past would have understood why it had held such strong appeal for the shy, lonely artist.
Statues coming to life… as much as the words themselves described something that was logically impossible, they still struck a chord, somehow. Veda doesn’t speak the entire time Jack is explaining, taking in the story and mulling it over.
“That is… I am not entirely sure what to say, but…” Biting her lip, she smiles shyly. “I can see why it is you brought it up.”
The blue man blushed in embarrassment. “I know it’s k-kind of silly, but what you told me just made me think of it.” He gave her a small smile of his own. “If I m-may ask, what is your creator’s name?"
Jack Maple 