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NORWAY: SKATERS ON A FROZEN POND

A Likely Story

By Babs IversonPublished 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago 5 min read
83
NORWAY: SKATERS ON A FROZEN POND
Photo by Alexander Shustov on Unsplash

Val was broke! Unfortunately, it was becoming more of a constant issue. Besides, she sheepishly referred to her money problems, as temporary economic challenges. However, at times, her mood became mercurial, and her family wasn't able to predict what Val would do.

***

On a cool, cloudy, and pleasant Saturday, Val aimlessly drove down a residential street. When a garage sale appeared a block ahead on the left side of Locust Street that seemed to be calling Val's name. Like a magnetic pull, the mysterious force pulled on her and her old green clunker towards the garage sale.

***

Everyone knew that Val loved garage sales. Unsurprisingly, it became her family's running joke. Indeed, Val's dad jokingly would say that he was going to have a t-shirt printed for her with I LOVE Garage Sales on the front, and I BRAKE for Garage Sales on the back.

***

Since it was early morning, the traffic was noticeably less than normal. Val leisurely drove off the road and parked. Briefly adjusting her sunglasses, she gained her bearings and silently surveyed her surroundings. Then, Val boldly walked towards the black fake leather sofa that had one broken leg, causing the sofa to sit at an angle. Carelessly, an abstract painting was laying on the right side of the sofa. If asked, Val would have guessed that the painting measured approximately 18 inches by 24 inches.

***

Besides garage sales, Val truly loved art. In fact, Val was an Art's Major. With an emphasis on "was," she only had two semesters remaining before graduating with her Bachelor of Arts degree. Unfortunately, she ran out of scholarship money and her savings including funds that she received from generous relatives for her college education was depleted, forcing her to take an unplanned break.

At the end of the Spring Semester, she convinced herself that she would be returning to university and completing her degree plan. It was a matter of dollars and cents. In this case, it was a lot of dollars that she didn't have. Ultimately, her goal was to graduate; nevertheless, she obviously needed to save money which was something that Val just wasn't very good at doing.

***

However, Val, like a bear to honey, was attracted to the abstract painting of couples skating on a frozen pond that was laying on the broken sofa. The yellow price sticker had $5.00 marked, and it was placed on the backside of the painting. Val gingerly opened and checked her purse. Grinning, she was ecstatic to find three dollars. Nevertheless, the seller, who held his head and shoulders bent over from an invisible heavyweight, desperately needed money. Therefore, the seller accepted the $3.00 cash. As a result, Val merrily went on her way.

***

Three years prior, moving out of her family's home, Val rented and shared a house with two roommates. Things were going great; until they weren't going great anymore. You see. A few days earlier, one of her roommates informed Val that she was moving out at the end of the month since her employer was transferring her to Arizona. Unexpectedly, this would cause an added expense for Val and her other roommate until they were able to find a third person, who would be willing to share the rental expenses.

***

After completing her Saturday errands, Val begrudgingly returned home with her groceries that she charged to her overloaded credit card, her mail with at least two envelopes containing overdue bills and her $3.00 abstract painting.

Later that evening, Val had a strong intuitive sense that she had seen the abstract painting before. Stirring within her from the end of her nose to the tips of her toes, she couldn't shake that feeling. Val gently examined her purchase. Looking at the right side, there wasn't a visible signature; turning left and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two letters, a C and an M with the year 1899.

Of course, Val's first thought was Claude Monet. Turning on her laptop computer, she googled Monet's name along with the word skaters. The search brought up Skaters at Giverny - Claude Monet - Google Arts Culture.

Clicking on the link, Val couldn't believe how similar the paintings were. At first, Val's shoulders stiffened and reluctantly reasoned that it could be a bogus, counterfeit painting. Needing to reach out to someone, she questioned, "Who could she contact that would be able to authenticate her garage sale find?"

By M.T ElGassier on Unsplash

Quickly, one person came to mind, his name was Professor Bright, who was the gregarious art instructor at the university. Bright taught Val’s advanced art class during her last semester.

Of course, the professor was the correct person to inquire about the painting's authenticity. Because the professor was knowledgeable about these things, he suggested that Val contact the Monet Ep. Giving her all the information to accomplish the task at hand, Bright believed that a Certificate of Authenticity was definitely necessary, before proceeding to the next step or phase.

After four long months, Val received a certified letter. She grabbed her letter opener and held her breath as she opened the letter. Tears welled up; Val slowly read the letter along with the Certificate of Authenticity. Making sure she wasn't dreaming, Val pinched herself.

With the Certificate of Authenticity, Val joyfully reached out to Nostalgic Auctioneers. In a matter of two months, Norway: Skaters on a Frozen Pond was sold for 90.7 million dollars.

***

While in Norway, Monet made many sketches and numerous paintings; in fact, it was confirmed and documented that he had traveled to Norway in 1899. From the many abstract paintings, one was of Norway: Skaters on a Frozen Pond. There was speculation that Monet used the Norway painting to create his famous Skaters at Giverny. Indeed, questions remain, one, how did they lose Monet's Norway sketches and paintings? A bigger question and mystery, how did the abstract painting travel to the US, finding its way into a garage sale.

***

Epilogue: Using a small amount of her money, Val invested in herself and completed her Bachelor of Arts degree. Independently wealthy, she confidently pursued her art career, becoming a famous artist in her own right.

Writer's Notes: Thank you for reading my fictional story! The story is dedicated to my grandchildren and to you my readers.

Short Story
83

About the Creator

Babs Iverson

Barbara J Iversen, also known as Babs Iverson, lives in Texas and loves her grandkids to the moon and back. After writing one story, she found that writing has many benefits especially during a pandemic and a Texas-size Arctic Blast.

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

Top insights

  1. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  1. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  2. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

  3. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  4. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  5. Masterful proofreading

    Zero grammar & spelling mistakes

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Comments (10)

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  • Kelly Sibley 5 months ago

    Very heart warming, and well written as per usual.

  • Margaret Brennan6 months ago

    Hmm! Maybe there's hope for me yet.

  • Veronica Coldiron7 months ago

    LOVE this story!! I'm not gonna lie, I personally liked and easily identified with Val and for some reason kept thinking she was going to go back and reward the garage sale guy. I don't know what's wrong with me! LOL! GREAT story!!

  • Samia Afra11 months ago

    Great story, I'm rooting for her to finish her degree.

  • wow I wish I was her!

  • J. S. Wadeabout a year ago

    Intriguing story. I need to get up earlier on Saturdays! Love the rags to riches ending. 🥰

  • Heather Hublerabout a year ago

    This was a heartwarming story, thank you for sharing it :) It brightened my day. Great work!

  • Dawn Salois2 years ago

    This was a wonderful story with a happy ending!

  • Nicely written... Interesting and pleasant story.

  • This was a wondeful story!

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