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Claudia sits at her easel looking out over the broad stretches of countryside to the rear of her home.

Dainty birds tweet and chirp in the trees and bushes outside.

She recognizes some of the songs and can match them to their species without a moment's thought.

Way out in the distance, a combine harvester is plowing the years crops. A gentle breeze

carries the slightest murmur of its engine and mechanisms all the way to Claudia's ears.

She smiles. She must have sat in this very spot on thousands of occasions in her life.

Still, every time she gazes through the tall arched window pane, it reminds her just how blessed she is.

This home has belonged to her family for multiple generations.

It's modest in size, craggy in its appearance. The floorboards creak and the carpets are worn by time.

Yet the memories that it holds are priceless and the familiarity keeps Claudia grounded.

She takes a deep breath in, sensing the cool, fresh air drifting in from outside.

It's time, once again, to create a new masterpiece.

She mixes together several different shades of paints,

lightly dabbing her brush in two or three pans to achieve the right tones.

As the colours dilute and combine, Claudia's mind courses back through her youth.

There is one particular occasion that always comes to the forefront, especially when she's in this spot.

It was a hot, humid day toward the end of summer.

...