Chapter Sixty Eight: Paintings and Frames

 It was a massive painting hanging gloriously in the living room of the well-appointed mansion. The frame enclosing it was as beautiful as the painting itself; artists would generally refer to its subject as "surrealism" and its caliber is similar to the merit and style attributed to the great painter and surrealist René Magritte.

The artwork itself is titled "Lucifer's Refuge," (a name that is already revealing) and the market price for this rare masterpiece has been presently valued at €75 Million, a rigorous thought concept of the re-imaginings of Lucifer's plight in his spiritual struggle, although the original painter who actually created the painting in water color was silent about the inspiration of the work. Many of those valuators (some are even respected professors of History of Art themselves) who were fortunate enough to make a perusal of the said artistic piece had one thing in common to say: that the strokes were impeccable and gentle in its approach, despite dealing with a difficult medium, and that the interpretation of the subject was truly magnificent in the way it was conceived.

Museums around the world had made contact with the current owner of the painting to buy everything relative to the work (including the historical frame that houses it) in a bid that is as much as double its current valuation, but all offers to procure this hidden gem were respectfully declined. The owner of this painting has repeatedly said in seperate media interviews that it was instrumental to the accumulation of his wealth, a source of "ultimate luck," and he was not ready to part with it just yet.

There was significant details to the surrealist imagination of the paining that attracted and piqued Fr. Aldrin Mercado's interest, a Filipino priest ordained for the Diocese of Cabanatuan, but who is now working with the offices of the Fabric of Saint Peter. Although the painting itself and the frame in which it was housed were aesthetically pleasing in the same vein of the art movements predominantly present at the time of its creation, there is something methodically demonic about it.

After informing the Cardinal Vicar for the Vatican City State of his detailed spiritual hypothesis, the good Cardinal Pietro Esposito has instructed the Director of the Vatican Museum to discuss the merits of this inspirational judgment if indeed coming from the spiritual guidance of the Holy Spirit or if the contents of the art's expression simply reflect the adventurous means of secular imagination, and nothing more.

It was an early Autumn morning in Rome when Fr. Mercado finally met Arianna Bianchi in person, the Vatican Museum's Director, and their meeting was rather cordial within the sea of tourists mainly coming from the Patrons of the Arts. As it was a busy morning for both of them, they later agreed when to meet to finally discuss the merits of his hypothesis.

"By the way, what brings you to the arts, Fr. Mercado?" Bianchi asked the priest curiously.

"The Blessed Virgin Mary," the priest replied.

They shook hands, smiled at each other, and then the priest left.

Fr. Mercado immediately went to the Church of St Anne to pray, with his anxious mind focused on that painting still bothering him, especially the symbol that he can see prominently displayed (albeit it was cleverly hidden at the same time) that is calling him like the loud call of a potential demonic possession. He cannot unsee it anymore, from the moment he saw it, and it was rather tempting, telling, and purely sinister with the way he appreciated its entirety, as if it was a source of another power within the content of the frames itself.

"St Anne, mother of the Queen of Heaven, pray for us."

As he prayed silently, he surrendered everything to the Lord. He was about to meet an evil substance not known to man, and there is no turning back.

It was very frightening.

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