From the gasping brush

From the deep
(for sale)

The girl leaps from the sea of her struggles, coming up for air before she must dive in again. The sea is not menacing, but rather very complex in its colors and textures, symbolic of the complicated nature of her traumas, relationships, distortions...her mind, in short. The birds whirl and hover, fixated on her and trying to understand what she is doing (a typical question from my treatment team). They are trying to lead her to recovery, and here she is seeking a reprieve from the work.

Originally I was going to have just two birds, but thought that would be too obvious a representation of H and L, my nutritionist and therapist, respectively. I'll admit, I meant for the third bird to be purely aesthetic, an eye-pleasing, round number, but it has been pointed out to me that it may very well be C, my boyfriend of several years. L is the bird closest to the girl, flying right with her and craning her neck to keep sight of me. She lets me do what I will, only trying to guide me without interfering too much. H is more forceful, turning around to hover and keep a watchful eye on me. Sometimes I feel as if she is a few steps ahead of me, and so that's where I've put her bird. C dives directly towards me into the scene, fearful to let me deviate from a linear path.