Mona walked determinedly through the grey afternoon. It seemed appropriate to her that the weather was bad, she would never paint a shipwreck in the sunshine. The sand, still warm from earlier sunshine, felt good on her bare feet. Ahead of her the dark mass of the shipwreck loomed. It had a morbid romance to it alright, perfect. Reaching into her purse she drew out a sketchbook and began to work. 

She lost herself in her art, she stood by the sea sketching furiously, trying to capture mood and ambiance. It wasn’t until she made the first strokes of a figure that she realized she wasn’t alone on the beach. With a start she looked up.

“Buonasera, um I mean that is good afternoon,” she called.