I stepped into the circular hall. She was wearing a tight-fitting black dress that extended below her knees. I started walking towards her slender silhouette. She was standing under the wide dome, several strides away from the orichalcum pillar, which glimmered under the luminaries that pierced through the dome.
Her gaze was hidden behind a pair of bold black acetate sunglasses with oversized circular lenses.
She greeted me as I came close to her:
"Hello, René". She said, smiling, and pulling her glasses away from her eyes to the top of her head.
"Hello, Ariadne. I finally made it. After all the sinuous rooms and hallways. The lack of lighting didn't help, but here I am". I said matter of factly.
"Well, you made it alright, I just arrived here a few minutes ago myself".
I moved in closer to exchange two kisses on the cheeks with her. The glossy black surface of the sunglasses reflected in capricious shapes the iridescent surface of the orichalcum pillar. Only then I realized that the two temples of the glasses were shaped in big conspicuous spirals. Like uncoiling shoots of fern. Like the scrolls that decorate the ends of violin pegboxes. Like the volutes that top the capitals of Ionic columns. I stared at them for a few unending instants, wondering how something so vain could trigger that many neoclassical images in me.
"I like your sunglasses", I said honestly.
"Thanks!" She smiled once again while pulling the sunglasses back in front of her eyes. "They're my favorite pair: Prada Baroque". Her beautifully shaped teeth showed behind her stretching lips.
"Oh, baroque... I see... It makes sense. But I didn't think of baroque when I saw them though. I'm more of a neoclassical guy myself. Actually I was just recalling how Vitruvius described the Ionic order as eminently feminine. Opposed to the more masculine Doric. The shaft of the column lays on the ground through a base that resembles women's shoes. The grooves of the shaft are designed to evoque the pleated peplum dresses of the caryatids. On top of the column, the volutes at both sides of the capital were designed to resemble the curly locks of a Mediterranean woman. Finally, the egg-and-dart between the two volutes are carved as jewelry adorning the female neck.
After a brief pause Ariadne managed to utter something: "Wow... I really didn't expect such a deep æsthetic analysis on my sunglasses. I simply bought them because I liked them. When I put them on I feel a little bit like a fifties Italian film diva".
She placed the diva spectacles back on top of her hair while she grinned mischievously at me.