By Priyasha Gupta
Part One: Dragon and Raven
My grandmother had told me a story when I was a kid.
Long, long ago there lived a dragon with scales as colourful as the myriad of
glasses in the Palace of Lord Raven. It was a glorious architectural marvel as Aves
of every species known to exist frolicked to the palace to admire its beauty. One
day, a swallow lost its way and found itself at the mouth of the dragon's cave.
Frightened upon the sight but also awestruck by the colours of her scales, it
decided to go a little near. The dragon's sleep was perturbed as she was sensitive
to the most minuscule of sounds and even the flapping of a bird's wing, opened
one eye.
"Aren't I a wonder on my own?" she asked.
The swallow, not afraid anymore, decided to perch down on a rock.
"Yes, but you live all by yourself, and even though might I add, more glorious than
the Palace of King Raven, but there's no one to see you."
The dragon pondered for a while. The little swallow had a point.
"Fine, I will come with you and show all of the world what they've been missing!"
Together the swallow and the dragon flew to King Raven's palace.
Upon their arrival, the Ave Kingdom broke into an uproar as a dragon had entered
into their territory!
King Raven took matters into his own hands and calmed his subjects down.
"The dragon is a guest and we must welcome her!"
Moved with the King's generosity, the dragon spread her wings and flew around
the palace, glitter falling from her scales and covering the castle in sparkles of
gold and silver. The whole Kingdom held their breath as they watched the castle
transform into an unparalleled miracle.
From then on, the dragon and the birds lived happily ever after.
End of the story.
In the modern times, it can be considered a story that explains the functionality
of collaboration.
Problem is, I'm a starving digital artist who's a social media reject. Both these
things don't really go well together. Maybe the starving part is not so true. I have
working parents and we are fairly comfortable.
Three years ago, I had posted an artwork I made and I agree I was way less
experienced back then but a few classmates of mine made fun of my drawing,
and I've grown out of it but the feeling stuck. I haven't felt comfortable on social
media ever since and it bleeds through my conversations too. Most people tend
to ignore me on intense ongoing group chats as well. Combined with my shy
personality, I have the urge to avoid social media like a plague, only using it
when absolutely necessary. And yes, I've been called an old soul a lot.
But sometimes, I do feel the urge to showcase my art somewhere. I'm afraid of
posting it under an alias because it might get stolen and I have no idea about
acquiring copyrights either. So, I'm really stuck in a kind of limbo.
That is until, one day my best friend Nicki gives me the most implausible idea in
the world.
Part Two: Visiobibliophobia
"No way, I'll never work with her. She'll back away immediately"
"But you should try at least. It's the best way."
Nicki was over at my house and we were doing a Summer Research project
together. We were sitting at the edge of my bed and my dad was making lasagna
so the aroma from the kitchen wafted to my bedroom.
While researching the variegated types of wines for French class, Nicki declared
a five-minute break. She had taken her phone out and was scrolling through her
feeds. She stopped at one post and almost shoved the phone into my face.
"You should collaborate with Tara. I bet that would help your anxiety and give
you a boost of confidence"
This was Nicki. Always going on about positivity and treating my anxiety
problems like a stain on the floor. Like if you scrub hard enough, the stain would
go away.
"For the hundredth time, Nick. I have Visiobibliophobia. It is an actual diagnosis.
I can't just wish it away. Plus, Tara's popular and scary"
Tara was a batchmate of ours and I had her in my French class. I found her
haughty and temperamental so I've never really spoken to her. But she was
what they called these days- an influencer or at least well on her way of
becoming one. I had no clue how Tara and Nicki became friends but I'm not
surprised.
Nicki's tapping away at her phone, a mischievous grin playing at her lips and I
doubt she heard what I said.
"Yes!" she exclaimed and hugged me. "She said yes!"
"I- I don't understand" I sputter, but understanding is creeping into my senses
slowly.
"You're going to meet her tomorrow and talk about your art. Plus you're going
to go live and-"
"You texted her about me, Nick! How could you? I don't even know her that
well"
"Don't make that face, Leeta. It will be wonderful, trust me"
Despite my protests, Nicki still managed to persuade me in the end. I called her
out on foul play. But in response, she just laughed and shook her head.
Part Three: Lavender
We were standing outside a café which is a common hang-out spot for a lot of
people from school. I was on the sidewalk, balancing as I was putting one foot
before the other. The color on my black Converse was fading a little, courtesy of
them being subjected to washing over the years. But they were my favorite so I
wore them almost everywhere.
Nicki was taking her selfies because she said the best photos were sun-kissed.
I almost wanted to hide behind a bush when I saw Tara approaching, but
instead, I froze in my spot. When Nicki noticed, she waved at her and motioned
for her to come inside.
Nicki and I chose a spot to sit near the windows when Tara came over. She was
wearing a pretty sundress and I felt a little self-conscious in my blue jeans and a
loose-fitted tank top. She looked fresh as lemons and smelled of lavender, but
when her eyes narrowed on me, she blinked.
'You're Leeta, right? The one in my French class?"
"Yep, that would be me" I smiled nervously, throwing a glance toward Nicki
because if anything went wrong today, she would be responsible. The only way
to convince me, she realized, was to blackmail me with the summer project,
saying that she would go and partner with someone else. And I had no energy,
time, or ability to search for a new partner at the last moment.
"You're an artist? Wow, I never knew that "
"Yeah, I've been drawing since I was a kid," I said quietly.
"Great!" Tara exclaimed and brightened up again. "We can order boba tea and
get started right away"
" You guys continue. I'll go order" Nicki winked at me and went off to the
counter.
In the meantime, Tara was filling me in on the must-know things before going
live.
"You must smile often and don't get all stiff like you're being now. Don't worry
about the talking part. Just focus on answering my questions. For your first
time, I understand you'd get nervous but don't look at the reactions too much.
It'll distract you."
I guess I was wrong about Tara after all. She was pretty nice and I felt my
inhibitions toward her slowly easing away.
By the time Nicki came back with our drinks, my nerves were much calmer now,
my palms a little less clammy, although my heart did beat a little faster. I took
out my tablet from my bag in preparation.
"Don't mind me. I'll just watch" Nicki pulls a chair from across where me and
Tara are sitting and plops down.
Beside me, Tara sets her perfectly curled hair and presses the live button.
"And here we go!"
Part Four: Not a Bad Idea
My hand is frozen and hovering above the screen with a pencil compatible with
my tablet, my shoulders stiff and I feel like I'm holding a breath captive that I
just can't seem to release.
I am grateful for Tara beside me as she's doing most of the talking which she
promised. She seems to have a great hold on her followers as the chat room has
seemingly exploded and I find myself reading a lot of those comments even
though I was asked not to. Most of them are about how everyone is excited to
see her.
I anxiously wait for my turn, just now remembering to smile occasionally but I
can't help but think of myself as an axolotl every time I do that. After not too
long Tara is looking at me, expecting me to start talking, having asked me to
introduce myself.
"Hi," I awkwardly wave at her screen and immediately regret it. But I can't stop
now. It will be way more embarrassing than three years ago. "My name's Leeta
and I'm a digital artist in training. Today I'm here at an aesthetic café with Tara
and we're going to talk all about art!" If I had to gauge the octave of my voice, I'd
say it was a pretty decent attempt at showing excitement, despite my constant
instinct to flee.
"Draw something for your audience, Leeta. Let's see how good you are"
There was something magnetic about Tara's voice that was resonant and
seemed to draw people in. She shifted the camera on her phone to my glowing
screen.
I felt relief because for once, the attention was not on my face but on something
I was going to create.
"It may take a while but please don't leave," I said.
Tara laughed as she patted me on the back "Of course not, hun" With a fleeting
glance, I noticed a few floating laughing emojis on her screen.
And I started to work. It was a little challenging as I had only begun to master
the layers concept in these digital apps but as my hand flew across the screen, I
lost track of time and was actually enjoying the process, although it was a bit
tedious at times.
Satisfied with my conquest, I slide the tablet toward Tara and she gasps.
"Oh my god, Leeta. This is genius. I can't believe you drew us!"
I did draw the three of us sitting in this café having boba tea but from an
outsider's perspective.
Nicki is grinning from ear to ear as her eyes meet mine. Guess it wasn't such a
bad idea after all.
Tara's screen is flooded with reactions, all hearts, and angel emojis, but I
couldn't care less. I did something that I never believed I could. I overcame my
fears and that was bigger than any validation I could ever receive.
"Just to let you know. I'm not colouring this thing right away. That could take
me nearly half a day. We should've gone for Speedplay instead " I mutter almost
inaudibly.
Both Nicki and Tara are laughing for some reason and I find myself joining in
with them. This was turning into the best day of my life.
"Oh my god, Leeta you're so funny and talented" Tara pretends to remove a
fake tear from the corner of her eye. " Everyone in the comment section is
saying so too. Alright, guys, I'll post this drawing on my page. Until then, this
was Leeta and this is me signing off"
Nicki stood up on her toes and high-fived me. I was still high on adrenaline but it
was all so exhilarating and fun.
"We're going for brunch!" Tara announced in that sing-song voice of hers. "It's
on me"
The three of us left the café, babbling to one another, toward Tara's parked car
outside on the other side of the road.
The End
By Priyasha Gupta
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