A Kind of Inspiration by novalaen |  |
I leaned up against the bedpost, and held my head in
my paws. I could see Nova at the door to my room, looking at me, about to say
something.
"Nova, I don't want to hear it," I said, trying
to avoid a pep talk. I covered my eyes and sat in silence. I could hear Nova
walking into my room and sitting on the bed next to me.
"Ev," she began. "You need to realise, that the
inspiration will come, but only if you let it. You can't just sit in here feeling
sorry for yourself." She covered me with an afghan, and petted me on the head,
rather the way I treated my petpet. A bit of anger raged inside me. I didn't
want to be treated like a petpet!
"But I don't think I'll get a good idea in time
for the exhibition. It's in two weeks! Two whole weeks!" I said frustrated,
hoping I could be alone. "And you're not helping me, with your little talks
about how I'll find inspiration!" As soon as I had lashed out on her, I felt
instantly guilty. Nova hadn't done anything to me! She was just trying to be
a good owner. Nova was silent. "I'm sorry..." I whispered, after a few minutes.
"I know," she said kindly. "And I know that you'll
find inspiration. You just have to look in the right hiding places." Nova got
up and left, and I stared at the wall, waiting for my inspiration to find me.
It didn't, and time was ticking. The art contest
was only a few weeks away! There were four sections, acting, writing, drawing,
and apparel. I was entered in the apparel part, which basically meant I needed
an unique piece of clothing, thought up, drawn and sewn all in two weeks. I
didn't believe I could do it. First of all, I hadn't had a good design idea
for months. I kept thinking about clothes I had already made, or ones that others
had made. I couldn't find a way to think out of the box, and my cookie-cutter
ideas were all the same. They weren't original enough for the showing.
Second of all, there were so many intimidating
Neopets entered, ones who had created countless clothes for famous Neopians.
I didn't feel good enough for them. So, if I didn't find inspiration soon, I
would be known as that wannabe clothes designer Aisha, who wasn't brave enough
to try. But I was brave enough to try. I just didn't have an idea to try with!
My thoughts drifted back to what Nova said. "...you'll find inspiration. You
just have to look in the right hiding places..." But where? The only place I
could think of that inspiration could be found, was the Art Gallery. In my opinion,
it was the centre of all things creative,
But instead of going to the Art Gallery, as I
had told myself and Nova I would go, I wound up sitting at a table in the Coffee
Shoppe, spilling my feelings to the waitress Shoyru who owned it.
"Oh, hun, I understand how that can be," she
said, nodding her head and tisking as I told her everything.
"It's hard for me, too, when I need an idea.
I remember, last year I hadn't a single new coffee made in months. And then,
out of the blue, I got inspiration to make tea! Long ago, no one had made much
tea, but they liked it. Sold a lot of it, too. I even started getting creative,
and I made what you've got now, Snow berry Tea. I don't quite care for it, but
I suppose some Neopians like it..." I stared down at the soup-like tea in the
mug next me.
"But what do you think I should do?" I asked,
trying to take the conversation back to my problem.
"Well," she said, scratching her head. "Guess
you're going to have to do what you've known you'll end up doing. Make tea."
She walked away, leaving me alone to wonder why I even asked for her advice.
I told Nova about everything as soon as I got home. "And then she said 'Make
tea'. And what's that supposed to mean, anyway? Make tea?" I concluded triumphantly,
convinced that the world hated to give me good advice.
Nova sat down, and looked at me hard. "Ev, don't
you realise? That's your answer. Make tea!" I looked at Nova as if she was crazy.
"What do you mean? What does that have to do with clothes?" Nova could be so
thick, sometimes. But what she said next surprised me. "Ev, the answer was right
under your nose the whole time. Make tea. Metaphoric, tea, that is. Make something
that's different from coffee, but it's still in the same category. Something
that we've all forgotten about and take for granted. People don't have to like
it. All that matters is that you tried, and did something different."
Everything made sense now... I would take an
old-fashion something and make it new. I'd make it like the shop owner made
snow berry tea. It would be different from the rest, different from how it used
to be, and different from what others would expect.
I grabbed my sketch pad and started working.
That was the beginning to a long two weeks of work. I drew, planned, cut, snipped
and sewed all of my dreams and feelings into that dress. I made it like no one
else had made a dress before. It was beautiful.
My dress was folded up and placed in a package.
It was sent to the judges who would view all of the work and decide a winner.
There were seven places you could fall under. First place was the best, but
it was known that anyone was lucky to have made it to 30th place. If I had placed,
I would get a Neomail that would tell me where I had fallen under, and what
I had won. And a Neomail did come, as I hoped it would. Nova and I crowded around
it, and I read it out loud:
"Dear EverWild, It is our pleasure to inform
you that we have evaluated your work and you have placed in the top seven spots.
You're design has been discussed and viewed by our judges and you have won 4th
place!" I didn't read anymore. I leaped into Nova's arms and jumped around.
I had done it! I had finally made it! I could keep still, but Nova calmed me
down, to show me the very last section. P.S. You should be genuinely proud of
your accomplishment! You received thousands of entries and yours was one of
the only ones that stood out and grabbed our attention. Congratulations on your
accomplishment, and for your recent appearance in The Neopian Times."
I sighed a content sigh and smiled. This was
the way things were meant to be. I had found a new kind of inspiration.
The End |
