Folly & Agendas & Talulah

[Chapter 49]

Circa: One Year and One Month Since Birth of...
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A small Draco with black and silver hair waddled to her playmates; her thin tail dragged along behind her. A young, white-haired Liberi ran around to follow his older brother; a black-haired Pythia with lime green eyes. Watching over them was a young, female Sankta with a glowing halo and glowing wings. 

"Marzanna! Sasha! Eno! Get over here!" She playfully called.

Upon hearing her, the three kids split up and ran. They all chased each other in circles until they couldn't chase anymore. Large, beaming smiles decorated their faces even after they stopped to get some rest. The Sankta picked up Marzanna, the little Draco.

"Come, let's play again Haley!" Eno laughed as he leaned his body against Sasha's. 

"Play! Play! Play! Play!" Marzanna gushed with excitement.

Haley wiped some sweat off her head while she carried the little Draco. "Now now. We need a break. You two look very tired, and Marzanna needs to return to her mommy. We can play later; we still have the entire day."

"Aw... but we want to play now!" Eno whined. Sasha had a frown on his face.

"How about I read you all a story?" Haley suggested.  "Sasha grab my bag for me please."

The angel led the children towards a grove of trees, and sat under the shade of a large pine. The smell of summer imbued them with a sense of tranquility. The wind blew quietly as it traveled across the landscape. The skies were clear with no clouds in sight. Birds sang as they soared through the heavens.

Haley sat Marzanna on her lap and grabbed a book from her bag; Sasha and Eno both sat close to her on opposite sides of their body leaning their heads to catch a glimpse of the story she was about to read. A thin orange book with edges laced in gold rested in her hands. It had tears all over it; the spine of the book was almost entirely broken. 

"All right then. Is everyone ready?" Haley asked. 

Everyone nodded their heads as the angel flipped to the first page. A thin coat of dust seemed to have been building up, but that was not an issue as a quick wipe of the page solved it. A cloudy bubble was drawn on the page, next to a painting and a young boy. From there, Haley started reading:

"Once upon a time, there was a little artist with big dreams. He would draw and paint and color and mix; he would make an ugly drawing become a masterpiece. His family loved his works of art. His friends loved his works of art. Every time he drew, he would give a large smile. He loved everyone. But that was not important to him; instead, he wanted to show his special talent to the whole wide world."

She started flipping a few pages, allowing some time for the children around her to take a look at the them. One page had an art gallery decorated with all of the colors of the rainbow. 

"One day, he set out and tried to show his artistic talent in an art show. He wanted to be the best artist the people have ever seen. He tried his best to draw and paint and color and mix; and it seemed to work! But when the judges announced the winner, they did not call his name. They called the name of another artist. That other artist was smarter, better and more creative; he was the show's star. And then, the judges announced the show's worst artist; they chose our little artist.'

"From that day on, the little artist stopped being an artist. He didn't feel special anymore; and so, he cried. He cried and cried and cried. He cried because he was not chosen to be the winner. He cried because the judges picked him for the show's worst artist. He cried because he could not create art anymore."