The first part of An Artist’s Dream tells the story of Naina through ten incidents that changed her life, relations, perception & character. It shows how a girl in the pursuit of love makes decisions that seal her fate.
“An Adorable Artist” by Nikhila Kotni is an individual’s journey from hating hypocrites to becoming one. It conveys how a traumatised child seeks love at all costs and is willing to trade anything, including her own child.
Tale I
Glaring at the drizzling grey clouds, Naina stood at the entrance of her home drenched in her wet school uniform. She was determined to confront her mother today with the question that had been burning her for months.
Meanwhile, for the tenth time, she heard her grandfather plead with her to change her clothes & drink some hot milk, but she didn’t want to. She first wanted the answer. So she asked him again, “Where is papa?” & he remained as silent as he was throughout the way when he picked her up from school.
Tale II
Looking out the window, Naina could see the black clouds roaring and the winds invading their city but not a drop of rain. She stood before her Professor in his chamber as he skimmed through her submission. She knew her work would ensure reprimanding, but she couldn’t help herself from writing it.
Ever since she lost her grandfather about a year ago, her life has not been the same. He was the only force protecting her by projecting confidence & with his loss, Naina failed in everything. Her moral support vanished, and her mother sought help than offered some.
Tale III
Listening to the raindrops & smelling the sweet sand’s fragrance, Naina lay on her bed looking at the ceiling. Feeling the cold air through the window, she recalled Nihal’s question, “Did she honestly deserve it?”
For a while, she could not understand how her supervisor only perceived her mother as a fictional character & nothing more. It was not the first work she showed to him & it was nothing but a little different from the rest of them in the past. She was curious as to why Nihal asked this question today.
Tale IV
Looking out the glass, Naina could see the grey clouds pour heavily while the scent of the coffee lit up the evening. Though she wasn’t interested in meeting Shiva, everyone around them, including her mother, wholeheartedly wished they would become a couple.
Facing her was a lean man with an oval face decked in a light blue shirt wearing rimless glasses, cutting through the fruit cake with his fork. Taking a bite, he said, “So, Naina, before you decide if I am worthy, I would like to confess that I was once in a relationship.”
Tale V
It was a cloudy morning, and Naina’s house was filled with cheerful faces, as she had always dreamed about for years. Everything & everyone around her was how she imagined it would be if she were ever going to settle down. On that blissful morning, she was with him, the one who would take her away from the shackles & insecurities.
It all started when Naina visited Nihal, just like every other day. That day, however, she wanted to talk to him about something that could change her life once & for all. She knew, she told Shiva a lie that Nihal meant so much to her, but it was to see how that poor wretched soul who was passionately in love with her would react.
Tale VI
Lying on the bed in her weakest form, Naina kept glaring again and again at the little ball of happiness she manifested. Nothing she has ever created has made her so proud, and she knew nothing she ever will do in the future might do too. She was alone with her man while her mother and mother-in-law left for lunch.
Sitting beside the window as the grey clouds drizzled, Shiva sat silent. Naina knew that at least this newfound responsibility made him immensely happy, unlike her. Looking at his oval face adorned with a sense of lostness, Naina said, “I thought you wouldn’t let go of him, but here you are all by yourself. You surprise me, Shiv.”
Tale VII
As the clouds poured, Naina sat in her study room thinking about the person she met the previous evening. She didn’t know what she should do. Though she knew she had to talk to Shiva about it, she knew it would break their fragile bond. Three years passed by, and their lives only got worse and worse.
With no one else to talk to, Naina sought her mother for advice. That evening, she invited her for dinner and intended to confess what had happened. After dinner, her mother tucked her grandson into bed. She then visited Naina and glanced at her to realise a storm was brewing.
Tale VIII
Naina could hear the clouds roaring and pouring rain as if they wanted to sink their world. Standing at her mother’s home entrance, Naina pleaded, “I cannot live with myself if you do not listen to me!”
Facing her stood Arav controlling himself from shutting the door. Meeting his mother nearly a decade later, he shouted, “You are nothing but a psychotic little worm filled with hypocrisy! Get out of my sight now!”
Tale IX
Rain gushed to drain out the tears of all those who gathered to lay one of their own to rest. The priest kept reading verses from the holy book, and Arav stood two feet away from the burial. Adorned in black and losing a lot of weight in the last couple of weeks, Arav was now as lean as a stick. Though there was sorrow within him, he had no tears left.
Behind him stood Meera and Arav’s three cousins. Along with them was Rukmini. That was all. He didn’t invite anyone from Shiva’s work or his friends. Maybe because none of them had the decency to visit when sickness was looming over, calling death every moment. He did call Naina. For better or worse, he did call her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Tale X
As it drizzled, Naina held a book in her hand and sat in the cosy chamber on a sofa with a thick quilt covering her folded legs. Though the book in her hand lay open, she kept looking outside at the lawn, taking a shower.
Opening the door as calmly as possible, Nidhi peeped into the room to find Naina pretending to read. With a worried face, the lean girl in her twenties approached her. Laying beside her on the sofa, she lay her head in Naina’s lap.
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