Page 7 of Becoming His Muse
He sat on his stool and stared at the slab in front of him. Attempting to picture what he wanted to turn it into. What he wanted to make this plain, blank canvas look like. Elion tried to imagine what he would mold it into, what it could be, and again, he came up with nothing. This wasn’t ideal for him, but he knew he couldn’t force it if he wanted the collection to succeed like the others.
Elion’s work kept him pretty well off, pulling in six figures a year, and that was because he did several exhibits a year. Though he fell into these times of mental creative blocks, he always tended to come out of them with a little bit of time. He was sure that this time would be no different.
4
“Uncle Elion!” Clara exclaimed as she came into his office. He was glad he hadn’t been working on a sculpture with the way she made him jump.
Clara never burst into his office. She always knocked, or if he were in his zone working, she’d enter quietly and wait for a pause to not throw him off or mess up his concentration. So, whatever she was coming to tell him had her overly excited.
“What is it?” he questioned, placing down the pencil he’d been using to attempt to sketch a design.
“You got a response!” she replied, hopping up and down.
Elion furrowed his brow at her. “A response?”
“To the survey I sent in for you. You’ve got a match!”
Elion sighed. He didn’t know why she was so excited about it. It wasn’t like she would gain anything from him going on a date, nor would he. So, he didn’t understand why she’d even broughtit to his attention. Especially since she’d seemed to have given up on it, convinced he wouldn’t receive any replies.
“Don’t sigh like that,” Clara scolded him. “You need to take a break, and what better way to do so than with someone you have things in common with.” She paused for a slight beat. “Because you and I both know the creative juices aren’t flowing. Which means a break wouldn’t hurt.”
Elion didn’t respond. He knew that if he did, it would just start a back-and-forth between them. His niece got her stubborn streak from her mother, and anytime he thought of the discussions he and his older sister got into when they were younger, it was enough to make him decide it was not worth it.
“At least look at the profile that was sent over before you just brush it off completely,” Clara stated, placing the tablet she’d walked into the room with on the table before turning and walking out.
Elion watched his niece go before his eyes slid to the tablet she’d left behind. The screen still lit up as if it were challenging him to come and have a look, and he had no intention of doing so.
Turning his attention back to the sketch at hand, Elion picked up his pencil again, studying it before getting back to drawing. Clara was wrong. He was tapping past the creative block in front of him, evident by his ability to work on the sketch to the point he’d gotten it to. It was about halfway done, which was saying something; considering on the other sketches, he’d only been able to draw a few lines.
The sketch was rounding out. When starting it, Elion wasn’t sure what it would be, and honestly, he still didn’t know. All he knew was that it was turning into something, taking shape, and often, that was all you could ask for when attempting to create anything.
As he sketched, Elion occasionally glanced at the tablet. Each time he caught himself, he focused back on the sketch.
After another thirty minutes of drawing, Elion found his curiosity getting the best of him. With a sigh, he stood from his stool and went over to the tablet, picking it up.
When the screen lit up, the survey match that had been sent still sat on the screen. Elion looked it over, finding that the two of them had several things in common. She liked going to museums, which Elion also enjoyed, though he didn’t get to do it often anymore. She was interested in cooking classes and trying new things.
Elion wondered how true that was. Most people who said they were interested in trying something new usually meant one or two things still inside their comfort zone. Elion believed trying something new meant stepping out of your comfort zone and pushing yourself.
At the thought, Elion couldn’t help but think of himself as hypocritical. It was true he didn’t date because he seldom had the time. However, he also didn’t do so because dating put him in a world that wasn’t like his own. He expressed himself through art, and words could frequently fail him.
Maybe Clara was right. Perhaps he needed to step outside of his creative bubble, even if it was just for a night.
He’d made it to the bottom of the page, where it asked if he would like to accept or decline a date with the owner of the profile he’d just looked over. His finger hovered over the decline for several long seconds until he found himself pressing accept instead. A message popped up on the screen after that.
Congratulations on your match! The plan for your first date will be sent over soon!
Elion placed the tablet down before letting out a huff of air. He would keep his decision to himself and keep Clara out of it until he couldn’t. He knew it would be whenever the date plancame through. Whether she’d used her email to set it up or his, Clara would see it since she checked his email as his assistant far more than he did.
He returned to his sketch and looked at it. Elion furrowed his brow. It was…indistinguishable. He wasn’t even sure that it would be classified as abstract. He tilted his head to the side, attempting to make some shape out of it.
When he couldn’t make a picture or sense out of it. He thought about scrapping it and throwing it in the trash, which had quickly become the sketch graveyard with the other ones. However, he decided he’d keep it. There was always the possibility that he could make something out of it.
Elion exited his workroom and went down the hall. It was late afternoon, and he hadn’t eaten since early that morning. His stomach was now insisting that be known.
He was going to make himself a wrap and decided to make one for Clara as well. He could hear her in the living room. Soft saxophone music was playing, so he knew that she was doing homework or studying.
Once the wraps were ready, Elion placed them on plates before taking two bottles of water from the refrigerator. He grabbed everything and took it into the living room. He placed one of the plates and a bottle down on the only empty space on the table beside his niece. She threw out a soft thank you with her eyes still on the textbook in front of her.
