Milieu Euphony (In Act Series #2)

Phase 9

PHASE NINE

TO SCULPT IS TO IMITATE

God was the supreme carver—the prime sculptor of all things.

He was the first one who had an idea of sculpting. He was also the first one who made a sculpture of a man who he then gave life so it could breathe.

A man was the first statue that breathed—it was the first sculpture in the field of sculpting.

That's why it was given to give sculpture their life, to begin with. And whoever had the chance to be the prime in a field that was yet to be discovered, they all earned one thing—bragging rights. A prideful air that laced them said, "I was the first one to be here that's why I should be the one to make the rules."

For the gods to be a god, one must be all-knowing in their discipline. They should earn a reputation on which they could be respected and believed that they were credible.

In Michelangelo's Buonarroti's case, he wasn't the first sculptor that ever existed. Aside from the all-knowing God that started life on Earth, countless sculptors preceded the prime sculptor. Yet with the events that refrained Buonarroti to be the prime, he was able to top them all.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni made a name for himself out of the dedication that he had to his work. Though his father, Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni, was against him pursuing the sculpture discipline, he pursued the direction that he believed was his.

And he did, that's why his name was one of the primes now.

Is that why Michelangelo de Angelis wanted to be a god—to defy the highest and make a name for himself as who he was, not someone named after a famous High Renaissance sculptor?

The journey of making a name for oneself—establishing a foundation that was meant to revolve around our identity and creating an environment that our identity could grow in—would be suffocating once they recognized that their skills couldn't be at par with what they had envisioned.

It's terrifying that's why others chose to be stagnant.

But for people who grew up with a strong sense of direction, of course, they wouldn't see those as boulders, rather, hurdles to develop their skills and recognize their potential.

Yet those who were goal-driven and direction-oriented were just a few ones who were close to stumbling upon a cliff.

Michelangelo de Angelis was far from that. He was yet to encounter a cliff, and it would be uncertain if he would jump or find another way to go on.

"Ang pangit ng gawa mo."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," pambabalewala ko habang hinuhulma ang luwad.

The softness of clay was a drastic difference from the hardness of marble statues. The difference was—it doesn't have any warmth. The clay's warmth radiated from my hands, while marble statues are yet to be warm. They were always cold and immobile like the body of a deceased—rotting, perhaps, because the accumulated warmth lapsed.

But, of course, one would always find warmth in things that do not live.

For example—Michelangelo de Angelis.

"Hindi mo rin kailangang pakinggan," masungit niyang sabi pagkatapos ng ilang segundo.

He tsk-ed before he crossed his arms in front of me.