Vocabulary Insanity

Chapter 2 - Uniting Creations

Vocabulary:

ineffable (adj.): incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible

tableaux (n.): a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene

aesthetic (adj.): having a sense of the beautiful; characterized by a love of beauty

altruism (n.): the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others

truculent (adj.): fierce, cruel, savagely brutal

mien (n.): a person's manner, bearing, or appearance, expressing personality or mood

specious (adj.): apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible

Story: Uniting Creations

          Her pencil glides over the paper, pulling forth images of long lean women in beautiful dresses. The curves of the fabric, the designs in the hems, the colors of the trims. Each detail is painstakingly determined, fit into place to work with another. This trim is changed to match that hem line. That cut is lowered to fit this trim. All flow seamlessly together, a tableaux of fashion and elegance.

          She sits, hunched over her desk, head close to the paper, furiously scribbling through the sketchbook. Not angry, not upset, just inspired. Surrounded by a mien of enthusiasm and commitment, she outlines a dress. Not a prom dress today. No she doesn't want to think about prom or high school. This is a medieval dress, inspired by a story her sister wrote. She's drawing the moon.

          Not the satellite that has circled the planet for millennia, but a humanized version. A woman that seems to radiate light from every inch of her body. But her aesthetic comes not from her glowing beauty but from the simple fact that she is pregnant. Which is also the reason she is so difficult to draw, as Emily pulls an eraser out to fix the bulging belly.

          The sister considers this action the highest form of altruism imaginable. To relinquish one of her precious drawings for the benefit of a loved one? But this is specious reasoning. Emily draws for no one but herself. That it can benefit another is only an added perk. Her drawings are her own.

          She glides the pencil back over the belly, an ineffable feeling of frustration building within her. But she carries on, touching on the overcoat once more to get the shadowing absolutely right. Her eyes glitter truculently and determinedly, with a light not unlike that of the moon-woman she is drawing. Her eyes widen, and she sets her pencil down once more, finally determining the perfect shape of the belly and the exact fall of the dress.

          This is how I view her. Hunched over her desk, entrenched in her story. My stories are written with delicate wording and subtle characterizations, but hers delve into the world of color and light. She thinks she cannot write but she does so every time she picks up a pencil. Her stories make people feel, often more-so than mine can. Her words are colors; her characterization is detailing. She throws her heart into a sketch, a painting, a piece of art. She loves and in return is loved by the worlds she creates. We envy each other's talents, but together they unite us. Imagination and imagery, in two separate forms.