Tale of an Untalented Artist

Chapter 1 | A (Truly) Crazy Dream

"I found I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn't say any other way" - Georgia O'Keeffe

My birthday turned out to be the most boring day of my life.

You would think, in my home city Los Angeles, where tourists flocked in abundance, that there would be plenty for me to do. Especially on the day I turned eleven. But Mommy was terrified of the coronavirus. She sat in living terror in front of her computer screen watching the death toll rise. It didn't help that her friend, Mrs. Schloss, never left her house either.

To say that they were friends was sort of a stretch. Mommy wished she could be friends with Mrs. Schloss.

"Dina, have you seen my air pods?"

My older sister Aviva stuck her head into my room. She has sunglasses on her head like she's going somewhere she shouldn't be.

"They're in your ears," I said. I could see the tiny things glinting white.

"Watcha up to, missy?"

I don't know why she asked. I wished I had gotten better presents that I could do something with. But when you're eleven, it seems that everyone gives up trying to figure out what you like. So I got a bunch of gift cards - one for the neighborhood Jewish book store, one for Amazon, and one for Munchies, our neighborhood candy store.

But Mommy's not taking me out to the book store or Munchies, and I can only be on Amazon if I'm supervised by either of my parents. So I'm plopped on my bed reading Anne of Green Gables for the hundredth time.

"I'm doing nothing," I replied to her. "I'm so bored and it's my birthday."

I hoped I could garner some sympathy.

"You're bored?" Aviva rolled her eyes. "I haven't seen Kayla for weeks! We were going to rock up ninth grade and we've barely been in school. I don't know what Mommy's so scared about. Nothing's gonna happen - Kayla and her family already got the coronavirus. And I'm young."

"Yeah but she's scared about Tzvi," I said. "Because of his asthma."

"Whatever."

Aviva left. I was about to return to the scene where Anne messes up the pudding, when I heard the doorbell ring.

It rang and rang and rang.

I figured Aviva's got her favorite tunes blasting in her ears. Mommy was probably tuned in to the latest coronavirus updates or scrolling Mrs. Schloss's lifestyle blog. And you can't trust Tzvi to open the door - it's probably better that he shouldn't. Daddy was shut up in his office where he stays put until dinner time.

I wriggled off my bed, and my bare feet touched the cold wooden floor.

Sometimes, I wished my hobbies could be as important as everyone else's.

Sometimes, I wished I had a hobby.

I flew down the stair case and ran like wind to open the door which still rang away.

"Who is it?" I looked through the peephole. I saw a high-school age girl on our doorstep. I didn't recognize her. She made me uncomfortable though - she stared at me straight through the peephole like she could see me spying on her.

"Elisheva. I'm here to tutor Tzvi? This is the Blum residence?"

That made sense. My mother liked to hire tutors from our local Jewish high school, Bais Leah.

I opened the door. Elisheva had a friendly, freckled face and yellow hair tied in a high bun. Her mouth, of course, was covered by a mask - but her eyes twinkled at me.