Arrival

One of the reasons why it's inconvenient to travel to the East is that the sea is always angry here. I heard it's also turbulent because of the strong current. A normal boat can't cross this easily, that's why a ship this big is needed to go there.

I'm leaning on the ship deck while watching the dreadful waves of the sea, wondering how Eastern people travel to the other parts of the island. It must be challenging for them since this ship only travels rarely.

"About the plans that I told you last dinner, I'm inviting you to join my art workshop," Howard Brent stood beside me and also leaned on the deck. I knew there was an art workshop because of Sai.

"It's an honor to be a part of it," I said.

"Actually, the East is the only region in Techne Island where people rarely made art. It has a treacherous history about it but things changed for the better. We're doing this to introduce art more, I do hope more adults and kids would participate," he explained.

"They weren't allowed to create artworks before..." I said to myself but he heard it. Iseul already told me about this, but the superficial information only.

"You can assist at the workshop, give advises to young and aspiring artists. It'll be a blast for you, Chavez."

I smiled, imagining how that workshop will go. I am willing to help already. It feels good to be surrounded by people who wants to learn something that I love doing.

"I painted eleven abstracts based on this angry sea." Howard shared moments later.

I was intrigued.

"Don't you think it's dreadful for a reason, Chavez? It stops people from traveling because there's something more dangerous than their waves once they crossed the sea." He laughed a bit. "Apologies, I love thinking deeply about things."

I gestured my hands. "No, it's okay. I'm actually glad that you're telling me those thoughts, Sir."

"How about you?" he asked.

I looked back at the sea, and then glanced at an island not so far away from us.

"I think one should overcome big waves to achieve bigger dreams."

I looked up the sky, and felt the cool breeze on my skin.

"I also believe that we can't predict what lies ahead of us, we just need to go through the angry currents of life. The unstable waves may make people believe that it's stopping them, but I think they're just testing them if they're worthy of something... extravagant."

"Wow, do you work as a part time philosopher?" Sai was standing beside her dad and glanced at me.

"In other words, taking risks is essential in life, am I right, Chavez?"

I nodded my head.

"Hey am I really your daughter, Dad? You're completely ignoring me!" Sai whined and crossed her arms.

"Then how about you, Sai? Why do you think this sea's always angry?" Howard and I looked at Sai.

"Hmm... it's just probably angry at idiots," she removed her bucket hat and walked away. Howard shrugged.

"We're almost at the island. We'll arrive sooner," we both looked at the island ahead of us.

I'm sorry, Iseul, but I need to take a risk. You don't have to worry about my safety. I'm with my friend's Dad who is a known painter.

A car fetched us from the port when we reached the East. After a few minutes, we arrived at the hotel where we will be staying for three days. It's just twelve in the afternoon so after placing my bag inside my room, we went back to the lobby.

"Dad's talking to the receptionist, wait for a bit," Sai said.

"Where are we going?"

"We'll eat lunch then go to the venue of Dad's workshop. I think there are still things to prepare there so we might give them help," she explained.

"We can go somewhere after the workshop tomorrow, right?" I lowered my voice.

"Of course. We're doing the 'Operation: Search for Iseul's Home to Grab some Tea' in the afternoon. Don't worry about Dad, he'll let us," she winked.

"Let's go, you two." Howard said.

We went inside the car again to go to a restaurant. I started observing the streets in this place. Unlike the North and South, this one's a bit... dull. There are some artists who're selling their pieces on the streets, but I can see already how it's not yet supported by many. People were ignoring them and are just passing by.

We met Howard's staff for the workshop when we arrived at the restaurant. I sat beside Sai.

"Chingu." Sai whispered.

"What?"

"Let's search already."

"Shh. Shut up." I hissed.

We were whispering to each other while the others were talking about the event's program. Then the food came which eased our boredom. We literally couldn't do anything associated with our mission here since we need to help at the workshop first.

We arrived at the venue a few minutes after eating lunch. It's just a basketball court but it has enough space for everyone. I heard the East's facilities for arts are still in progress.

I had no other choice but to help out. We started by decorating the stage first.

This is Howard Brent's third time hosting a workshop in the East. It's free for everyone of all ages. Sai stated that some artists like Dae Jin and Damian La Vinci gave big sponsorships for this event. They didn't personally go but their support is a big help. Besides being a painter, Brent was also an Art Teacher before. He held free art classes in the North every year. Now, he's going to teach here again.

"Don't you think this looks boring?" Sai said, looking at the poster on the stage.

"Hey, your Dad made that," I said.

"I know, it just looks plain since it only has texts. Our participants are children too! This should be colorful," she added.

I ended up designing the poster for the event. Good thing this venue already has paints and brushes. I scribbled different characters, and painted the cloth with vibrant colors. I even gave the text new designs to match other components.

"Wow! That looks great!" Howard said when he approached me. "How much does that artwork cost? Let me pay."

"Oh, Sir, there's no need to pay," I scratched the back of my head.

"There's nothing free in this world, Chavez. Especially for artists like you. You did a great artwork again," he said.

"Please, Sir. It's really just a small work and I volunteered to do this." I sighed in relief when he stopped insisting to pay.

I looked back at the poster that I did. If it's for people who loves art, I am willing to do anything. Seeing them happy because of my art is enough.