His Favourite Book

Chapter 29 - Art Competition

Constant chattering sounds could be heard from all over the hall of Abeer's art competition. The visitors were talking to each other, commenting on each art piece. The art lovers were having serious conversations with the participants to help them decide which art piece they would be buying. Wearing a clean, crisp coat suit, standing in front of his canvas, Abeer was talking to a middle-aged couple, who seemed to be interested in buying his work.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not intending to sell this piece... You can look at my social handles, though. You will find the ones that are up for sale there." Abeer finally said, respectfully convincing the couple not to buy this canvas.

As the couple left, he was back to guarding his canvas. Although his posture was that of a confident man standing fully determined to win the competition, Muskan noticed the droopy expression that he was trying to uphold tight. She knew the reason and felt bad for not being able to help with anything.

After a few hours of the exhibition, the host of the competition gathered everyone's attention to the centre of the hall. "Alright, attention everyone! It is time for the most awaited moment of the year. We will be announcing the winners of the competition soon. I hereby request all the judges to step forward as I hand over the mic to them."

"Good evening everyone," One of the three judges who was standing in the middle, took the mic and started speaking. "We've all been here for quite a few hours. By now, anyone who has a keen interest in art and has been following this competition every year should have come to know who the winners might be. But let me tell you, just like every year, this year was a tough competition, too. I would ask the winners to consider themselves lucky for being chosen out of such amazing competitors. For those who could not make it this year, you already know what I'm about to say. So do that, and excel in your future endeavours. All the very best to everyone. Over to you, sir." He handed over the mic to one of the other two judges and stepped back.

All the participants visibly tensed up, including Abeer. Just as he let out a breath to calm himself down, Muskan came running and bumped into him. "Abeer! Abeer!" She whispered near him and showed him her phone, "Look at this."

Abeer looked down at the phone screen and immediately widened his eyes, seeing Aashna on the other side of the screen. Aashna waved at him and gave a thumbs up to wish him all the best for the result. Abeer felt a strong gush of happiness filling him as he kept smiling at her.

"Without wasting any further time, I'll start announcing the winners." A judge spoke as Muskan held her phone tighter and Abeer joined his hands in anticipation. "The 2nd Runner up of Kalaivani National Art Competition 2023 is... participant code number 4. Congratulations!" He announced as everyone clapped and the concerned person walked ahead to collect his trophy and the prize.

"Your code is 11, right?" Muskan whispered again and received an affirmative nod from Abeer.

The judge continued, "The 1st Runner up of Kalaivani National Art Competition 2023 is... participant code number 20. Congratulations!" Again, everyone clapped while the person collected his trophy and prize. "Last but not least, The WINNER of Kalaivani National Art Competition 2023 is... participant code number..." Everyone's heartbeat seemed to have skyrocketed. The hall fell silent as everyone prayed to all the Gods they could remember at that time. "participant code number... 7! Congratulations!"

Except for one person- the winner- and the relatives, everyone was looking down in sorrow. However, they still clapped, cheered and wished the best for the winner. Muskan looked at Abeer who was disappointed in himself and was avoiding eye contact with Aashna. Meanwhile Aashna, from the other side, was trying to console him. "Abeer, It's okay! Listen, this wasn't the last-"