Artist Lei D.

“Artist Lei D. Leia the first ever artist to auction an art piece worth a trillion dollars, making him an instant trillionaire and grabbing his spot as the number one artist in the world!”

The herd of people diverged towards Lei as he is walking outside the Louvre Museum. He was glued on his feet as the people keeps pressing him from different directions, like he was trapped in the middle of an ant mill he cannot find his way out. He is suffocating, enough to make him collapse, but he is fighting for his consciousness. Tinnitus is constantly occurring in both his ears before he fainted.

Lei wakes up in a cold fine morning. There were droplets in his window, he somehow thought that it rained last night. He continues to do his daily routine, but he noticed something odd about the surroundings. A weird vibe started to circulate around him. A person was sitting on his couch, he knew that this person was his friend, but he just could not grasp who the person is and what's his name. He sat down next to him reaching for the television remote. Alas! The news came “The number one artist in the world. The first ever artist who auctioned the first piece of artwork worth trillions of dollars”.

Does such title even exist? He asked himself.

“Artist Lei D. Leia the first ever artist to auction an art piece worth a trillion dollars, making him an instant trillionaire and grabbing his spot as the number one artist in the world!”

Lei saw himself in the television and gather’s his thoughts, when was the last time he went to such place. Lei carefully observes the background in the television.

“Wait? Is that the Mona Lisa? I have never visited Louvre Museum?”

He carefully watches again.

“Right! That is the National Palace Museum in Taipei! But what is the Mona Lisa doing in there?!”

There is a feeling of ecstasy within him, yet it was bizarre. The whole situation was peculiar.

After some time, he reads the caption in the news, and it says Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Thoughts scrambled; Lei is mystified about the happenings that surrounds the news.

“Josh! When was the last time I went to France?”

“We went there yesterday. We arrived here last night sooner than expected.”

Lei was utterly confused about what is happening. Then he realizes, Josh? Oh yes that is his name!

The day prior that news.

Lei is talking in his sleep again. Every day he wakes up with a curiosity of the last night’s dream. Was it a dream or a nightmare? Lei is on his seventh year as a student taking up Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Royal College of Arts. Practical tests are his most hated part of this curriculum, creating an artwork live in a certain amount of time given a theme.

On his third year. Yes, he is still a third-year student. Seven years in college, failed twice on his first year, four times on the second year. The reason he kept failing is because he does not want to take responsibility for the decisions he made in his life. There was no other choice he could take; he was lazy and do not want to take engineering courses. Medical field is not also part of his forte. So, in the end he chose one at least where he could lay low more easily.

Every failure is just a step towards your goal. It was an excuse. He never had any goals nor objective in his life in the first place. Pondering these thoughts while he takes another step towards his next class.

“I thought art is everywhere. Art is everything. Rubbish. I thought I can freely create what I wanted. Now, why do I even have to learn all those things. Composition. Anatomy. Color. Layout. Perspective. Oh no.”

Frustrated as he is.

“Anatomy? I never wanted to take medicine courses because of these. And now… why do I even have to learn all these body parts. Perspective? Seriously? Am I studying architecture? There are a lot of flat and two-dimensional artworks. Can’t they just accept abstract art?”

You guessed it. Abstract art. Minimalist art. Alibis he always uses when doing practical exams and activities. The worst part is that he does not know why he created such artworks. All his submissions were meaningless.

The day ended and he went home. Walking slowly as he passed down the street as time passed by. The second bus already took its leave. And he stood there waiting as the seconds passed.

When he arrived home, he immediately went to his room. Curled in his bed. Before he knew it, he fell asleep. His body was relaxed. Brain waves slowing down. Snap. He wakes up inside his own dream.

“Artist Lei D. Leia the first ever artist to auction an art piece worth trillion dollars, making him an instant trillionaire and grabbing his spot as the number one artist in the world!”

Moaning as he slowly wakes up.

“Ughhh… Not again.”

His hazy eyes bear a weight as he forced himself to wake up. His epicanthus is acting like a weight he needs to lift.

“Faster! Change up! Change up! Our schedule is filled today!”

Out of his mind. In a rush he quickly changed his clothes. Josh was looking at him with his fancy looks. But out of thin air, the surroundings suddenly changed. Then slowly, in a smooth transition, like a fog in the air. Metamorphically, like a dripping paint of various colors in a puddle of water. Each drop creates a kaleidoscope that mirrors him in this infinite space. After the shift of his dreams, he remembers nothing from his previous dream. He found himself sitting in his bed with a cup of coffee in his hands.

Lei wakes up in a cold fine morning. There were droplets in his window, he somehow thought that it rained last night.

“Good morning, Josh!”

Happily, he strolls as he goes to the veranda to grasp some fresh air. In a flash, lights started to flash before him. Artists, reporters, and the masses have gathered outside his house. Everyone was talking about his artwork. Reporters are curious about the inspiration behind his work. While the other artist and art collectors are interested acquiring his art piece for their personal art collections.

“Why are there a lot of people gathered outside Josh?”

Lei is disoriented about the certain occurrence happening outside his house.

“What do you mean, what’s happening? People are interested in your other artworks, after you pulled off your auction yesterday.”

“I never said what’s happening...”

Lei slowly whispers as he continues speaking.

“I said why is there people outside my house…”

He knew there is something abnormal happening. At first glance he noticed it immediately. Lei tried to ponder for a while as he tries to understand the situation. Minutes of thinking, he thought, this is it. I am living in the world of my dreams. Lei accepted things as it is. He confronted Josh and asked him where and which is the artwork that made him standout. Josh handed out his phone. In his surprise.

“Are you sure?! Are you sure this is my artwork?!”

Heart was beating, steps repeating as he paced back and forth anxiously.

“What are you worried about? I told you. You created it.”

Lei seems uncomfortable towards Josh.

“What do you mean I created it? That artwork is obviously not mine. In the art industry why cant they even they recognize that painting. That is obviously Jose Joya’s Space Transfiguration. And besides, that is not even close to a billion. Why sold for trillion?”

“What are you talking about? Who is that person?”

When he pointed back to the artwork. Like a magic, it suddenly turned into another piece of art.

“Wait… isn’t that?”

“Yes! That’s Everydays: the First 5000 Days.”

“I never crafted any of those things. What’s happening here?”

Lei’s ears were suddenly strung by a ringing sound. He almost fainted as he lies awake on the floor.

“Tell the press to stop the ringing sound.”

He tells Josh.

“What do you mean ringing sound?”

He asked.

A thought pops on his mind.

“Yes. I have classes today. Stop with this prank already.”

“What time is it already?”

Upon looking at his wall clock he realized that it was not moving. Perhaps broken.

The scenery then changed. Josh came closer to him. Josh was speaking words he could not understand. When he looks at him Lei was frightened upon seeing his face. His eyes were black, and in his mouth, there was no teeth, just like his eyes it was a void of darkness, an abyss.

Lei has been living in this dream world for days, but who knows how time passed by this space. It was his feeling at least; he felt the feeling that he has been there for days. He knows he is still dreaming because clocks are still not working. Every time he goes out there is a certain gaze of recognition that people look at him.

A vortex swallowed the whole scene. Before he knew he arrived at an enclosed room. He reckons it is Josh. Josh grabbed his shoulder and consumed him into an infinite void of space. He was teleported in a cold, dark, and bottomless pit, falling. After falling for a while, a surface suddenly appeared. Motion sensors send a signal to his brain before he jerked off. Involuntary muscle contractions occurred and started to kick in. Startled he wakes up like a feeling he gets when someone is shocked by a defibrillator.

“What a strange dream… that was a weird one. After all these years, that was the weirdest dream I ever experienced.”

Lei wakes up discombobulated. It has been a long time since he had made an achievement in his life. Waking up his dream made him realized that it is good to achieve something. That he needs to get back on his feet. He still felt the fake sensations of fame that gave him. He chose to act in his life.

“I am done wandering aimlessly. I might have been wandering aimlessly for a while right now. But there is no backwards button that I can press…”

Lei dreamed because of a dream. He stands up motivated, empowered, taking the consequences for the things he did in the past for the future. He failed to recall that life is a weather, it is not always sadness nor always happiness. Weather takes turns for the plants to receive sunlight and rain to grow.

Studying diligently. The time came. It was his last and final year. Graduation came in swiftly.

Lei wakes up in a cold fine morning. There were droplets in his window. He strolled for a while in his veranda for fresh air as he enjoys the smell of caffeine in the air. Slowly sipping, leisurely dipping the bread he was eating before he goes to the gallery for his first solo exhibition.

“Artist Lei D. Leia the first ever solo exhibition.”

His realization struck him, before he knew it, he had been progressing massively throughout these years. He stood there patiently from a viewing distance apart from his own artwork. He stood there. He stood. He stood. He stood. Until the calmness overcame him.