The Result

Excited for his future, Ren read the names of the awardees. There were three places for prizes, but Ren was only interested in the first.

He scanned the list once and thought something was wrong. He read it again. It couldn't be. He refreshed the page once more, even though the names were already there, just to make sure he hadn't done anything wrong.

Meanwhile, his friends and family huddled behind Ren, trying to see something, without much success.

But then Ren was sure. He hadn't won. He hadn't even made the top three.

The rain began, violent and abrupt, hitting the house's windows intensely. He couldn't even speak out loud what had happened; he was too embarrassed and exposed to others like this.

The first one to notice was Aria, looking at his clearly shaken face. She tried to console him, but he wasn't even present in his mind anymore.

He entered a whirlwind of thoughts, each one worse than the last. He had failed in the worst possible way. Was he really that bad? His best work, which he had dedicated nearly an entire semester to creating perfect pages, was not even enough to make it into the top three. What chance did he have pursuing this career?

He had dedicated himself like never before in his life, and all of it had been for nothing. He wasn't good enough. He took two steps forward, disentangling himself from Aria, and looked at everyone present, tears forming in his eyes. He had not only disappointed himself but all these people as well. He hadn't focused on studying and would probably not be able to help his mother pay the bills.

And Leo, who had convinced him to participate, had so much hope for Ren's work, all for nothing. He wasted his time helping him. Just a waste.

But the worst part was Aria. She had so much faith in him. They had spent countless hours in the music room playing and drawing together. That time seemed like a dream now, and where there was once joy, there was now a nightmare. How could he face his girlfriend like this?

A thunderclap rumbled nearby, and Ren couldn't bear to look at these people's faces anymore. It was too much humiliation, too much shame. So he turned and ran.

He ran to the front door of the house and opened it. They were shouting for him, but he wasn't going to stop. He stepped out into the heavy rain and continued running, not knowing where to.

He felt the drops hitting him, but nothing was more uncomfortable than his feelings. He ignored how wet he was getting and kept running.

Maybe because of the overcast sky, but the whole world seemed gray now. All the vibrant colors he had seen before had vanished; everything was monochromatic in front of him.

He ran and ran, crying as loudly as the rain, and his tears mixed with the drops. Until he underestimated the difficulty of what he was doing and tripped into a puddle, falling to his knees right on the sidewalk.

Now he had a sore knee, was uncomfortable from the rain's violence, and trapped in the nightmares of his mind. He didn't even have the strength to get up and decided to stay there. For how long, he didn't know.

He stayed there crying, accepting everything the world had to throw at him, as he was powerless to change the course of his destiny.

Then one of his three scourges lessened. The rain stopped attacking him so violently, and he heard the sound of drops hitting a surface.

He looked up and saw the umbrella above him. He had to wipe his eyes to determine who was there and saw Aria holding the umbrella over them both.

He would have been very happy to see her if his mind wasn't already occupied with negativity. But he didn't even have the strength to say anything and just accepted the shelter.

"This suck, right?" Aria said, getting half her body wet to protect Ren completely.

Ren just shook his head, still crying, unable to produce any words.

"Sometimes it feels like we're at the bottom of a pit, but you know, I think I have something here to help you."

She took something from her pocket, which was protected from the rain, and handed it to Ren. At first, he thought it was a cookie, to recreate what he had done to her many years ago. Ren thought it wouldn't work this time; the contexts were different, and he was no longer a child.

But then he remembered that the store was closed, and Aria had arrived too quickly to have stopped anywhere else, so he had no idea what it could be.

"This contained a magical cookie that did me a lot of good in the past and was given to me by someone very special."

Now he understood; it was a cookie wrapper, but not just any wrapper, it was exactly the same one from over a decade ago.

"You kept it?" Ren asked when he finally managed to breathe at a normal pace.

"Of course I did. It was the best gift I ever received. And there's no more cookie here to help you, but maybe there's some trace of magic in the wrapper."

Ren couldn't help but laugh; he was still in pain, uncomfortable, and sad, but this scene was too absurd not to have this reaction.

"Sometimes the world seems hopeless, with nowhere to run. I know that well, but you have me, and I'll be by your side in good times and bad, so no running from me!"

She continued to hold the wrapper out, not giving up until he took the object. With Aria's help, he got up, but he was still completely soaked.

"Can I pick it up later? I'm going to soak it all now," Ren asked.

"Permission granted," she said, offering her arm to her boyfriend. It wasn't easy, but Ren accepted, and she started guiding him back home.

"What do I do now, Aria?" he asked, holding back tears.

"Well, what I think you should do is keep drawing. You've improved so much, and you'll keep getting better, but I can't decide what you're going to do."

"But Aria, it's not possible. I need a practical plan for the future. That's the reality."

As they walked, the rain began to diminish, with drops falling gently on the umbrella, and some rays of sun peeked through the clouds.

"You can do both, can't you? Draw in your free time while attending college. Then, draw in your free time while working until you achieve your dream."

"And what if I never make it?" Ren asked, still not seeing a comfortable future.

"Then you'll know that you tried your hardest. Better than spending the rest of your life regretting that you didn't try to follow your dream."

Ren looked deep into her eyes; they sparkled with hope, even though he didn't understand how. He felt like garbage, but Aria seemed to elevate him to heights he had never reached before.

The rain had stopped, and Aria began to close the umbrella as they started to kiss and were directly illuminated by a ray of sunshine escaping from the prison of the clouds.