The Hidden Talent
Snowy Peak Middle School was the last place you'd expect to find an extraordinary talent. Nestled neatly in the town of Coldridge, the school seemed just the same as any other; filled with children with freckles and muddy uniforms, dedicated teachers, and the perennial smell of lunch meat and chalk.
The students talked about what kids their age usually did; the latest cartoons, movies, and the occasional schoolyard gossip. Of course, they also had their hidden dreams, of becoming astronauts, fashion designers, or acclaimed scientists someday. But little did anyone realize that amidst them lurked a prodigy, the shy, reticent girl they knew as Beatrice.
Beatrice Mathers, was a name you'd often overlook on the class attendance list. The girl with glasses too big for her face and hair always tied back into a neat bun. Her slight figure barely cast a shadow, and her voice, when she spoke, which was rare, felt like a whisper carried away by the wind.
A fan of solitude, she would sit by herself during lunch and spend her hours sketchy magical realms in her notebook. Dragons as majestically horrifying as the ancient fossil records, princesses with power emanating from their being, worlds where the sun glowed a soft purple, and grass tickled a light blue; she brought them all to life on paper.
Beatrice's parents, initially worried about her introverted nature, soon realized her talent was much grander than simply drawing pictures. Indeed, the artwork was magnificent; however, they noticed that whenever Beatrice drew anything, it would vanish from the real world with a slight shimmer and appear in the imagined reality Beatrice had penned down. It started with a tiny eraser that she'd sketched in her notebook, and then it was the TV remotes, the neighbor's cat, and everything else she decided to include in her world.
Unsure how to respond, Beatrice's parents concealed her talent, urging her to continue drawing and fueling the magical world on paper, but with caution. Beatrice's paper world, fondly known as 'Beatriceland,' had its own people and creatures who idolized their creator and celebrated their existence.
One day, however, Beatrice's parents came home to an empty house. Calling her name had reigned in silence, and a frantic search had led them to Beatrice's sketchbook lying sprawled open in her room. The picture depicted a smiling Beatrice in the magical world she'd created, and it struck her parents that their little girl had chosen a destiny of her own.
The parents, devastated yet understanding, committed themselves to safeguard Beatrice's secrets. The town folks soon noticed Beatrice's absence. However, any sign of her had vanished, just as she'd once made little objects disappear.
Back in Beatriceland, Beatrice was living a life of unmasked happiness, as the imaginative princess of her very own dreamland, attending dragon races, forest festivals, and making friends with four-winged birds. Her sketched self-portrait stood by her magical palace's entrance, illuminating her small, shy smile, a beacon for all inhabitants of Beatriceland.
The story of Beatrice's magical talents and the world she built serves as a mysterious legend in Coldridge, a tale children would whisper in hushed tones around the campfire and adults would ponder over on quiet nights. Little did they know that their tale was built on truth…a memory of a slight, introverted girl who sketched reality into fantasy and chose an extraordinary destiny over an ordinary life.