Lina's secret world grew larger every day. As she locked herself in her room, painting, transferring her dreams to paper, the weight on her heart lightened. But she also felt like she was living a lie. While she told her family she was "studying," she was actually dipping her brush into the stars, the clouds, the sky.
One evening, her father called from the living room:
"Lina, come in a minute."
The girl shivered. Her heart began to race. There was an unfinished painting on her desk: hands reaching up to the sky. She hurriedly shoved the canvas under the bed and left.
Her father was holding her little notebook.
"What's this?" she asked, a look of incomprehension on his face.
Lina's throat tightened. She had forgotten about the notebook. The dozens of drawings inside were now in her father's hands.
"Dad, it's just... just scribbles..."
"Doodles?" her father raised his voice. "Is that what you're spending all this time on? You have exams, a future." Is painting a life worth building?
Her mother came out of the kitchen and joined them, as if agreeing with her husband:
"My daughter, we want you to have a good profession. Painting is not enough for anyone."
Lina's eyes welled with tears. She rushed to take the notebook, but her father wouldn't give it to her.
"You're not wasting your time with this," she said harshly.
Lina didn't say a word. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she fled to her room. Her heart beat faster as she thought about the canvas under her bed. If they found it too... everything would be over.
That night, when she picked up her notebook again, her hands were shaking. Tears dripped onto the page as she pressed her pen to the paper. She felt like screaming, "My dreams aren't a waste of time! They're my breath!" But she could only say it silently.
The next day at school, Elif pulled her aside.
"What happened? Your face is completely white."
Lina explained what had happened. Her father took her notebook from her, belittled her dreams as "empty things"...
Elif fixed her eyes on him with determination.
—Lina, listen. You're incredibly talented. They may not see it, but I do. You won't give up. We will finish this painting. You will enter the competition.
Lina bowed her head silently.
—But… I'm afraid of being caught.
—"It's normal to be afraid," Elif said. "But living your dreams hidden is even more terrifying."
Those words struck a chord in Lina's heart. The faith she saw in Elif's eyes made her feel genuine support for the first time.
From that day on, Elif wasn't just a friend; she was Lina's confidant, her companion. After school, they'd go to the library together, reading about artists' biographies. They'd secretly plan for her to complete the canvas.
Although Lina felt lonely in the face of her family, Elif had a growing strength within her heart. For for the first time in her life, someone had looked at her like this: "You can do it."
And with this support, Lina became even more determined.