The day is 10^th July, 2022. I look around. It’s a dome. Yes, that’s what comes to mind as I sit in the 5^th row, centre corner seat of ‘the Chapel’ where I’m bound to start the very first session of the Creative School for Writers, Summer Workshop at Victoria University, Toronto. There are like ten people inside and I expect to see a lot more. Maybe around fifty.

A ‘wannabe’ chandelier hangs above the podium. It has five cones built in, with each cone holding a light bulb, though not all of them seem to be working.

Shouldn’t this be in the middle of the chapel?

‘Oh wait!’ There’s two of them. Guess that’s why it’s not in the middle. Puzzle solved.

The surrounding walls seem to be right out of a motion picture set. Why do I feel this? Maybe because it’s my first time sitting in a chapel. There are five large glass windows right in front (or back, depending on whether you are a listener or a speaker). Sun rays travelling down in forty-five-degree angle with a whole lot of dust visibly dancing around. The middle window has some kind of a colorful crest carved into it while the two on each side of it have various faces. The faces aren’t colored but the detailed carving in the glass makes it easy to see that they are faces.

What story are they trying to tell?

I’m not sure, but..

I could not finish the thought as my focus shifted towards the middle of the ceiling. There’s actually a tiny fan up there and I wonder if there really was a point installing one so far up! I have come across ceiling fans in heightened rooms before, but they usually dangle far below than what I see here. And that’s how it should have been, if it was to be useful. ‘Ah, enough of these meaningless thoughts’ – though they prove to be a good exercise for the brain.

The room is filling up quickly and it seems we may have crossed the magic number fifty in attendance. The speaker is taking his place at the podium for the welcome note. Let’s Begin!

– Prateek Godiyal