Passion.

Walking along Charles Bridge in Prague, I could not help but feel utterly amazed by the beautiful sculptures in which every single detail was carved so very quintessentially. There were plenty of them. Every sculpture represented something unique, and that is why to me, Charles Bridge is a story - A story you dwell into with your mind, body and soul.

Even though it was our second time at Charles Bridge, it never ceased to amaze us, except that on that particular day, it was exceptionally colder than before. There was a variety of stalls. Some were selling souvenirs whereas some were selling paintings. The ones that prodigiously attracted me were the caricatures. I wanted one really badly, I really wanted one.

"700czk. Take it or leave it."

"Do you understand or not? I said, 700czk! If you come later it will be 800czk."

I was so taken aback by her brusque words. I knew there were others who deserved the money better, and plus, there were so many of them! While I continued to walk down Charles Bridge, I noticed most of the caricaturists were unavailable or that they left their stall empty for a cup of hot coffee. But there was this one man, this very special man who I could already sense his amiable vibe from afar. He was standing tall, seemingly looking for an opportunity rather than a business. He was not speaking at all. It was just him, with his smile so wide that it seemed like it could connect all the wrinkles on his face at once. It was the kind of smile you could see not solely from the edge of his lips, but also through his sparkling eyes.

"700czk."

Unlike most of the caricaturists there who could converse with the tourists in English almost perfectly, he could only use basic English words, word by word, but he made sure his message got through. The sudden gush of cold wind gave me a shudder and behind closed doors I pondered the question of whether he was cold too, but as if he could read my mind, he answered my question.

"Passion. Drawing. Warm."

Most caricaturists there had a board saying 'Only 4 minutes!', and I was expecting the same from him, except that he did not have a board like that. We were standing in the cold, stagnant, smiling, and subsequently, I could no longer feel my face and hands. But, remember the one very genuine smile of his? He never took it down. He had it the entire time, and that was when I knew - I knew why he was smiling, because he was doing something he truly loved. With every opportunity he was given by a customer, it was his chance to spread his passion for drawing that gave him the energy and warmth to go even further.

10 minutes have passed. The smile was still there. But this time, there were more smiles from the back. Some were taking photos of us while some were recording. Am I finally popular? I thought to myself jocularly. 15 minutes have passed. More people came. Some were showing us thumbs-ups while some had the same smile he always had. 20 minutes have passed. This time, it was him who gave us a thumbs-up.

I could not stop smiling when I saw his masterpiece. It was many levels beyond the ones created in 4 minutes at the same price, and that was when I knew the shivers were worth it. I truly admire people who have a strong passion for something. It is by having a passion that makes you do what you love, and it is by doing what you love that makes you know you are doing the right thing. It allows you to have something to look forward to every day, something to accomplish every hour, and something to share every minute. And that is why, true passion takes time.

Before I continued exploring more stories out there, I looked back to see his smile for the last time.

"My name. Ivan [ee-vahn] Tomek."