Published August 13, 2025

Fighting Loneliness With Dragons

Joy Alicia Raines

I thought curing my loneliness would require something grand. But it was a pile of clay and a group of strangers who helped me reconnect.

PG 1: Colored pencil drawing of woman with light brown hair and grey sweatshirt flipping through a book over her kitchen table. Room has light blue wallpaper with grey floral designs.

PG 2: "Loneliness is invisible. It screams without a sound. My loneliness fell over me like a shadow, on and off again for the last ten years. I had been growing accustomed to it until I began working from home, when it knocked me to the floor." Drawing of blue block of clay.

PG 3: Colored pencil drawing of woman looking out of golden window.

PG 4: "Although I had friends, extended family nearby, a job, and a partner, I always ended up alone again. Staring out the window, contending with the possibility that maybe loneliness was just a fact of life." Drawing of rolled out slab of clay.

PG 5: Colored pencil of window from outside, silhouette of the woman looking from within. Window glass is light blue.

PG 6: "The problem was that the days were so long with work-from-home isolation. Even bi-weekly coffee dates felt like years away. If I didn't have something frequent to pull back the shadow, I sunk in it." Drawing of clay standing upright in a cylindrical shape.

PG 7: Colored pencil drawing of woman holding up phone, looking at screen. She looks detached. An image of her and her friends hangs on the wall behind her. The golden window is to her right.

PG 8: "At the urging of a friend, I began to look for a community. Communities were ever-evolving but rooted in structure. Communities didn't carry any of the whims or cancellations of a friendship. They were constant and welcoming. Or so I hoped." Drawing of cylindrical clay with four small stubbed points at the top.

PG 9: Colored pencil drawing of different communities in panels, overlapping each other. Clockwise from top right: hands reaching up to volleyball, jar of paint brushes, ceramic horse, hands holding books, hands planting, group of people singing in choir.

PG 10: "The possibilities were endless: run clubs, gardening groups, pick-up volleyball. Everyone was searching for a haven outside of their home, a place to connect. Drawing of clay with small stubbed points on the ground, like feet to a tall bowl.

PG 11: Colored pencil drawing of glazed ceramic horse from previous page on wooden table with yellow cloth underneath.

PG 12: "I was procrastinating at work when I found a ceramic hand-building class called, Fantastical Creatures and How to Make Them. The name alone made me sign up." Drawing of clay figure with the shape of a body and feet.

PG 13: Colored pencil drawing of three women looking at a ceramic creature in a workspace. Left woman is black wearing a yellow sweater, glasses, and black pants. Middle woman has dark black hair and bangs, a grey sweater, and joggers. Right woman has red hair in a braid, a yellow top, purple apron, and jeans. They are saying, "What glaze should I use for my creature's spikes?" "Good question. Where does he live?" "In the swamps, I think." "We would love your opinion."

PG 14: "I walked into the first class that Thursday night and found my classmates in the middle of a discussion on glazes." Drawing of clay figure with feet, body, and amorphous head.

PG 15: Colored pencil drawing of our main character, standing in front of an open doorway. She looks surprised. "Me?" "Oh..." "I'm new- to this class... and ceramics."

PG 16: Colored pencil drawing of three women in the workspace, reacting positively to her introduction. "Welcome!" "Oh my god!" "So exciting!" "We have so much to show you!" "You are going to love this!" "C'mon, let's get your supplies!"

PG 17: Colored pencil drawing of a clay dragon on a yellow mat. It has a long spiky body, long whispers, and legs protruding outside its body. Little fragments of clay lay around it.

PG 18: "They eagerly stopped what they were doing to sit me down at the front of class with all my supplies." Colored pencil drawing of clay figure with slightly more shaped head.

PG 19: Colored pencil drawing of woman holding ceramic creature and shaping figure with her hands. This creature has a mane in the shape of flower petals.

PG 20: "Loudly speaking on top of each other and correcting one another, they explained the sculpting, firing, and glazing process. The instructor sat back and nodded along. I thought they were all old friends, but was quickly told, 'We met in the last class.' A spark of hope burned in me." Colored pencil drawing of clay creature with tail sticking upright.

PG 21: Colored pencil drawing of two women standing side-by-side, working on different ceramic animals. "This dragon is a wedding present for my fiance." "Oh, congrats! When's the big day?" "Next Saturday." "That's my birthday!" "No way!"

PG 22: "They were grandmothers, newly weds, students, retirees, lawyers, and working artists. Many of their paths may have never crossed. But here, in the ceramic studio, they were friends." Drawing of clay creature with tail and horns above an amorphous head.

PG 23: Colored pencil drawing of main character sitting at workspace, looking up at the other women surrounding her. She is smiling happily.

PG 24: "Only hours beforehand, I had seen my loneliness as an inevitable and constant shadow. Now, it was replaced with the soft, warm light of inclusion. I had assumed loneliness could only be cured by something grand, like a new best friend or my siblings moving closer to me. But it was a group of total strangers that provided this font of joy." Drawing of clay figure with feet, tail, horns, and face without features.

PG 25: Colored pencil drawing of clay bull/dragon standing on turntable. It has horns, tail, feet, a curly nose, eyes, and a small smile. It is the figure that has been growing in shape in the previous panels. In the background, another classmate is building a pot. A full bag of clay is beside her.

PG 26: "I thought, 'I really am going to fight off my loneliness. And I'm going to sculpt dragons, too.'" Drawing of clay creature from previous page, with horns, tail, feet, and fully formed face.

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