Wolf from the Paint

I sat on my regular chair, trying to fix my standing board stick, ready to start work. When I am done fixing the standing sticks, I walk into the shop where I kept my Canvas_ It's a small bakery shop that my mum owns; She runs her business here and I do my painting work outside beside it. I picked up twenty four by thirty four inch canva, I stared at it for some seconds before dashing out. " Hey! watch out " I utter in disgust to some guys passing by, that hit me badly causing my canvas to almost fell from my hand " You shouldn't be holding that, you should be holding up your stick instead, blind lady " the guys burst into laughter, shaking hands and tapping each other in excitement. " You're the blind one here, you should be more careful where you step your feets " I responded knowing my response towards them was hurtful but I like that. " Hey, what's going on here? Leave her alone and head to your destinations " my Mum rushed out of the bakery store due to the voices she heard coming from us. This is not the first time people like them tease me. " She started it " one of the guys protest " N,o I didn't " I protested too " Enough!…" she bellowed and then continued with her normal voice " you can go please " she finalized. " Thank your God because the next time you try this s**t, you ain't gonna go free with it, I promise you " the guys warned while dashing away " Go blinders " I mouthed it quietly that even I myself couldn't hear the words coming out. " I warned you to stop painting but you refused. This only endangers you, nothing more " she quarrel " What's destined to happen will definitely happen and nothing can stop that from happening Mum. Worry less, everything is gonna be fine " I utter " Suit yourself then. But_ don't forget what caused your father's death " she reminds " Mum!" I blurt feeling offended by her words " you don't have to keep reminding me of the past " I added " Just reminding you" she utter and dash away to meet her customers. I stared at the surface for some seconds after they all left and then gently placed my canva board well on the standing stick. Bringing out my brushes wasn't difficult along with the acrylics paint, palette and the rest of the materials needed for the work. I start brushing off the Canva board before starting the main work while People passing by stare, wondering what I am doing and somewhere confused. I am an artist and I love painting so much. It was an inheritance gotten from my late Dad and am so proud of him, wherever he is now, he will be very happy and proud. "Isn't she blind" a passer by utter to her partner. Why would people think am blind just because am gifted with such eyes. Well I don't blame them, maybe if I were in there shoes too, I would have done the same thing. I kept enjoying my painting not minding their gesture. "Thank you," I said to a stranger who helped me pick up my falling brushes. "You aren't blind ?" He said surprisingly "Of course not 'my eyes are perfectly fine, thank you" I respond to him while he hands my brushes to me which I place beside my pallet and continue my work. "Wow" ,he gasped again and then continued "It's beautiful and inspiring, how do you learn that " he added and kept admiring my paint while I smiled over it. "Thank you 'It's a gift" I beamed to his compliment. His compliment or should I say compliments like this, really helps to keep me motivated. I always get compliments from strangers and my mum too, who never gets tired of complimenting my work and I do appreciate her a lot. All thanks to her "Indeed you're gifted" he uttered in a wow "I know right, when you have passion for something, the impossibility becomes possible in the blink of an eye, trust me. Everyone is gifted, you just have to find it out yourself and put it into practice" I gave him a quote to motivate me "Yeah that's true, you have a point" he nodded "Do you need something?" I question. "Not really. Was just passing by and I saw the beautiful artwork, so I decided to slow down a bit to watch, then your pen fell off while I helped you pick it up. At least I was a bit helpful. Wasn't I? " He uttered with a smile on his face. "Yeah, you were a bit helpful. I won't deny you of that and I appreciate it " I fake a smile. "And your eyes…" "Uhh, like I said earlier on, my eyes are perfectly fine than yours" I cut him short because I so much dislike such conversation. "Ok cool, no offense, no harm, was just curious" he utters "Yeah I understand_ and thanks for the concern" I gave him a short gesture and he smiled "You welcome " he uttered and looked at his wristwatch "Okay" I nod, giving him a goodbye smile, holding up my brush to continue my work "Uhm, welI would like to purchase this paint when you're done with it" he added, not ready to leave my sight I turned around completely, facing him, and stared at him as well_ he stared back which I quickly took off my sight when our eyes kept clashing. I don't want him to think am blind, that's why I don't have eye contact with strangers except my mum. "It's been sold out" I lied. Ooh s**t, did I just lie about my paint? Damn! I can't believe I lied when I do need money "I will pay double the payment" he uttered. His words shocked me and brought me back from my thoughts and gasp "Double!?" I gasped in surprise and quickly turned my view, facing him eyeballs to eyeballs, and then continued "Do you know how much it costs for you to easily double the payment ?" I then looked away in wow. He must be joking or maybe he wants to impress me but I refuse to be impressed. " Okay I will pay triple of it_ please don't say no, please " he pleaded, showing how he needed my paint. I was shocked and am still in shock. Today is a blessed day. I gently return my view back " Is my painting a joke? Or maybe, you must be from a rich family_ you know, you should have ordered a different copy rather than spending unnecessarily" I utter feeling irritated " Your paint ain't a joke to me and am not spending unnecessarily_ I just want this to be the only existing copy. I want it to be copyright " he looked away and put one of his hands in his pocket as if his filling more words to be added to his mind " A copyright! ?" I utter a bit audible and became more puzzle " Yes, we will sign a contract and I can sue you if you violate the contract " he assured me of it when he saw how much interest I had picked in his offer " In that case, you will be paying more than you think " I smirk trying to play hard to get " Done. This is my card. Andrew_ just give me a call when my paint is ready " he finally brings out his hand from his pocket and stretches out his card to me, declining the new expression on my face. I felt a bit embarrassed so I gently stretched out my hand to collect his card and murmured to myself "Your paint!? " Hey calm down, it's not yours yet, it's still in my possession Mr. Andrew. I grab the card from him and take a look at it. He then smiled and walked away. I felt like screaming in excitement, although this is not the first time I have had such a contract I feel excited about selling off my paint as a copyright. " Please more customers needed " I mutter to the audience gently, bowing a bit with a huge smile on my face. I quickly finished up my paint and I assisted my mum with her customers. "I need two boxes of cookies" a customer orders with a smile "Okay" I smiled back and packaged the cookies "Here" I placed his order to him "Thank you" he smiles again and then dashes away "Hey you… Mrs. B or should I say Mrs. Blind?" Three sets of guys bump into our store trying to create a sin and I just watched patiently "In case you don't know my name, you can call me Annie" I faked a smile at them "How can I help you?" I added "Ooh wow, look at that 'see how bold she is? That's incredible, isn't it?" The boss of the team chuckles while asking one of his men "She must be a silly b***h" one of them respond "Please, what do you want? I don't want trouble…" I try to mutter anxiously "That's my name_ trouble' you can call me trouble" The boss and his men all burst into laughter, cutting me short of words "What can I offer you?" I questioned trying to be bold as as possible "Hey" the boss that called himself trouble hit the desk in front of him so hard that scared the devil out of my body and the people around "Did you harass my boy this morning without any reason?" He added looking all serious now with a frown creased on his forehead "I didn't harass him, he was the one making fun of me" I protested frighteningly, a shiver ran down my spine and I could feel my palm shivering which I tried so hard not to let them notice. The air I breathe in suddenly changes its taste as if something bitter was added to it "Who are you for him not to make fun of? Huh! You dare embarrassed my people one more time and I promise you won't get away with it, not even this" he blurts with a smirk on his face and grabs me by my hair from the canteen which causes me to scream "You hurting me" I cried out trying to get out of his grip, using my hand to support my hair "Who are you people? What's going on here? stop hurting her or I call the police" Mum rushed in for my savior "Well, you don't have to call the police. We are just here to warn your daughter. You better warn her, so she doesn't cause unnecessary trouble in society" he let a grin play on the edge of his lips still holding up to my hair, pulling my head backward and I groaned in pain "I said let go of her" My mum tried to hit his hand off my hair and he pushed her so hard to the floor with his other hand "Mother!" I screamed out anxiously seeing how she fell on the floor "When next you see my boy, I expect you to apologize and promise not to repeat itself. Do I make myself clear?" He yelled, holding up my hair even harder and I groaned while his boys just grinned, enjoying the scenario. He then looked at me and a grin spread across his face as he was enjoying every bit of what he was doing. "I think am enjoying this scenario even better" He throws his head backward in laughter.