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"Painting for the Blind"
written by dan
Good day/night to you all! This was a short story I had to do for english class... It was for a 'descriptive essay', though this ended up as a story instead... Though I got a 96 on it, so...! Please enjoy!
'painting for the blind'
Leaning back into his seat, Riku Davis wiped his brow, various colors smearing in long streaks. He bent forward to place the paintbrush he had been using into a simple plastic cup filled nearly to the brim with water, murky with mixed paint. While he absently swished the brush throughout the water, he rubbed his eyes with a thin hand and contemplated the people around him. It seemed mostly the younger generations had come for this art show. Couples here and there spoke happily about this or that painting. Their chattering filled the air with a light hum. Combined with low lighting, the muted colors of the walls gave the room a soothing and homey-feel. The paintings and pictures that hung gave a feeling of windows peering into different scenes, be it a sunny meadow or a moonlit beach. It all would have made Riku feel very at ease, if it wasn't for...
Him. That guy was still there. He had walked through the chattering couples while Riku had been doubled over an easel, busily adding lines to the portrait he had been working on and changing nonstop for the past day and a half. Leaning back against the corner of the wall didn't even crease his conservatively colored business suit. The man certainly didn't look like someone interested in art... He seemed normal enough, but he had been staring at him through dark black shades for the past fifteen minutes. Honestly, what was his problem? And besides that, why would anyone wear sunglasses inside? Riku sniffed, and nearly started coughing. The smell was really strong; maybe it wasn't such a good idea to use oil paint inside a closed area. Or maybe it was because he had been sitting down for so long? Lifting his gaze, he stared at the painting in front of him. It just wasn't working out... He let his gaze wander upwards, seeing that man again. He just stood there, hands in his pockets, with a general bored aura all around him.
Thinking about it caused Riku to stiffen slightly, absently rubbing his hands together. Surely it was nothing. This was a public showing, after all. He ground his teeth as he stared at the painting before him. Besides, what did it matter if he couldn't even get the right feel for this? With the way things were going, no one would even think of buying this thing! Maybe... he stared through thick-lensed glasses at the man. No. The guy probably wouldn't be any help, though he looked like the stereotypical modern businessman. Between the flawlessly creased khaki suit and red tie, messy short-cut hair that managed to still look professional and that neutral expression that had been looking at him through a pair of sunglasses, that guy probably didn't know a single constructive thing about painting. Besides, he made Riku feel a bit self-conscious. Looking down at his own attire, Riku grimaced. Despite wearing an apron to try and shield them, paint had still splattered here and there leaving long rivulets and smears of color, not to mention his hair. Even though he had shoved his hair back with a tie, some strands had come loose to fall into the green and blue paints. This brought back the canvas in front of him. What was missing...? He looked back up and sighed.
With resolve, Riku stood up suddenly, nearly upsetting the plastic cup that held his used brushes. Milky water dripped onto the stand holding his pencils and tubes of paint, forming a miniature puddle. He marched up to the man stiffly and with a brief thought of self-encouragement, he looked straight at the other man's face. "Hey..." he said softly. The man tilted his face downwards, though Riku couldn't be sure that he was being looked at, due to those sunglasses. Deciding to assume that he was in fact being acknowledged, Riku continued. "Could you look at something for me? I want a second opinion." He twisted his hands together, waiting for the response. Socializing wasn't his forte...
After a pause and a slow bored-looking nod; the man shrugged lightly and followed Riku cautiously, gingerly taking steps. Once both were back to where Riku had his things set-up, Riku pointed towards the canvas. "I'm not sure with what to do with it... I'm blocked..." he trailed off lamely.
"What's it of?" His voice was not as deep as Riku had originally assumed, though it did have a gravelly sound.
"Err..." For him to just ask something like that! Was it really that bad? "What do you think?" he repeated. "If I say what it is... you might change your stance... I just want what someone would think if they just glanced at it..." he stared down at the ground. Wow, what a beautiful brown color this carpet was!
Even though there were people all around them, looking at this picture or that painting, all Riku could hear was a strange sort of noise in his ears. It was the same noise of a radio tuned in to an empty channel. White noise. The air also seemed to thicken, everything melted together to form a tight and oppressive cage around him, the man and the easel in front of them.
"Well..." Riku nearly jumped at the noise. "I suppose it matters more how you feel when you see this..." the man paused, raising a large hand to adjust the sunglasses awkwardly. The neutral expression was gone, and was replaced with an almost troubled look. Eyebrows were furrowed slightly with a light frown.
"What? I'm sorry, but could you maybe add some details, there?" Riku rubbed his arm through his sleeve.
The man frowned and thought for a bit. "Well, since you're unhappy with how it is, how can you expect me to like it? You've probably been working on it for awhile, right? It'll be too bad if you got too frustrated and gave up. Just take a break for awhile and come back. It'll look better, or maybe you'll see what to add or take away. I think there's probably someone who will like it, but..." He paused. Couples trailed around them, stopping at time to peer at the easel set up. "Could you describe it to me, maybe?"
Riku blinked, startled at the question. "Um, okay...” his voice shook slightly. “Well, it's not a real bright painting... It's just a copy of a photo I found... A portrait of a woman..." He swallowed and continued. "It's from her bust up. She has her head titled slightly towards the, um viewer. She's got her hair tied up in a bun; I've been coloring it a burgundy-brown color, the same with her eyes, no highlights, only shadows... Her skin tone is also very light." His voice got steadier as he went on. "There isn't any real expression on her face. It's really empty-looking. Like she's waiting for something to happen, and though I've drawn in her clothes, I haven't colored it yet, it's a really lacey dress, with a high collar by the way... and the background hasn't been done either. It's just a plain background... Oh. She's wearing a set of dangling earrings, nothing fancy though." Riku finished lamely and looked at the man expectantly, waiting for his response.
The man cleared his throat and adjusted his sunglasses once more. "Well, it sounds nice, but I'm really not the person to ask. I mean I'm-"
Just at that very moment, a young woman came running up through the crowd. One person shared a glare at her back when she bumped into his elbow. "Mr. Seward!" She called out, causing a hush of silence to fall throughout the room. Once she reached them, the woman doubled over and panted heavily, a long locke of hair falling over one eye and wrinkles forming at the waist and joints of her dark navy suit. "Sorry for taking so long!" She said, still catching her breath. The woman stood straight, hands hurriedly smoothing out her skirt and rearranging her hair. "There was a long line for the bathroom!" she looked up, her face returning from a rose color to a healthy golden tan. "We need to hurry if we want to get to that meeting in time!"
Without waiting for any response from the man, she reached out like a snake striking and grabbed his hand in one languid motion. The woman offered Riku a meager smile that bared her even, shiny white teeth, and started to push her way through the people gathered in front of her. A few even gave a cry of surprise as she made her way, pulling the man behind her like a mother dragging along a petulant youngster. As she started to 'guide' the man through the crowds, Riku suddenly remembered the previous conversation and waved his hand wildly over his head. "Hey!" he cried over the ramblings of the crowd, hoping to get the man's attention. "Hey! What were you going to say?!" he shouted to be heard over the clamor of the room.
Both were nearly swallowed up by crowds and out the glass doors, when the man stopped and pulled his hand away from the woman's grasp. He turned his head to face Riku with an amused smirk. "I'm not the best person to ask because I'm blind."
yours sincerely,
dan
