By Christina Janzen (Rain~Sailboat~Shame)
The chubby little fingers grasped the bright red crayon as best as they could. Nicholas worked feverishly with furrowed brow and steely determination. He was fully devoted to his task and gave it his best effort, filling as much of the blank canvas as his young arms could reach.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!! Nicholas Allen Green!! What have you done?”
The shrill rebuke was an unwelcome intrusion. He casually looked as his mother, wondering why she was interrupting him when he was clearly so hard at work.
“WHAP! He got his answer in three sharp blows to his backside.
“You spoiled boy! I just had these walls repainted! How could you! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!!” The disgruntled woman yanked him up by one arm and shoved him in a corner to stand there and think about what he had done.
Nicholas thought long and hard. “Hmmm. I saw a big white space and it looked boring, so I filled it with an ocean and sunshine and clouds and birds and sailboats and fish. I love it at the beach and these white walls are so bland. I was sure Mom would love this.”
His mother had been so happy the day she took him to the beach. They laughed and enjoyed the warm sand between their toes and sat together building a sandcastle as the sun colored their faces. A gentle breeze cooled them as it blew through their hair. She had smiled so much that day. She wasn't smiling now. Nicholas was baffled.
“Oh that boy is impossible! I just don't know what I ever did to deserve this! He is such a difficult child...it is just one thing after another with him! Oh! I can't wait till he starts school and he will be someone else's problem!”
She continued her angry muttering to no one as she worked feverishly to remove the vile stains on her pristine walls. Sparks almost flew from her SOS pad. Nicholas glanced from the corner as the very last boat disappeared. He felt a lump forming in his throat and a tiny tear in his eye.
“NAP! Now!” His mother yanked him up out of the corner and deposited him in his bed. “I can't deal with you any more today!” He lay there thinking about boats and sandcastles and sunshine till he drifted off to sleep.
…......................................................
The scruffy young man sat watching as a beautiful little fair-haired girl concentrated hard on her task. She skillfully moved the thick, colorful chalk across the sidewalk, filling every inch of space she could with flowers and butterflies and rainbows. He couldn't help smiling.
“BOOOOM!” A loud thunderclap interrupted the moment for both of them as dark skies opened up, pouring out rain on the world below; on their world. The little girl began to cry.
“I worked so hard...*sniffle*....it was all a waste of time...”
The man scooped up the distraught child and comforted her. “Now, there there honey. Chalk pictures are not meant to last. You have more pictures inside your imagination than you could ever draw on all the sidewalks in the world! There will always be time for more drawing...I promise.”
The little girl buried her head in her father's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him tight.
“I love you Daddy.”
“I love YOU more, sweet girl! Now, come on. We need to get out of this rain!”
He set her down and they walked hand in hand up the steps to the elegant, ornate building.
“That's YOU, Daddy,” the little girl exclaimed when she spotted a photo of her father on a sign near the entrance.
“Yup, that's me,” he replied.
They walked together into the museum past the sign that read...
“Seattle welcomes the artwork of Nicholas Green. One week only.”
The chubby little fingers grasped the bright red crayon as best as they could. Nicholas worked feverishly with furrowed brow and steely determination. He was fully devoted to his task and gave it his best effort, filling as much of the blank canvas as his young arms could reach.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!! Nicholas Allen Green!! What have you done?”
The shrill rebuke was an unwelcome intrusion. He casually looked as his mother, wondering why she was interrupting him when he was clearly so hard at work.
“WHAP! He got his answer in three sharp blows to his backside.
“You spoiled boy! I just had these walls repainted! How could you! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!!” The disgruntled woman yanked him up by one arm and shoved him in a corner to stand there and think about what he had done.
Nicholas thought long and hard. “Hmmm. I saw a big white space and it looked boring, so I filled it with an ocean and sunshine and clouds and birds and sailboats and fish. I love it at the beach and these white walls are so bland. I was sure Mom would love this.”
His mother had been so happy the day she took him to the beach. They laughed and enjoyed the warm sand between their toes and sat together building a sandcastle as the sun colored their faces. A gentle breeze cooled them as it blew through their hair. She had smiled so much that day. She wasn't smiling now. Nicholas was baffled.
“Oh that boy is impossible! I just don't know what I ever did to deserve this! He is such a difficult child...it is just one thing after another with him! Oh! I can't wait till he starts school and he will be someone else's problem!”
She continued her angry muttering to no one as she worked feverishly to remove the vile stains on her pristine walls. Sparks almost flew from her SOS pad. Nicholas glanced from the corner as the very last boat disappeared. He felt a lump forming in his throat and a tiny tear in his eye.
“NAP! Now!” His mother yanked him up out of the corner and deposited him in his bed. “I can't deal with you any more today!” He lay there thinking about boats and sandcastles and sunshine till he drifted off to sleep.
…......................................................
The scruffy young man sat watching as a beautiful little fair-haired girl concentrated hard on her task. She skillfully moved the thick, colorful chalk across the sidewalk, filling every inch of space she could with flowers and butterflies and rainbows. He couldn't help smiling.
“BOOOOM!” A loud thunderclap interrupted the moment for both of them as dark skies opened up, pouring out rain on the world below; on their world. The little girl began to cry.
“I worked so hard...*sniffle*....it was all a waste of time...”
The man scooped up the distraught child and comforted her. “Now, there there honey. Chalk pictures are not meant to last. You have more pictures inside your imagination than you could ever draw on all the sidewalks in the world! There will always be time for more drawing...I promise.”
The little girl buried her head in her father's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him tight.
“I love you Daddy.”
“I love YOU more, sweet girl! Now, come on. We need to get out of this rain!”
He set her down and they walked hand in hand up the steps to the elegant, ornate building.
“That's YOU, Daddy,” the little girl exclaimed when she spotted a photo of her father on a sign near the entrance.
“Yup, that's me,” he replied.
They walked together into the museum past the sign that read...
“Seattle welcomes the artwork of Nicholas Green. One week only.”
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