SIXTEEN YEARS AGO
Anita was happily married to John, the father of Tom who was a civil engineer in Ohio. He was an excellent man who is good at his job and also have a talent in painting even though he didn’t paint officially.
When he discovered Tom also had the talent and was interested in painting, he decided to groom him himself to the point where he would be able to make a decision of whether he wants to be an artist or choose another path.
He bought painting tools and all other art supplies for Tom’s ninth birthday and told him he was ready to support any dream he ends up choosing. Happily, Tom firmly assured him that he would like to paint and he opened one of the rooms in the house which he turned to their painting studio.
They had taken the lesson serious with the dad promising to enroll him in a painting class when he clocks twelve because by that time, he would have finish all the projects in front of him.
That fateful day, they just finished painting all day and his father told him he would be leaving for the construction site the following day to start a work he just got from a company.
“I promise to teach you more when I come back so practice hard when I am gone so you don’t forget what you have learnt” John advised and pulled his cute little cheeks.
“Will you teach me past this shadow when you come back? I can’t seems to draw past this” he asked with a pout and his dad couldn’t help but laugh. He was so cute.
“You know I told you one crucial thing, Tom. You should never rush because there are certain steps to things and if you rush from one stage to the other then you can never be a master of your art. When you have the feeling to draw past the shadow, it will come naturally without you pushing it. Even darkness has its own various meanings so don’t be stressed because of only the shadows, who knows? It might be your own signature to tell your story to the world” John explained to comfort him and he ended up giving in to him.
He was saying the truth after all but his tiny brain was still not old enough to comprehend what his father meant deeply.
“For how long will you be gone, dad?” he asked dropping down the chair and his father also stood up with him before replying “Just two months”.
They went out for some snacks and ice cream but he ended up falling asleep on their way home and he didn’t wake up till his father was gone the next morning. He made sure to practice like his father had instructed without missing a day no matter how tired he was.
He was even marking the calendar to know how many days remaining for the two months his father promised. Just two days to the arrival of his father, he successfully painted a colorful flower but the shadow effect still lingered.
The shadow was not a concern for him, he could only see the flower he painted and the shadow seemed to beautify the painting. Happiness overtook his thinking as he sprinted at an insane speed coupled with intense yelling to show his mother who was busy cooking in the kitchen.
With adoration and joy evident in Anita’s eyes, she accessed the canvass in her hand even though she was not that familiar with art but the happiness she perceived from her son was enough to tell her that it was a great achievement on his end.
“Oh my dear son! I can’t believe my son drew this awesome piece! If we continue like this then you will be the best artist in the whole world someday” she praised with a broad smile and he went feral with joy, jumping from one chair to the other, screaming his lungs out.
He finally calmed down and checked the calendar before releasing another round of scream that slightly scared poor Anita for a bit. “My dad is coming back in two days, he will be back home to see that I really practiced” he announced making his mom smile at the news.
She had lost count of the days and didn’t remember that his arrival was that near, thanks to her son who reminded her.
“He will compliment me right? Isn’t it? I worked hard to produce this” Tom questioned and she kept nodding a yes at every question thrown at her.
The next day, she had gone to the market and bought varieties of food that she would cook to welcome John and was almost done with cooking when a strange number called her line. She managed to pick up the call before it got disconnected and received the news of her husband’s death.
The building he was supervising collapsed suddenly at a side and he went in to rescue a kid who had come with his father. He managed to make it out of the building after sending the kid forward but as he stepped on a plank, it pulled the hanging roof over him therefore piling tons of bricks on him.
He breathed his last under the bricks and was finally removed by the rescue team. He was taken home for burial on the day he was supposed to come back. Tom could not really understand what was going on but he started to cry as soon as he saw his mother crying sorrowfully.
He finally grasped the situation when his dad was brought home and he was met with his dead body. His father didn’t reply him no matter how much he shook him or called his name, he wouldn’t budge or open his eyes, then it dawned on him.
His father was gone.
They were barely done with the burial when their house was bombarded with people who claimed to have given John the contract. They wanted compensation for the damaged part of the building and also breached contract.
Everything they had were seized and they were forced out of the house with only their clothes and other things. Anita had no choice than to move to Boston where her family was, got a cooking job at a restaurant and enrolled Tom in a school there.
Her family were kind enough to let Tom used the storage house at the back for his painting studio. He tried all his best to get past the shadow after relapsing due to his father’s death but it was hard for him.
Anita met Chairman Holland at the restaurant where he ate her food and frequented the place thanks to her delicious dish. They became friends and learnt each other’s stories. He told her he had a little kid of about six years and the absence of his mother who was dead is taking a toll on him.
Anita began to look after Joseph at the restaurant and they became close with Tom too. After sometimes, they developed feelings for each other and he asked her to follow him back to Chicago where he originally was from.
Since he was rich and vowed to take care of Tom, she agreed immediately and they relocated to Chicago with Chairman Holland who started his business with only a shop. He actually registered Tom as his son as promised and enrolled both sons in school while the parents both worked hard at the shop to expand it.
Even though he had registered Tom, after some time when his business began to bloom and few years had passed, he began to change to both him and his mother. He yelled at him often and criticized his painting works.
Tom knew he wouldn’t last in the house and decided to drop his painting when he clocked thirteen, two years after he moved to Chicago.
“I will do everything I can for you so please acknowledge me as your son, father. I am dropping painting and will study business to help out at your company” he vowed and the Chairman told him to succeed first.
He took on the business path and dedicated all his life and time to it. He became very cold ever since the day he had to lay down his dream for comfort and nothing excited him anymore. He did grew up to become a master in business and the first task the chairman would give to him was managing shellhouse which was at the brink of bankruptcy.
Shellhouse was just a big shop when he took over but over the years, he had tried all his best, boosted it and converted it to a mall with the clothing session the biggest. They had the best cinema house, game house and every other session a mall could have with him as the CEO.
Amber calmly listened to the story he was telling her and let out a deep sigh at the end. She didn’t know that he had been through so much ordeal but he was always appearing and standing strong.
“This is very saddening. The pain of having to drop down your dreams in order to seek acknowledgement is very painful but from your story, you didn’t have issues with Joseph, why are you but suddenly enemies? A very bitter one at that” she asked curiously and he was about answering when a call came through on her phone.
She raised her hand to stop him and pointed to her phone, “It’s my mom” she mouthed and he motioned for her to pick it up. The silence lingered as she waited for her mom to finish what she was saying before screaming suddenly to his shock.
With tears running down her eyes, she broke the news to him happily. “My mother found a donor at last” she screamed and fell to her knees, breaking down into happy tears.