Peace

Chapter 04: Colours

"Charlotte, stop wiggling your tail at my foot. I'm trying to work here," Win groans at his Chihuahua dog that is resting on his lap while he is busy mixing some colours in his colour plate on the wooden floor beside his bed. His dog barks at him in return, jumping out of his lap. "Yeah, very mature, Char," he playfully rolls his eyes at the dog. She is staring at him now without blinking.

Win chuckles at that cutest animal on Earth. He is about to dip his size eight paintbrush in the water when somebody knocks on his door. "Come in, khrab!" He shouts. The door is pushed open and Win hears someone walk in. He looks up from his half-painted canvas board.

"Hello, fatso. I need burgundy," Mesa, Win's second older sister, nonchalantly requests, crossing her arms on her stomach. "Hi, Charlotte! Come here!" She crouches down and extends her arms for the dog to come in. Charlotte leaps about for a few seconds before coming to her outstretched arms. She fits perfectly in Mesa's arms like a little child.

Win takes his glasses off and glares at his sister. "You own an art gallery and yet you don't know how to mix colours for yourself," he says with a full-on sarcastic mode.

Mesa sighs and moves to sit cross-legged on the floor with her younger brother. She places Charlotte on her lap and softly pats her head to calm her down. "You're much better at mixing them than me," she points out, lifting one of her eyebrows at the colour plate on the floor. The evidence is there. Win can't help but feel proud of himself when P'Ice said that. She knows his dream was to become an architect. He likes drawing and painting. He loves creating things. For him, art is a part of his soul.

However, Win has to bury his dream for the sake of his parents. His second sister, Mesa, shares the same passion as him. The difference is that she gets to do what she loves while he has to endure everything for the family. Win still draws and paints when he feels lonely, just like tonight. He finds solace in colours and how they aesthetically glisten on a canvas. That's how he perceives colours.

"Win!" Mesa flicks a hand in front of his face. "You've been zoning out a lot lately. Care to share?" She stretches her legs out, waiting for Win to reply. The younger man shakes his head and the woman instantly casts a pair of her skeptical eyes at him. "You've been smiling a lot, too. I think I've seen this scene before...in a love movie," she teases, chuckling at the end of her sentence.

Win can't help but laugh too. It takes a while for their laughter to die down. When it does, Win heaves a big sigh. "I think I'm in love," he mumbles, but Mesa manages to catch his sentence.

"Who's the unlucky guy?" Mesa tilts her head to the side, smirking at Win.

"Ow! Am I that bad?" Win clicks her tongue in annoyance at the woman, starting to regret telling his sister about his feeling. All of his siblings are like this. They love to tease him because apparently, he's that one 'outsider' in the family who is not present in all family affairs. He has missed a lot of important events in the family, though it is not entirely his fault. His family is one of the main reasons he's drifting apart from them, anyway.

Mesa innocently shrugs. "I mean, look at you, fatso. He'll have to work hard to feed you," she jokingly says, leaning forward to pinch the younger man's chubby cheeks.

Win swiftly slaps her hands away from his face. "For the record, I only eat six times per day!" He argues, raising his voice at his sister. He's so ready to bring his armor out and fight with her.

"Six full-course meals, if I may add," Mesa reaches for the brush on the colour plate and plays with the burgundy colour that Win mixed earlier.

"Ugh, now you're insulting me. Get lost!" Win rips his brush away from his sister, pouting because he is a little annoyed.