The Baby Between You and Me

Prologue

Art to me is everything. It is indeed my life. My fascination in arts began when I was only eight years old. I was in second grade and my school had a little excursion. We visited this small gallery and there were allot of art works exhibited. There were sculptures of different kinds but what captivated me the most was a huge painting hung on a wall. Anybody who would see it would take their time to look at it. It was a fine painting of a bare back of a woman, her hair was black and tied in an up do with some strands floating as the wind blew. The right side view of her face is seen with her eyes close. Her eyelid looked smokey and her lashes were thick, long, and dark. Her lips were peach nude and slightly frowning. Her nose was tall and straight and it's tip was pointy. She was hugging her own self. Her hands grasped the opposite arms. Her left hand, which was holding her right arm, displayed a round diamond ring. The painting conveyed too much emotion which drew me closer to it. How can something like this struck me so hard? It was just simply breathtaking. Too attached to that masterpiece, I've long prepared to be an artist. I told myself, 'one day, I'll be able to do something such as that.' So, all my life, I've dedicated all my time to doing something only I claim to be wonderful. It's just that nobody sees that potential in it like I do. But someday, they'll do.

Canvases are usually white. I don't know how and why, but mine started with black. It was dark and pitch black. Still, I took the brush and started rendering with my paints. It was quick. Strokes here and there until an image of beautiful structures appeared. Milan, I'm pretty sure it was Milan. I then added some silhouettes of people passing by. Weird, but they started moving as soon as finished painting them. It took my brush and dipped it in yellow paint. I started stroking it again to one of the silhouettes I made earlier. It was as if I was dressing her up. I added little details to her skirt, some pink dots later rendered as little flowers. I added some green accents to it as leaves and vines, too. I took another brush and dipped it in light brown paint color and gave her some hair because it would be odd if she's bald. As soon as I finished it, her hair started moving as well. She was walking towards the opposite direction where the others were heading to. Suddenly, there was a tiny chuckle. Weirded by it, I added two tiny dots in her face. Maybe that's why she can't see, she didn't have eyes. I watched her blink at me as a sign of appreciation for granting her the sense of sight. She started looking around, looking at the direction where the chuckles came from. She turned around then stopped like she was horrified to what she saw. "Mommy!" The baby yelled.

She started moving. She was panicking like she couldn't believe some random baby called her mommy. The baby chuckled. Biting it's little fingers, he smiled at her. "Mommy!" It sounded sweet but irritating at the same time. She just blinked at the little angel knowing that she's starting to be fond with it. She looked at me again. This time, she was asking me if it was ok for her to approach the baby. I gave her a little nod and I watched her gulp her second thoughts. But where did the baby come from? I didn't even paint it. Feeling weird about how the baby was floating outside of my canvas, I pulled it a little closer until he was in the painting. I took my brush and drew another silhouette. It was harder to draw a man than I thought it would be. But I smiled as I finished painting a man to carry the baby. He and the baby looked at each other like they were getting to know each other. The baby smiled and giggled again making him look at me. I gave him a smile to let him know that it was ok. He looked around and spotted the girl in the yellow dress. They stared at each other for a moment until the man took the courage to take the first step. He held the baby securely as he approached the girl. She, on the other hand, started walking towards them, too. They were meeting each other half way.

"Mommy." The baby called out again. This time, it's voice was louder and jollier. One last step and they were toe to toe. She looked at him with so much emotion, and so did he. Breaking the silence between them, the baby reached his hands out to her. It took her time to decide whether she would be glad to take it into her arms, but she did anyway. The baby smiled in joy as it felt safe and well cared in her embrace. It showed fair affection to her by hugging her back. Not too long, the man seeped silently like everything turned mute. He was weeping, tears flowing down his face. Curious to why, she caressed the baby one last time before she take a good look at it. She saw it and there never was an emotion stronger than what she felt and expressed. Her mouth opened and all I could hear was a loud ring.. It was my alarm clock rudely telling me that I have to wake up because I have to go to work. I reached out to the side table and patted its top to find the clock. When I did, I forcefully pressed a button. But it didn't make the clock shut up so I just took it and threw it somewhere. I heard it slammed on the floor.

But this is me. Once you disturb my sleep, I wouldn't be able to return to it. I rubbed my face with my palms annoyed and kicked my blanket. "Dream, it was just a dream." I murmured. I slowly opened my eyes and all I saw was the coral colored ceiling. "Dream. A weird one." I said. I rolled to get out of bed. I stood up and stretched my arms upward and bent my body sideways. I even jumped for several times just to wake myself up fully. I placed my hands on my waist. "Time to roll." I said with full conviction. Like any other day that I had, I took a bath and groomed myself for work. I wouldn't take my time choosing for an outfit to wear. I would always wear pants and a lousy and over sized top. I would wear combat boots and use a sling bag. Having no time to cook, I would just simply go downstairs and pass by my kitchen and just grab an apple or two then head out of my house. My morning could get less weirder but what I just witnessed messed it up a little more.

Opening the door, I chocked on the apple I was chewing. "Jesus fvcking Christ!" I exclaimed. What I saw blew me away, and it's not the good kind. It made me clung on the door knob and made me lean on the door itself. Kris, my neighbor of nearly 3 months right now, is in my porch. It would have been ok if it was only him, but he was with a girl. And the main event? They were smooching passionately in my porch! She was wearing a very short sparkly body con dress, so short it already shows the curve of her buttocks. It looked like they just got from the night club. I watched Kris eat her mouth up as his hand slowly slid down to her bum then down to her thighs. "Unbelievable!" I hissed. How the hell can they not hear me? Or even see me? Is my presence really that unwanted to be noticed? I faked a cough but it still didn't work. They carried on like they were the last pair on earth. Fed up, I forcefully pushed Kris' shoulder making him groan- the kind of groan that meant "fvck off!" "Get a room you two! This is my freaking porch!" I yelled. Pissed that they aren't even listening, I just walked by in the middle. Unexpectedly, it made them break the kiss.

The girl shove me off. She was strong that it made me fall back down. My courage suddenly flew away. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry." I chickened out as I stood up. Kris just pulled her by the waist and returned to kissing. Realizing how hopeless this situation was, I just managed to squeeze myself on the side of the porch, between the girl and the fence. I took caution because the stairs were a bit narrow. Actually, my whole porch is narrow. It's just 60 centimeters wider than my door. And the fact that they were blocking my way is already a big deal. But since I'm kind, I'm letting it pass. Just today, I'm letting it pass. Kris is probably that drunk that he mistaken my house as his house. I can't blame him since we're living in townhouses. And townhouses often look the same specially here in our place. But I could swear that his behavior is getting more and more out of hand everyday. Stressed out, I just walked away. I took another look at them and they are still doing their thing. I didn't know if I should be sorry for them and pity them or if I should just cheer on them until they ruin their lives. Kris is just another typical playboy. Good thing I don't fall for looks easily.