Mishap with Paint

Welcome to the Spot Writers. The prompt for this month is to write about a mishap involving paint.

This week’s contribution comes from Chiara De Giorgi. Chiara is an Italian author and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She writes fiction, with a focus on children’s literature and science fiction.

 

Mishap with Paint

by Chiara De Giorgi

(An Elsa Mon story)

created with Canva

 

Accidentally showering her beloved Victor with red paint was what triggered Elsa’s imagination. 

Elsa Mon, acclaimed paranormal romance author, had been struggling to find a good idea for her new novel and Victor had suggested she repaint her study to take her mind off writing for a while. Now the study walls looked good… while the sofa, the bookshelves, her desk, and practically everything—Victor included—was splattered with red.

“I guess I’m part of your study now,” he commented, amused. 

Elsa’s dismayed expression suddenly dissolved, and she burst out laughing. “Oh my God, thank you, Victor. Thank you so much!”

She stood up, wiped her red hands on her old jeans, and ran to the kitchen, where she had left her laptop. She had the inspiration she needed.

 

Zoe was very excited: for the first time, she was one of the artists who had been asked to exhibit their work at the Red Moon Festival, the one occasion of the year when the packs of different shapeshifters got together. 

She had prepared a large, vibrant mural depicting her favorite artist, Frida Kahlo, as a majestic Wolf. In this way, she felt she was paying the right tribute to the artist who was the source of her inspiration and at the same time boldly asserting her own identity as a werewolf.

She was working hard, putting the final touches to her painting. Nearby, Xavier, one of the festival’s managers and leader of the Cat pack living across the river, was carefully arranging other art pieces for tomorrow’s show. 

Amidst the chaos of last-minute preparations, Zoe’s precariously balanced ladder wobbled, causing a can of red paint to fall just as Xavier was walking by. 

The paint splattered everywhere—on the gallery floor, some of the art pieces, and all over Xavier. There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by Xavier’s horrified hiss and Zoe’s shocked growl. 

Xavier, drenched in red paint, was ready to explode, but seeing Zoe’s mortified puppy eyes, his anger dissipated. 

“Well, I guess I’m part of the exhibition now,” he said.

There is traditionally bad blood between the Wolves and the Cats, but Xavier’s joking comment dispelled the tension and, together, he and Zoe cleaned up.

However, the following day, when the exhibition was inaugurated at the opening of the festival, Zoe’s mural raised discussion and controversy. Several shapeshifters from different clans gathered in front of it, murmuring discontentedly. A particularly vocal Badger named Marcus growled, “Frida Kahlo belongs to everyone. Portraying her as a Wolf is an insult to the other clans.”

Many voices joined his.

“Where did you get the idea that you could claim Frida Kahlo for the Wolves?”

“You just wanted to get people talking about you, I bet.”

“Yeah, maybe this wasn’t what you had in mind though…”  

Zoe’s heart sank. Her grandmother had warned her that something like this could happen, but she hadn’t listened. Claiming Frida for the Wolves wasn’t what she had in mind when she enthusiastically splashed paint onto the wall. 

Xavier, sensing her distress, stepped forward. 

“Art is meant to be inclusive and open to interpretation,” he said. He took a couple of cans of paint from behind a curtain and flashed his feline grin. “Why don’t we all become part of the mural?”

Everyone looked at one another, puzzled, while Xavier dipped a paw into a can of red paint and pressed it on the mural. It was easy to morph a single body part into its werewolf form, even without a full moon. “Join me!” he invited everyone. “Let us all belong together!”

Zoe anxiously observed the reactions of those present. What would they do?

After a few seconds of silence, a young Fox giggled, then dipped her paw into yellow paint and left her print on the mural. Slowly, others followed, and Zoe’s mural turned into a vibrant tapestry of colors that represented every clan.

Zoe cast a grateful glance at Xavier, who winked at her before proceeding with the second part of his plan. 

“And now, let us all be part of this exhibition!” he cried, then playfully splattered Zoe with green paint. She laughed and sprayed him with pink.

Suddenly everyone was laughing and splattering one another with paint, and the festival turned into a mess of colors and fun.

 

“That was one of the best days of my life,” Zoe said to Xavier after the festival closed its gates for the night. “Thank you.”

“So you are not upset that I messed up your mural.”

“Not at all, it was a good idea and the right thing to do, in the true spirit of the Red Moon Festival.” 

“I’m glad to hear that. And… Would you consider having dinner with me tonight?”

Zoe raised her eyebrows. A Cat was asking her out to dinner… What would her grandmother say about that? 

“I’d love to,” she replied. “Cats’ and Wolves’ eating habits overlap considerably, so we should have no problem finding the right place…”

 

A few months later, Elsa had completed her novel. To celebrate, she and Victor were dining on the veranda by candlelight. Before dessert, Elsa gave Victor the chapter “Mishap with Paint” to read, which was based on the incident in her study. 

“You do have a great power of imagination,” Victor said after reading it. “Imagine what story you might come up with if this candle fell and the tablecloth caught fire…”

 

 

*****

The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/