Too Short to Paint

It was that time again. Finding herself with more free time than normal, Ellen found herself glued both to the glowing screen of the tablet neatly position across a specially designed desk in her room, as well as the silky white canvas that rested on its easel right to the side. She was a girl of many different hobbies and passions, a product of her unfortunate upbringing that left her unable to run around outside like most children. Not that she was ever sad about it. Quite the opposite, she looked at those days fondly now, realizing just how many areas of productivity it allowed her to explore.

But painting, drawing in general, truly was among her most favorite. Not to mention that it helped her earn some money on the side, too. Some people were surprisingly eager to purchase her art, especially online, and for fairly decent prices as well. However, she felt like trying out the more traditional style of painting today. Tracing her fingers over the somewhat rough surface of the canvas, she sighed ever so slightly. She was in quite a rush the last time, not realizing that her brushes became far too worn out to be used again until this very moment.

That meant going outside, to the city. She was a regular at an art shop there, where she got pretty much all of her supplies. Thankfully the academy, as well as most of the island, provided plenty of access even for someone like her. She still wasn’t quite used to that and mostly didn’t feel like going outside as a result, also partly because of her being a bit of a shut-in with some of her interests. She found herself on the way from the school grounds soon enough, heading to the city that was not that far away.

The path to the shop was plenty familiar to her by now. She still had a lot of the town to explore, but she could not get lost at least with this one. A cozy shop that brought a lot of people to it with its homely and charming visage. Pushing the doors open, she would force the wheels of her chair to move, getting through the only obstacle in the way effortlessly. And as soon as she did, she was happily greeted by the man behind the counter. He was also the owner and given how many times she visited, he already remembered her well.

He also knew that she would need help reaching some of the supplies she usually bought but still asked. “Yes please, if you could.” One small bow of a head later, they were headed toward the exact same place Mint was. And while the shop owner seemed to pay him little attention while reaching for the brushes, Leila noticed him quite quickly. “Oh, hello! I’m sorry if we’re in the way, I’ll have all I need really soon. Actually, is there anything you want, I’m sure that mister here can get it for you.”

The girl was smiling and her tone was as friendly as she could possibly make it. The boy appeared quite young to her eyes, but she didn’t want to come across as a condescending adult since she knew full well what her own views were just a few years ago. But if he was choosing from the same shelf, then there was no reason why he should wait his turn, especially since he was the one who had arrived at this place first.

When the boy told the cashier what he wanted and got just that, Ellen would give him a small nod and a smile, almost like a thank you that he was willing to step aside and let the man get those things for the both of them.

In the past, she had run into rather rude individuals all too often, ones that were not even willing to step to the side or would barge in front of her or other people when standing in a line. Folk on this island appeared much more tolerant and pleasant, at least so far.

And since she was pretty much moving around right behind the cashier, he would process her payment first, before the boy. It made Ellen want to say that she was fine waiting, but the deed was done so quickly that she didn’t even get the chance. She wasn’t really buying much.

Paying with her credit card, she then placed the brown paper bag with the goods onto her lap as she wheeled herself out of the shop. The pleasant warmth of the Sun quickly washed over her as she stopped right in front of the door and started somewhat blankly staring up at the sky.

The day was a beautiful one and the forecast mentioned that it should stay that way. Going back into her room to paint might have been a waste of a good day after all. But wherever else would she go instead, exactly? She still didn’t orientate herself around very well… it was a bit of a dilemma that had her stuck there.

No matter how deep in thought the girl was, a voice of another would always easily tear her back into reality. And Carmin’s words did just that, making Ellen’s ocean-blue eyes quickly affix to him as her body turned slightly to face him in the chair. A smile quickly replaced the daydreaming expression.

“Ah, hey there! Sorry, I’m in the way, aren’t I?” But to her surprise, he wanted to say something completely different. She didn’t even realize that she had done something thanks-worthy. To her, she just got some things for herself and got the cashier to help a kid along the way.

Moving a bit of her hair from her face and behind one of her ears with a quick gesture, the girl merely shook her head and laughed softly. “You really don’t need to thank me for something like that. I just figured he could get whatever you wanted since was already going through all of those products.”

For some reason, she didn’t want to make it seem as if she was going out of her way. But this child in front of her, he seemed a bit different, somehow. Well, people, in general, were different in this place, but that was not what she meant.

“By the way, my name is Eleanor. But you can call me Ellen if you want. And you are?” A college student like her talking to a kid might have been a bit strange from the outside perspective, but she was really curious now.

“Carmin, that’s a lovely name!” The girl exclaimed as she gently clapped her hands together, a bright smile from ear to ear covering her face. While it was still surreal for her to see individuals who were not human, the exotic nature of it all was at least somewhat alluring.

She hoped to learn more about these non-humans and work alongside them, be friends with them. Which was not always easy, but this boy was still in front of her, seemingly willing to entertain at least some small talk. That made Ellen happy, as being alone in her room started to wear her down.

But his next question was not one she expected. Or, well… perhaps she did, in a way. He looked much younger than herself and children would sometimes ask her about the wheelchair back home, since it was something new and unknown to them.

Though, his question was more about her than the strange contraption of a chair she was sitting on. It actually made her chuckle a bit as she leaned on one of the armrests to get slightly more comfortable while talking to the boy. Not that she had that many options when it came to sitting positions.

“As long as I’m on flat ground and have enough room, I can turn and do anything else just fine. It’s kinda like driving a car I suppose. Without anyone pushing me or turning me on the spot, I need a bit more space.”

She tried to explain as best as she could, but maybe she went a little too technical there? A simple yes would have probably sufficed to someone like that, no? Given his looks, he couldn’t have been more than eight years old, after all. Or maybe she was mistaken?

Once again, he was not a human like she was. And she had learned that while certain species might look young, they can very well be hundreds of years old already. Compared to them, Ellen herself was almost nothing more than a freshly born babe that could never hope to match them.

Banishing those thoughts from her mind, she simply patted the wheel closest to her leaning body. “Were you interested in how these things move or work, maybe?” She hoped to learn whether he asked out of concerned or interest for the ‘toy’ she had, that would probably give her the answer she was looking for.

The boy seemed to be at least a little bit bashful, given his reaction. But Ellen did not mind that in the slightest. She merely smiled at him as she did before. But that expression crooked a bit when the boy took his time to explain that he was considerably older than the girl had assumed at first.

This prompted a metaphorical facepalm that hit Ellen’s face pretty hard. At least in terms of imagining it, she didn’t actually slap her face against her face in the real world at all. But the pain might have as well been real, given the embarrassments she now felt.

“I’m, um… really sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything.” The worst part was probably that Carmin was able to tell how Ellen perceived him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have correct her like that out of nowhere, it was almost like he read her mind.

Only she had things that were on her mind also written on her face, it appeared. Scratching the back of her head, she had no idea what to do now. All she could think of was to try to limit the damages, though some were probably already done. “I hope you’re not too offended that I thought… well, that you were younger? I’m not from this place so people like you who are different from how they look, I’m just not used to it yet, I suppose.”