Geegpay Writing Challenge: Bills and Burdens

 

Standing by the window, I let my gaze wander aimlessly. I’d once found beauty in everything but these days, I could only see the reality of my circumstances, and it wasn’t beautiful. The bills piled up as high as my frustration. Another client had cancelled last minute, offering only a half-hearted apology.

I glanced at mama snoring softly on the sunken mattress. My eyes welled up when the fear of her dying before I made it resurfaced. This fear was my constant companion. I’d worked so hard to become exceptional at my craft, but my efforts went unnoticed, yielding minimal returns.

Plagued by unpleasant thoughts, I decided I needed a walk. I’d walked a distance when I noticed a figure lost in focus, painting the dusky sky. I was going to walk past when the figure turned to pick up a can of paint and I glimpsed her face. It was Dawn! the artist renowned for finding hidden beauty in subtle moments.

Without thinking, I went close and blurted, “How do you do it?”

She turned, eyes squinted, then smiled warmly. As we talked, her passion reignited memories of why I loved photography, how capturing life’s fleeting moments brought me calm.

“It never starts perfectly,’ she said, ‘but the end always proves our sacrifices worth it. If it starts perfectly, how would you grow? What would be your story? Would you have one? These difficulties are a vital part of your portfolio. Someday, you’ll mentor upcoming photographers and without your story, when their success fails to come quick and easy, they might give up.”

Her words lingered long after we parted. Though doubts crept in, I decided I’d resume reaching out to previous clients. I did and one said he’d lost my contact and had been trying to reconnect. He put me on a contract and with every job I completed, my confidence and clients grew. With time, money came in enough to hire help for mom. Dawn was right, the hardships built my resilience and blessed me with the strength and humility that quick success would never have.