Coffee Beans Hidden In Plain Sight

All I had ever known was kindness. It was attached to my special gift of animating artwork. One cool evening, I was strolling in the garden park admiring the flowers when I saw a young man painting a historical castle on a mural.

"This is beautiful, good sir," I commended him when a beautiful lady came out of nowhere and ran to me for help. A powerful magician who'd been pursuing her hovered in the sky above us, his eyes angry and smoke shot out of his ears. People screamed and ran in different directions.

The lady's tears tore at me so I waved my wand quickly and hid her inside the young man's painting. The young man, unaware, took his painting and fled.

Before I could say a vanishing spell, the magician put a hex on me to become a street urchin.

SOME YEARS LATER…
It was a hot afternoon when Barry Olson found me leaning against a lamppost beside the central police station. It was the safest place for me to beg for alms without any of the other urchins bullying me.

Ever since the incident, the world became a cruel place. I was lucky to get a few coins for a simple meal every day until Barry Olson passed by. He stopped, smiled at me and offered me a job at his coffee plantation.

I was surprised because there was coffee scarcity due to bad harvest. Coffee farmers had let their workers go. I did not question fate. I followed Barry home.

On arrival at Barry's house, I saw a mural of a graceful maiden carrying a water pot on her head pinned to the wall leading to his parlour. I smiled and knew my special gift would come in handy here.

Apart from growing the best coffee beans in Onyx Town, Barry loved painting murals. He confided that it was his passion. He showed me more artworks of different sizes hung on the walls of his house. "You are talented, good sir," I commended him.

"Call me Barry. All my workers do. Do you love painting, Hopper?"

"I do but I don't have the means to paint."

"Then you will join me in your free time. First, what do you think of my paintings? I always feel as though something is missing."

"You are missing the magic," I said. His shoulders shook as he laughed at me believing I was joking and told me to get to work.

TWO WEEKS LATER….
On an errand into town, I passed by Onyx central police station and saw one of the officers arguing with his colleagues outside. I slowed my pace and pretended to look the other way as I eavesdropped.

"You know Deputy Chief McGuire's plan is wrong. To forcefully take Barry's coffee beans from him because he wouldn't supply some to Steven Richmond? I call that stealing. No amount of money that Richmond may pay will make me join you guys to search his house. Count me out!" The officer stormed off while I quickened my pace as my heart raced in fear.

I feared for my boss, Barry, who had become a good friend and hurried home to give him the news. He calmly took the news.

"Barry, don't you understand? They will be here any minute to take your harvest away," I shouted.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Listen Hopper. Our police are corrupt but they will find nothing because I already shipped out the last bag of harvest to the king. Except for a few beans that I kept for the next planting season."

"Let's hide the beans!"

"I already hid them somewhere in the cellar where they will never find…"

We almost jumped out of our skins when we heard loud pounding on the door followed by," Mr Olson, this is the police. Open up!"

I saw fear in Barry's eyes so I ran downstairs and opened the cellar door. I searched the room until my eyes fixed on a large wooden box in the corner of the room. My sixth sense told me that was where the beans were hidden. I opened it, found an old puzzle box and unlocked it. Inside was a small sack purse containing the coffee beans.

I could hear loud voices upstairs as the policemen harassed Barry. I took the stairs to the library where a particular painting that always fascinated me was hung. It was a gloomy but beautiful mural titled "The Castle’s Labyrinth". A princess stood outside the castle gate, holding a goose to her chest.

I waved my hand on the surface of the mural and watched it undulate slowly as it came to life. I pushed the purse through the mural and dropped it in the princess' hand. I waved my hand and the mural froze.

Just then the library door flung open as three policemen rushed in. "You! What are you doing here?"

"I - I work here. I'm just cleaning this place," I replied. The men eyed me suspiciously and sent me out. I stood beside an unhappy Barry as the men searched the house and found nothing. They left.

"I think I lost the beans," Barry said after the men left. "They searched the cellar and did not find it. I'm sure I hid the beans in my old puzzle box. It isn't there."

"That's because I took it and hid it for you."

Barry stared at me incredulously. I took him to the library and showed him the painting. He stared agape as I waved my hand, pushed into the mural, and took the sack purse from the princess who smiled and waved at us before holding her goose with both hands. Then I froze the painting back to the way it was.

Barry was speechless. I smiled at him. "I told you. Your paintings need the magic."

For that act of kindness, I became free again.