RootedVision - written by : Sean Pen
Subtitle: "Peace Is a Fight Too."
Scene 1 – Before the Sun Rises - The hum of the fridge buzzed like a broken streetlight. Nazir sat on the floor of the apartment, hoodie on, knees up, sketchbook in his lap. Half a blunt burned slow in the ashtray beside him. His daughter Layla slept in the next room, her soft breathing drifting through the cracked door like a lullaby.Pages of hoodie designs, scribbled quotes, and brand mockups were scattered across the living room like loose puzzle pieces. At the top of one sheet, he’d written in bold Sharpie:
“RootedVision – From the Soil, For the Soul.”The front door clicked.Nia stepped in, scrub pants wrinkled, hair tied up, bags under her eyes and two Gatorades in her hand. Her body said tired, but her eyes lit up when they found him on the floor.“You still up?” she asked.Nazir gave her a crooked smile. “Kinda forgot to sleep.”She dropped her bag by the door, kicked off her shoes, and walked over to him.“What’s the plan now? You about to outwork the sunrise?”“Something like that,” he said. “Gotta drop this new line Friday. Tryna pay for them new meds with vision money instead of this 9-to-5.”She sat beside him, leaned her head on his shoulder. A few seconds of silence.“Layla sleep good?”
“Yeah. I checked on her like ten times.”
“Me too,” she whispered.They smiled. That was peace. This small, quiet apartment filled with love and purpose. Outside, the city roared—but in here, it was still.
Nazir: "Nah, not yet. I’m still lookin’ for one too."
Scene 2 – Old Friends, New Energy - Later that day, Nazir got a text from Tone.Tone: "Yo, you still got that screen print connect?"
Tone: "...Word."Nazir stared at the dots for a while. They disappeared. No reply.Next few days, Tone got colder. Pullin' up to the hangout late. Slick talk in his tone. One night he said:“Crazy how some folks forget who they was around before the IG likes started rollin’ in.”Nazir just sipped his water and let the silence speak for him.“You sayin’ that to me?”
“I’m just speakin’ on what I see.”
Scene 3 – The Hit - Nazir worked nights at a warehouse to cover what RootedVision couldn’t. On break, he stepped out behind the loading dock, phone in one hand, headphones in the other.That’s when he heard the quick shuffle of footsteps.Before he could turn, someone rushed him—hoodie up, blade flashing. Nazir ducked, grabbed the guy by the arm, slammed him into the dumpster. They wrestled. Nazir landed a clean elbow to the side of the attacker’s face. Dude dropped. Groaned. Ran off limping.Nazir looked down.The dude dropped his phone.He picked it up. Screen cracked. Notifications buzzing. One message lit up the screen:“Make sure it don’t look like nothin.”
From: Tone.Nazir’s heart stopped.
Scene 4 – The Confrontation - Nazir pulled up on the crew at the corner store lot, deep hoodie on, jaw clenched.Tone was there, dapping people up like nothing ever happened.“We need to talk,” Nazir said.The air shifted. Everyone got quiet.“You got somethin’ to say, say it,” Tone replied.Nazir tossed the cracked phone at his feet. “Your name’s in the messages. You sent that hit, bro?”Tone scoffed, tried to play dumb.“Man, stop being dramatic. I don’t know whose phone that is.”Nazir’s voice stayed calm. Too calm.“I gave you everything I could, and the second I couldn’t—you tried to take everything from me. You jealous? Say that. But don’t send no hitter to do what you couldn’t.”The crew looked around. Some eyes dropped. One of the younger homies, Rico, spoke up:“Lowkey... I heard you talkin’ slick about Nazir last week, bro. You was hot about that grant he got. Said he think he better than us.”Tone turned red.Nazir stared him down. “This ain’t even about the brand no more. It’s about my daughter. You tried to take me away from her.”Tone didn’t respond.Some of the crew stepped back. Some stepped toward Nazir. The lines were drawn.Nazir walked off without another word.
Scene 5 – Rooted - Later that night, Nazir opened the apartment door, knuckles sore, eyes heavy.Nia and Layla were knocked out on the couch, wrapped in the same blanket. Nia’s hand still rested protectively on Layla’s little back.He stared at them.That was his legacy.He walked over to the vision board. Grabbed a Sharpie.Wrote across the top:“Nobody Gon' Take This From Me.”
THE END