Happily clutching her one piece of a broken heart -- which
was basically a thin piece of wood painted red, by the way, Samantha strolled
into the park.
The local park was a busy place and was filled with children playing all kinds of games.
“I’ve got ice powers, what have you got?” One little girl said haughtily to another as she pretended to be some kind of snow princess.
Of course, while this was fun to watch for Samantha, she knew very well that she could not join them. They would not allow her to play with them – at least not while she did not have a heart.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a cry of anguish and protest.
“No! No! No! This wrong! It’s all wrong! All wrong, I say!
Oh, why can I never get it right? Stupid brush! Stupid paint! Stupid, stupid,
canvas! Agh! It’s all useless! Utterly useless!”
It had come from a painter who had just thrown his canvas
onto the ground so hard that the frame was cracked at one side.
Samantha approached him cautiously.
“Sir, whatever is the matter? Why are you so angry?”
“Everything! Absolutely everything! Ahhh! I’m going crazy!” The painter had buried his face in his hands and answered Samantha without looking back at her.
“Surely, you’re joking? How can everything be wrong?”
“Everything! Absolutely everything! Ahhh! I’m going crazy!” The painter had buried his face in his hands and answered Samantha without looking back at her.
“Surely, you’re joking? How can everything be wrong?”
The painter pointed his thumb at the broken canvas. On it,
was a painting of the park complete with all the people walking around and the
children playing. And oh… in the corner of the entrance there was even someone
who looked a lot like Samantha, but the painting was not finished yet, so she
couldn’t be sure.
“Why, it’s an absolutely, beautiful painting, Sir!” Samantha
said sincerely.
“Do you think so?” The painter turned to look at Samantha for the first time.
“Yes, I absolutely love it! It’s so cute how you painted everyone in the park in here.”
“Do you think so?” The painter turned to look at Samantha for the first time.
“Yes, I absolutely love it! It’s so cute how you painted everyone in the park in here.”
“AND THAT’S THE PROBLEM!”
“What?”
“It’s because I keep getting better. I can never complete a single painting. While I’m in the middle of painting something, I soon realize that I am much better than when I started. I end up trashing the painting and starting over again so that I can paint the picture to the best of my abilities. It also happened just now. I learned some new techniques while I was painting this picture of the park, but by then, it was too late to use these techniques on the entire painting. So I threw it away. I need to start over again so I can make an even better painting.”
“But if you keep doing that, then you’ll never finish anything.”
“I know… and that’s the problem!”
The painter was clearly furious. He looked mad enough to bite Samantha’s head off. Still, she stood her ground.
“But…but, can I ask you a question, Mr. Painter?”
“What?”
“It’s because I keep getting better. I can never complete a single painting. While I’m in the middle of painting something, I soon realize that I am much better than when I started. I end up trashing the painting and starting over again so that I can paint the picture to the best of my abilities. It also happened just now. I learned some new techniques while I was painting this picture of the park, but by then, it was too late to use these techniques on the entire painting. So I threw it away. I need to start over again so I can make an even better painting.”
“But if you keep doing that, then you’ll never finish anything.”
“I know… and that’s the problem!”
The painter was clearly furious. He looked mad enough to bite Samantha’s head off. Still, she stood her ground.
“But…but, can I ask you a question, Mr. Painter?”
“What? What is it already? Go on! Ask!” The painter said
with a slightly puzzled look on his face.
“Why do you paint?”
“Why, just like all artists, I paint to express myself of course!”
“… and whom do you want to express yourself to?”
“A useless question. To people who would appreciate my works, of course… just like… oh… oh… just like…”
Samantha smiled sweetly.
“I think your painting is beautiful, sir.”
“Why do you paint?”
“Why, just like all artists, I paint to express myself of course!”
“… and whom do you want to express yourself to?”
“A useless question. To people who would appreciate my works, of course… just like… oh… oh… just like…”
Samantha smiled sweetly.
“I think your painting is beautiful, sir.”
And just like that, the painter’s anger instantly melted
away into realization.
“Th-thank you. I think… I can finally finish a real painting
for once. Thank you so much, little girl.”
“You can call me Samantha. May I know your name, Mr. Painter?”
“It’s Vincent. By the way, Samantha, since you really helped me out, is there anything I can do for you?”
Samantha thought for a moment and then she turned to the broken canvas. She noticed that there was one piece of the backing board that had splintered away. She took her own heart piece and placed it next to the broken piece of board and saw that they actually fit together to form what was beginning to look like a heart.
“Could I have this broken piece, Mr. Vincent? And would you please paint it red, for me?”
“Well, I have no use for it, so certainly.”
With a few strokes of his brush, Vincent had painted the broken piece completely.
“Here you go, Samantha.”
“Thank you, Mr. Vincent.”
“By the way, Samantha… what should I paint next?”
“Hmm… well, I think you should paint whatever you want to. Even if the result is something that you think is bad, you shouldn’t just throw your old works away. What is good or bad is just one stroke of your brush apart isn’t it? Even if it looks bad right now, you can surely turn it into something beautiful one day.”
“You can call me Samantha. May I know your name, Mr. Painter?”
“It’s Vincent. By the way, Samantha, since you really helped me out, is there anything I can do for you?”
Samantha thought for a moment and then she turned to the broken canvas. She noticed that there was one piece of the backing board that had splintered away. She took her own heart piece and placed it next to the broken piece of board and saw that they actually fit together to form what was beginning to look like a heart.
“Could I have this broken piece, Mr. Vincent? And would you please paint it red, for me?”
“Well, I have no use for it, so certainly.”
With a few strokes of his brush, Vincent had painted the broken piece completely.
“Here you go, Samantha.”
“Thank you, Mr. Vincent.”
“By the way, Samantha… what should I paint next?”
“Hmm… well, I think you should paint whatever you want to. Even if the result is something that you think is bad, you shouldn’t just throw your old works away. What is good or bad is just one stroke of your brush apart isn’t it? Even if it looks bad right now, you can surely turn it into something beautiful one day.”
To be continued…
Next Chapter
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