The Artist

TRIGGER WARNING: SELF-HARM
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Let me tell you a story about my friend, Alister, the greatest painter who ever lived. A few years after getting his art degree, he got his own gallery. A few more weeks after that, he reached the top. Alister had the whole world in his hands, you couldn’t go to any city without seeing one of his paintings. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

Eventually, Alister’s paintings just weren’t what they used to be. All the critics said the paintings were no longer a part of him, now they were just used for fame and fortune. He had hit rock bottom. For many weeks, he stayed inside his house never leaving it. Until one day, he left his house and went to the museum where his original gallery was. He begged the museum to give him one more chance, art was his life and he would do anything to be known for it again. Luckily for him, he was given a second chance.

About 5 days later, Alister had a new painting to show the world. When he showed the critics, both them and I were mesmerized. There was something extraordinary about it. While the painting was great, it seemed Alister wasn’t. He looked weak and his face was beyond pale, I was surprised no one asked if he was alright. On the other hand, he had a genuine smile, you could tell he was the happiest man in the world.

For the next several weeks, Alister had a ton of paintings. Although for some odd reason, the only color he was used was red. The mono-color did not worsen any of his paintings, in fact, all his paintings were still marvelous. It was peculiar though because Alister was known for using multiple colors on each of his paintings. But that’s not the weirdest part. As the number of paintings increased, Alister’s health decreased. Every time he showed a new painting, his face grew and grew in paleness. It’s almost like he invented a new shade of pale. But that still wasn’t the weirdest thing, the oddest thing was that his smile got more and more vibrant. He appeared to know the situation he was in, but that did not stop him from achieving the happiness he desired from painting. Alister had made one last show after this.

Everyone was disappointed to see Alister’s last painting, but they were also very excited. When Alister had arrived, he was complete mess, his face was completely flushed and he appeared to only have a little amount of strength left. This didn’t change how anyone felt though, they all still kept the disappointed and excited look. Alister then announced that he didn’t have a new painting, everyone lost the excited look. But a few seconds later the excitement skyrocketed as Alister announced that he would make his last painting in front of everyone. The audience was cheering so loud that it was almost deafening, but I didn’t cheer. Instead I was worried, how could he make a new painting, he was in a horrible state. I stood there in complete shock as the next few seconds were absolutely gut-wrenching.

Alister rolled up his arm and leg sleeves. There were dozens of cuts all over his arms and legs. The deafening cheering had stopped, there was absolute silence. Either their eyes were covered or they were dilated as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Alister proceeded to take a blade out of his pocket as the silence stayed. He then began to make a big incision on his arm where there were no cuts. He grabbed his paint brush and started sliding the tip across his newly made cut and began his last painting.

When Alister was nearly finish, the genuine smile that he always had disappeared. In place of it was anger. He knew he didn’t have any energy left. Alister screamed as he tried to get his body to work for just one more second. His body finally collapsed. Alister laid on the floor with the biggest smile, he finished the painting. The critics asked for a part of him and that’s what they got.

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Credits to: HonestRage