The story about the painter ___________________________________ The story was published at the magazine The Orphan Leaf Review, England, 2005 ___________

"It is very easy to make the life by myself," a painter decided one usual morning. "I can't change the world. I can't change most of the situations I do not like. But I could create a little world of happiness with my hands." The painter came in his flat. He did not wait for any suitable time for creating his "new world". He was calm and sure. The painter began to create the world which he needed. His flat was not big. It consisted in two rooms and one kitchen. The painter began his work. He did not tell anybody about his decision because he was very depending on the opinion of his friends. For many months he painted the walls of his little flat, the floor and ceiling. He painted new windows and flowers and many different images that I will not describe because it was a secret spiritual world of the painter. One day "the artwork" was finished. It was the painter's emotional world that had become a visible world. "I am a great painter," he thought. "I derive deep warm emotions from my work. I could stay in this painted world all the time." But he had to leave the flat every day. It was important for him to get some money. The painter created portraits for people who asked him to do it. He worked in the street. In the evenings he came back to his flat. He often had the sad feeling that all these persons, whose portraits he made, had the wish to enter his flat too. But the painter wanted to forget those people. And it was so when he closed the door of his beautiful painted flat. The flat was saving his hopes and gladness. The flat became like a true friend for him. However, the painter needed glory. It is a usual wish for many painters in this world. The painter thought, "I should show my painted flat. My friends will have many deep impressions. They will praise me. It is not very important for me but I would like to show true beauty to them. I really created it in my flat." The next day all his friends were invited to visit the flat. They had wanted to come for many months because the painter had told them a few strange words about his new great artwork. He had told them that he never would show the artwork. But he had changed his decision. The painter opened the door of his flat. The friends came in carefully. "Why did you use such bright different colors?" they asked him. "That was a stupid idea to paint new windows on the walls. You have real windows! Did you forget about them?" they laughed at him. "Why did you paint flowers on the floors? It could be a good idea for a woman's flat." Many similar words were said to the poor painter. He was standing in the middle of the room while his friends were traveling in his emotional world by the flat. They did not wish to offend the painter. They sincerely did not understand the painter's ideas. They were really surprised by his funny painted flat. The painter brought in several bottles of a wonderful old wine he had bought for that meeting specially. The painter had dreamed that he would open the bottles at the end of the meeting when the delighted voices of his friends would have sounded like a beautiful music for him. The painter went into the kitchen after his surprised friends had left his flat. He took a glass of the wine in his hand and cried. He would never be able to love the world of his beautiful flat anymore. Sadly he looked at the funny bright flowers that he had painted on the floor of the kitchen. They were like real flowers that had been trampled by the words of his friends.