6. HE PAINTED A NEW PAINTING

The orange rays approached, coming with the twilight at the end of the day. It flaunted priceless elegance, giving a calming sense of peace, perfecting a day that had passed.

René was back at that point, a point where he looked straight at a painting he 'accidentally' drew in his deep sleep last night.

He had produced a lot of works, dramatic titles had also been arranged for each of his paintings. But, René was a painter who had characteristics; he only painted objects he was seeing or had ever seen in the past.

Sometimes, he painted some moments that happened in the past. For example, the moment when he and his sister were still young. They used to fight a lot. Yes, fighting. They did not hesitate to kick and punch each other, even wrestled each other like professionals. Once, René painted a picture when he and his older sister were in a brutal fight.

René had also painted heart-wrenching scenes. Tears, blood, and sorrow. These three elements filled the previously blank canvas where the painter poured his inspiration. It was so heartbreaking that the painting was able to make people who saw it shed tears.

The young painter with the surname Huang had produced many works. All of his works had their own emotions. René always succeeded in conveying various kinds of emotions in each of his paintings.

But, when a mysterious painting was produced by his hand while he was in an unconscious state, various kinds of emotions were present in his mind. He was confused, feeling strange, annoyed, and somehow he was scared as well.

But, out of all the emotions, there was one emotion that made René almost go crazy. Why did he feel a little happiness when he saw the painting? Why was there an urgency to smile? Why? Why? None of his questions was answered.

René exhaled roughly. His muscular hands rose and ruffled his hair in a huff.

“What’s wrong with me? I really don’t know who this girl is, but why do I feel so uncertain in my heart?” A single murmur escaped his thick lips. “And, strangely again, I met a man whose face exactly matches this girl today. Who is he? Are they siblings? But, why was I suddenly painting her face in my sleep? What does that have to do with me?”

His cellphone inside his pants pocket suddenly vibrated, enough to break his reverie. He fished out the slim object and opened the message that just arrived. He sighed heavily when he realized that it was a message from his father. The message was full of girls’ photographs and their contact numbers. He noticed that his father was serious about the matchmaking plan.

But, René didn’t immediately close the chatroom. Instead, he glanced back at the painting in front of him, then looked down at the phone screen again. His thumb moved up and down the screen, but he ended up frowning.

“None of them looks similar to this girl in the painting,” he stated.

It was dumb, but he thought that the girl in the painting probably was the girl his father wanted to introduce to him. He thought that probably he had the vision to see the future. But, it turned out that he was wrong. The identity of the girl remained unknown.

He sighed as he slipped his phone back into his pants pocket. None of the girls attracted him. He would inform his father about his opinion later.

René opted to forget the matter and went back to the mysterious painting. The painter really couldn’t understand. His hand was raised again, but now he used his slender fingers to touch the painting in front of him.

The girl smiled. Her thin lips were perfectly forming a beautiful curve. Two small moles were pinned neatly near the corners of her lips.

Wait. Two moles? Even the smallest details were drawn? And, René remembered very well that the student named Alain Kim, who arrived late to his class this afternoon, also had two small dots forming near the corner of his lips. The moles were the same.

He got goosebumps. How could the two people with opposite genders have the same moles? Moreover, how could he draw the moles?

The mixed-blooded painter finally ruffled his hair in a huff. “If this strange thing happens again, I have no other choice but to ask Damien.”

---

Unfortunately, the strange thing happened again just a few days after he made that decision. The history repeated itself when the handsome painter got up from his sleeping position and started walking toward the bedroom door.

He walked very slowly just like a zombie, but he finally reached the doorknob and pressed it until the wooden door opened. His long legs brought him in the usual direction. He headed to his personal studio in the apartment.

The emerald irises showed off their beauties, but they looked empty. René’s eyes wide opened, but there was nothing in his eyes. He just stared blankly at the studio door before slowly stretched out his hand to press the doorknob. The door opened, and he stepped into the quiet room.

Just like a habit, the painter started collecting some tools without trouble. When everything was ready, he sat down on a chair and his hand began to dance along with the brush to bring color to the previously dull canvas.

The colors looked disoriented at first, but as time went by, a girl portrait started to make its appearance on the canvas. It was the same face that he painted in his sleep before.

Dozen minutes passed, and finally, the painting was completed. It seemed that the painter was about to stop all his movement and went back to his unconscious state, but suddenly, he raised his hand again to the bottom corner of the painting. He danced the brush to write a name before the brush fell on the floor and he went back to the neverland again.