The Masterpiece — Part Seven
By Joachim Heijndermans
It was the end age. All that was left, a handful of souls at the most, knew these were the final days. This was the end of it all.
Which, made the timing all the better, as the Artist just placed the final stroke on his masterpiece.
“There,” he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. “That should do it.”
He stepped back, taking one great look at the entirety of his painting. Pleased as punch, he turned around, not knowing what to expect. Perhaps a part of him had hoped there would be an audience to witness the completion of his work.
There was. One lone figure, draped in torn threads and leaning heavily on their cane, sat on a sharp rock. Covered with scars that had been there for ages, the weary spectator gave the Artist the briefest of acknowledging nods.
“Hello there,” said the Artist. “Could you give me some constructive criticism? It's the only way I'll get better.”
The ancient being, though far younger than the Artist, moved their weathered body from their rock closer toward the canvas. For each step used every ounce of their strength they had to spare, as bones creaked and aching muscles exerted themselves. When finally close enough for their aged eyes to see clearly, they inspected the piece thoroughly. The Artist tried to have the patience to wait for a final verdict, but found himself lacking in that department. In the end, he simply couldn't resist asking.
“So? What do you think?”
The ancient one glanced at the Artist, then back to the masterpiece, then back to its creator. They sighed deeply, raised their withered finger, and pointed it to the centre-right of the piece.
“The…perspective…is…off…right…there,” they said in a tired, raspy voice.
The Artist, initially not believing the critique, looked to where they pointed. He stared for what may have been the shortest time he had ever taken to do anything in his existence, then nodded in agreement. “You know something? You're right. It is off.”
“What…will…you…do?” the ancient one asked.
The Artist shrugged. “Meh. Leave it. Perfection is a mug's game. Life's too short to dawdle on old work,” he said. He then turned to face the universe behind him as the stars faded one by one. A bright red star flickered violently, then imploded in on itself into a vivid mixture of color and crunched gravity.
And inspiration struck once more.
Joachim Heijndermans is a writer, artist, filmmaker, and SFWA member from the Netherlands. His work has been published in a great number of publications, featured on podcasts and adapted to television and film, including the Netflix animated series 'Love, Death & Robots'.
Copyright © 2025 Joachim Heijndermans
A creation story that makes as much sense as any of the others. I enjoyed reading it.
I feel I'm supposed to have learned something but I can't quite place my finger on it lol