“Self-Portrait”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “Every good painter paints what he is.” — Jackson Pollock

“Your assignment today is to paint a self-portrait.”

My heartbeat picks up. A self-portrait? I’ve waited my entire painting career for this moment. In fact, this is the reason I started taking painting lessons to begin with. An actual self-portrait that I’ll be able to gift to my parents.

“Remember, begin with the basics. This is just like painting anything else; start with the basics then build from there.”

I rifle through my paintbrushes and choose a thin one to draw the outline of my face. Glancing around, I see that the other students have already started too. Some of them are doing just their face, while others are doing their full body.

I decide on doing a full body portrait. As soon as my paintbrush makes contact with the canvas, the familiar, exciting pulse of energy courses through my veins. My brush starts moving on its own, making broad, sweeping strokes of colour across the blank canvas.

It doesn’t take long before I reach a state of complete bliss. I’m no longer thinking about what I’m painting; I’m going solely by feel. I have complete faith in myself and that’s enough.

I couldn’t say how much time passed before my brush drops to the ground. I take a deep breath before opening my eyes.

It’s beautiful (if I do say so myself). I do believe that I’ve captured the essence of what makes me, me.

Behind me, gasps echo around the classroom. I turn around to see pale faces and pointed fingers. Someone even screams.

I turn back to my canvas to see what could possibly be the matter. At first, I see nothing wrong. But then, it hits me.

I forgot to paint my human skin. In my ignorant bliss, I painted the true me, the alien who came to Earth to hide.

I guess there’s no hiding anymore.

Final Comments: I didn’t think that I’d be able to write for ten minutes about this, because I had the idea for the end right away. But I managed to lengthen it and I had a lot of fun with it!

Overall Rating: 👽