It isn’t every day that you discover a magic paintbrush hidden under the floorboards of an old beach house that belonged to your grandparents, which was completely hidden from you throughout your entire childhood, while your family went there for frequent holidays and left you behind claiming that someone had to look after the pet rock. Yeah, I had a pretty rough childhood, but that’s all been made up for now that I have discovered this magic paintbrush.
It was a strange series of events that led me to this beach house, from where I type this post. I was starting just a regular day, working for the best interior house painters around Melbourne. That was when I heard a strange buzzing noise outside. I followed it, but the sound continued to move. It led me all the way across town, down toward the Bayside area. That was where I found this old, abandoned beach house. The walls were painted a wide variety of vibrant colours, the paint seeming completely fresh, despite the fact that the beach house clearly hadn’t been used in years.
Overcome by curiosity, I went inside the building. As I stepped through the front door, the sound immediately stopped. All I could hear was the thud of my own footsteps and my steady breathing. Although the sound had stopped, there came an oppressive feeling of darkness over the whole house. I may have become the greatest house painter Melbourne has ever seen, but I’m not sure I would go through this again, even for the same reward.
As the darkness closed in around me and my chest tightened, I could only think about how I wanted to be anywhere but there. And that was when I saw it—a photo frame, its picture showing everyone in my family, except for me. Heartbroken at the realisation of where I was, I fell to the floor and wept. When I opened my eyes, I spotted the incredible golden glow beneath the floorboards. Underneath them? There it was: the paintbrush of destiny. Once wielded by my grandfather. Now held within my own hands.
– Daniel the Painter