It was a Sunday afternoon when Adrian wandered into the city park. He hadn't planned to — in fact, he almost went straight home after groceries. But something pulled him there, the way a child might be drawn to a playground.
The park was alive. Families picnicked on blankets, kids chased bubbles that shimmered in the sunlight, and a group of teens strummed guitars under a tree. Adrian walked slowly, almost cautiously, as if he were trespassing in a world he hadn't belonged to in years.
Then he saw her.
At the edge of the park, near the fountain, a young woman sat with a canvas propped against her knees. A palette of colors rested beside her — crimson, sapphire, emerald, and gold. With each brushstroke, she pulled vibrancy from the world around her and captured it on the canvas.
Curiosity nudged Adrian closer. He watched as she painted not what she saw exactly, but what she felt: the glow of the sun seemed warmer, the fountain's spray brighter, the trees deeper and more alive.
She looked up suddenly, catching his
gaze. Instead of brushing him off, she smiled. "Do you like it?" she asked, tilting her head toward the painting. Adrian hesitated. "It's… different. More alive than the real thing."
"Exactly," she said, her eyes lighting up. "That's the trick.
Life isn't about copying what's in front of us — it's about finding the colors hidden inside it."
Her words struck him like a bell.
They spoke for a while. Her name was Elara, and she painted every weekend, not for money but because, as she put it, "The world feels lighter when you give it color." She asked Adrian what he did, and when he answered, "Finance," she only smiled, but not mockingly.
"Numbers have their rhythm too," she said. "But don't forget — even balance sheets need color, or they're just… empty lines."
For the first time in years, Adrian laughed. A real laugh.
When he left the park, he carried no painting with him, but something had changed. Elara's words echoed in his mind, and her colors clung to his thoughts. It was as if she had handed him a paintbrush, unseen but real, daring him to add color to his own life.