Even after a late night waiting for inspiration for a new painting, I woke up bright and early as I always do. I opened the windows to check the weather, and it was surprisingly beautiful, compared to the average British weather. The sun is shining brightly, yet a crisp winter wind blows to keep me cool. It seems a perfect day to search outside for a scene worthy to paint. I closed the window and headed for the door, when I remembered I should check the telly, to see if today’s perfect weather could change. I’ve had the misfortune of finding a brilliant scene when it began to rain, and ruined my canvas. Today, though, had only a 13% chance of rain, which I thought was fair.

Then an emergency news broadcast popped on the screen, “Sorry to interrupt the normal scheduled broadcast, but real life extra-terrestrials have landed on the planet. I repeat, extra-terrestrials have landed on our plan-” I quickly shut the television off. Nothing was going to stop me on this beautiful day. I grabbed my coat and rushed out the door.
After wandering around for a bit, I saw the perfect city location to paint. Everyone was going about their business. Mothers buying groceries, business men walking to work, and a few kids rolling on skateboards drifted through the crowded street. I set up my canvas and put a couple of dyes onto my palette, looked up, and it was gone. Everything was gone. Even the buildings were replaced by a field of dust. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a hovering disk float away, but I didn’t matter to me, my brilliant scenery had disappeared. I packed up and started searching again.
I decided to try my luck another place. Perhaps I was destined to paint the countryside instead. So, I trudged miles out of town where the main population were cows. Simple, I thought, yet still lovely. After spotting an adorable family of bovine, I again set up my things. I started sketching the baby calf, but something strange happened again. A green light appeared, then the calf started floating in the air. I hoped to try my luck with the parents, but luck was not on my side as they owned the same fate as their child. The green light disappeared, as did my happy mood. Yet again, I began searching.

The sun was over halfway to the horizon, yet I haven’t even begun my masterpiece. After wandering for hours, I began searching in the wilderness. I became bitter and angry, and almost ready to give up my dream. “Why has god punished me like this??” I wondered aloud. “All I wish for is the perfect picture!” then the wind blew some vines, and I saw it, as if god had answered me. A flock of birds had all perched in one clearing, and below them there were deer enjoying the peace. The perfect nature scene had appeared before me, like magic. I quietly began, once more, unpacking my things.

A raindrop then fell on my finger, and another on my nose, then all over my body in a downpour. It began raining almost immediately, and ruined my canvas. Depressed and broken, I began trudging home with heavy feet. I stood up to the world and lost, been beaten, and humiliated. When I got home after what felt like forever, I looked out my window to see a barren new landscape in place of the city I had once seen. I got out another canvas and began to paint.