By: Stephen Chen

I become a magic brush in my second life. After 500 years, I find myself in a room with darkness. Actually, this is a space without any doors and windows. “Maybe this is my home,” I think. I’m trying to move into this mysterious area. In fact, with a kind of sadness, I discovered I couldn’t control my body.

A tremor interrupts my attempt of moving. I hear the talking between a boy and a man who sounded older.

“What’s inside this box?” the boy asks the man. My mind starts clear. I realize I must be the thing in the box.

“A brush with magic.” The man answers.

“Oh,” the boy says. The box moves again. “What does that mean? How does it work?”

“Here, look for yourself.” The top of my room creaks open. The sunlight is so shiny that I cannot open my eyes.

A voice comes into my mind. I’m not hearing it exactly, but suddenly the words “what a beautiful brush” appeared over the surface of my thoughts. I don’t really know why, but somehow, I can sense the boy’s thoughts.

Unsurprisingly, this boy, Peter, pays 10 dollars and starts his path of painting. He is an enthusiastic boy who always wants to draw something wonderful down. I learn to think back to him, and we talk for long hours, mind to mind. I become something like a friend or even a teacher. In fact, Peter has the artistic talent to either stretch or create a painting.

Time flies. Peter grows up quickly. I remain as pristine as the day he bought me, but Peter’s hands become wrinkled and too shaky to hold me. Now, when people talk about my old friend, they see him as one of the greatest artists in the world. Along the way, joy and tears have taken place. If you ask where am I now, I can’t tell, because I don’t even know the answer. Maybe in a glass cabinet? That’s all that I know, but I would never mind.

A new trip is waiting for me now.