He painted his words with colors of dreams. What his mouth couldn't speak, his paintings screamed, but there was nobody who would listen to his pleas. He found solace in the darkness, withdrawing into the recesses of his mind.
While Derek was night and storms at seas, his twin Jackson was as bright as day and as gentle as ocean breeze. No two brothers could be any more different. A genius in every sense of the word, he painted the canvas of his mind with letters woven into beautiful stories.
In spite of growing up in the same household and attending the same school, their lives were two contrary tracks. Derek hid in the world of his paintings, existing in the minds of a handful. Jackson, on the other hand, was the most popular boy in high school.
Every day, Derek would lock himself up in his room, with the walls as his canvas, painting for hours, forgetting to eat, forgetting to sleep. Lost to the real world, he lost even himself in his art. All this resulted in his grades dropping lower and lower and his parents screaming at him to pay more attention to academics which only caused the painter to retreat further into his shell.
Jackson won the award for outstanding performance in academics and was the valedictorian of his class. the two brothers' lives were like two trains, one destined to crash and the other destined to reach its planned destination. The two tracks of their lives hardly ever met and the twins were strangers living under the same roof. There came a day when the brothers got into a fight, with one another or with someone else, it wasn't clear. The surprising fact was their similar injuries. Jackson came home with a broken nose and a black eye, and his mother tended to his wounds with the utmost care, but she barely even looked, as Derek rushed into his room, blood streaming down his face. Unnoticed, uncared-for, unloved.
Derek's life was his paintings, and his parents had glimpsed merely one chapter of his life, just one painting. They failed to understand how his mind worked, rather they did not care to see the world through his eyes.
Derek's world changed and he started spiralling down in a swirl of colors, drowning with each passing day. Every day, he was sinking deeper and deeper, while Jackson soared higher and higher.
There came a day when the artist could not bear it any longer. He hit rock bottom, embracing the everlasting, all-consuming darkness. His death came as a blow to everybody and the whole school grieved. His parents were distraught as their only son was taken away from this world.
The newspaper bore his obituary the next day. 'High school star, Derek Jackson, left this world yesterday. For reasons unknown, the young boy took his own life. An all-rounder, he had excelled in every field and was an aspiring artist, painting pieces that would take your breath away. It is a true tragedy for one so young to be taken away. Our condolences are with his parents and loved ones.'
Printed next to the article was the picture of a black rose, Derek Jackson's final masterpiece. Exquisitely painted, the intrinsic details of the vivid picture breathed life into the flower. It was found in his room, completed only minutes before he took his life .
What nobody realised was that it was more than just a painting; it was a self portrait.
-----------------------------------------
A/N : I hope I was able to convey the depth and meaning of what I wanted to convey to the readers.
To clarify further, it was one person, suffering from multiple personality disorder.
The black rose portrays both his personalities- the black color reflects Derek's personality, while the beauty of the rose indicates Jackson's nature.
If you liked this short story please comment, vote, etc etc.
~Fox~
