Tahitian Life

by Rod Drake

Paul Gauguin awoke at dawn and wandered out of his comfortable bamboo shack, greeting the sun over the Pacific. He set up his easel, put a canvas on it, squeezed out some oil paint, chose a soft brush. The young topless Tahitian girls were making baskets and whispering to each other in the shade of the palm trees nearby. He began to paint them; they ignored the funny Frenchman while he worked. Gauguin’s art was inspired by this island paradise, and a triumphant artistic success back in Europe. Just his advancing syphilis flawed the otherwise perfect life.

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Rod Drake has written lots of flash fiction stories; see some short ones here.