The Portrait

A brief story which won the Daily Flash Fiction hosted by Arakun the twisted racoon.

Tantry, a local artist, lived in the small town of Bantry. Renowned for his realistically styled drawings, he could draw almost anything on request. It was a skill that made him a sought-after interpreter of life, especially portraits.

One day, he proudly presented a portrait drawing to Jane, only to be met with a horrified scream.
“What is that?!” she shrieked, recoiling from the image.

Tantry, bewildered, examined his work. He saw only the beautiful portrait he had painstakingly crafted. “What? What is it?” he retorted, in a voice completely laced with confusion.

“How could you!” Jane cried before turning and storming away, leaving Tantry completely baffled.

Tantry stood frozen, a single question echoing in his mind: What is going on? He needed to understand.

Tantry regrouped, and after a moment, he carefully flipped the drawing over. He gasped. With a thud, the drawing slipped from his trembling fingers and landed on the floor. As it landed on the floor, it once more revealed the beautiful portrait he had created.

He needed an extra pair of eyes and called on his assistants. They, too, flipped over the painting and gasped as it again brought back the grotesque distortion. This was so incredibly odd. They stood perplexed and did not understand what was happening.

“Flip it over again,” Tantry said. And again, the drawing was perfect, but the moment they flipped it over, the grotesque image appeared.

“Well,” Tantry muttered to himself, a nervous edge to his voice, “happy accidents can happen.” He paused. “Though this hardly fits the bill.” He began pacing his studio, flipping over his other drawings, relieved to find them all perfectly normal.
Now, the only question remained: “What on earth is going on with Jane’s drawing?"