The Mysterious Smile

Some usual day somewhen in 1503 - 1506. The sun had just come out. The remains of last night's fire-works were there on the streets, gray, ash-looking. The remainders of last nights celebration's were in their memories, and their breath that vaguely smelt of alcohol. The alcoholic reminders were still hanging over their minds.

The not so good looking girl woke up. She had those remainders, reminders too. In spite of all that, she was genuinely thrilled. Thrilled beyond words. The thrill was a small bird, incessantly fluttering its wings inside her mind and was singing inside her, non-stop.

She was to sit for a painter that day. People said the painter was good and had a long beard. She never thought she would be asked to model for a renowned painter, because she knew that she was not the best when it came to her looks.

She was pleased. She re-read the note from the painter, for probably the million-th time, that asked her if she was interested in modeling for his painting. The note from the painter was written in reverse. She had to hold it against a mirror to read it. For a moment she thought it was because of her hang-over from last night that the letter looked as if it was written in reverse, but she remembered seeing it the same way when she didn't have the hang over too. So, the letter was written in authentic reverse.

She looked at her clock. It showed 10:00 A.M. 'Oh! my stupid clock! why wouldn't it always work good...' said she and went near it to have a closer look. She saw the pendulum on its uniform swing, which meant that it was working perfectly fine. Which meant that it indeed WAS 10:00 A.M, which in turn meant that she only had an hour to get ready and make herself present in the painter's studio! She had to rush through things, if she were to make it on time.

So she really hurried her morning acts. Mirror, toothbrush, shower, soap, shampoo, shower, towel, back at the mirror. Soap near ear lobes, mini shower again, rush out of the bathroom - wet slippery floor, s-l-i-p.

The slip was rather a huge one, she skated for four feet and when she tried to catch hold of something to stop her skate, held the towel that loosely hung on the towel holder, and crashed face down on the floor. She sensed something salty in her mouth... Good God! Her upper canine teeth had left a good cut on her lower lip. Her lower lip was bleeding badly. How was she to go sit for the painter in a condition such as this?

She went to her neighbour for some help, who told her about a very good doctor in the next street and assured that he'd be able to fix it in 15 minutes. It was 10:30 A.M already, but luckily enough, the doctor's place was on her way to the painter's studio. So she went to the doctor, who had to give her two stitches on the inner sides of her lower lip to get it right. The bleeding stopped, alright, but when she looked herself in the mirror, to her horror, her lower lip had taken a curve, because of the stitches, that made her look like she was smiling even when she wasn't. Now she was really worried about her almost always-smiling looking face. Knowing not what else to do, she thanked the doctor and went to the painter's studio. She was there at the painter's place at 11:00 A.M.

The painter was a serious looking person, with a long beard, as she was told. The painting was done in two days. She suffered from a sprained back after sitting in the same pose for two days.

However, she was quite pleased with the painting in the end. The painter had done it really well. The smile that she wore as a result of the two stitches on the insides of her lower lip looked almost natural.

The painter put her painting for display in one of his art exhibitions. The art critics were truly amazed at the painting. They saw something mysterious in the smile on the subject's face, but were not able to understand what. They went on to give various meanings for that mysterious smile, and the painting went on to become one of the most popular paintings in the world of art, infact the most popular painting ever made.

After many centuries now, the painting is still hanging in some museum in France, they say. People from all over the world come there to see the painting everyday, trying to understand the mystery behind the smile.

None but the woman and the doctor knew about the true mystery behind the smile.

The doctor, in some other birth of his, happened to remember about the incident, and he wrote about it... Here...