Jesus' cat — Faultline

Grigor Shashikyan, known as “Grig,” was born in Yerevan in 1991. So far he has written three books that became bestsellers in Armenia. For »Jesus' Cat«, which was first published in 2015, he was awarded several prizes, including a Youth Prize from the President of Armenia.

It was the fifth of November when I met the little man for the first time. The day was damp, the leaves fell and mixed with mud, the ground became slippery. I came out of college and decided to go to the Vernissage market to buy a book (I often bought there, it was comparatively cheap). I walked slowly and lost in thought. I had almost reached the opening when I noticed three or four small paintings under the trees not far from the sidewalk. As I got closer, I saw clouds in all the pictures. They were simple, ordinary, perhaps even weak works, but something about these clouds attracted me.

While I was standing there looking, a short, not particularly well-dressed man came up to me, greeted me politely and asked if I wanted to buy a picture. I paused; I thought he was just an ordinary homeless guy asking for money, but it turned out he was the painter himself.

"I don't understand," I said, smiling, "all the paintings show clear, bright clouds, but you give them sad names."

“Yes, mine,” said the little man casually, taking a step towards the paintings and pushing the fallen leaves aside with one foot. I glanced at the man again, looking at him more carefully now, as if I wanted to check what was being said. The man was short, over fifty, and there were traces of paint on his clothes and hands.

"How much are you selling for?" I asked lightly, knowing I wouldn't be able to buy anything anyway since I only had two thousand drams and a few coins. "You can have it for twenty thousand," the little man replied.

“Are you here tomorrow?” I asked, with regret in my voice. "Now I don't have any money with me."

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