The Painter Who Trapped the Moon

An artist named Laurent lived on the cliffs of Normandy, obsessed with capturing the moon’s glow on canvas. One night, after years of failure, he painted until dawn — using silver dust and his own blood for pigment.

When he finished, the moon outside vanished. The sea turned black and still, and the sky stayed dark for three days.

Visitors came from across Europe to see his masterpiece: a portrait of the moon so luminous it seemed alive. Those who stared too long claimed they could feel its pull — the tides in their blood shifting.

On the fourth night, Laurent disappeared. The painting began to dim, and slowly, the moon returned to the sky.

Yet astronomers noticed something odd — a faint scar across its surface, shaped exactly like the brushstroke of a human hand.