Ted Mahsun's Short Shorts

Here's Ted Mahsun's story bit. I can't believe how many stories have come and are still coming in! Thanks so much guys!

The Painter
By Ted Mahsun

Ash was a painter. He grew up on the outskirts of Ipoh, in a small Malay settlement called Kampung Sungai Rokam. Some might think Ash's real name was Abu. That is untrue. His real name was Ahmad Samad bin Hamidon. He kept his straight hair long, and sometimes if he felt it was becoming a nuisance, he tied it back in a ponytail. His skin was a dark brown, a contrast to his pearly white teeth which shone brightly back at you--a testament to his cheery disposition. He liked to wear a tattered, grey t-shirt, which he always wore together with a pair of jeans, which naturally, were ripped at the knees.I asked him once, why did he never change his shirt, and he replied that he did do so every day. He had seven t-shirts in his wardrobe, all of them equally tattered and grey.

One day a rich man saw Ash paint the roof of his house. The rich man, being a patron of the arts, offered a large sum of money to buy Ash's roof. Ash refused, and told the old man to go away and leave him with his painting. Ash was very stubborn and hated monetary rewards. I suppose one would think he was eccentric because he was a man of the arts. He vehemently denied such an accusation and treated "man of the arts" as an insult. He refused the label "artist", and preferred "painter" because that is what he does: he paints.