Steemit Challenge S26-w2| Mysterious Roommate

When Ronnie first came to stay with me, he told me that he was new in this city and wanted to start his own import/export business here. He also said he didn’t have enough money at the moment, so to save some expenses, he wanted to share a room with me.

From his style, his way of talking, his personality, and even his dressing, he looked like someone from a corporate office. I thought he was fine, not a bad person at all. Since he didn’t know much about this city, I told him little things like where the shops are, where to get cheaper stuff, what kind of people live here, who’s good, who’s not, and who to avoid. I told him everything a friend should.

Ronnie was also an artist. He used to paint. Looking at his work, it felt like his art had a strange kind of depth. Some of his paintings were so intense that they almost screamed in front of your eyes—like one painting of a red, shadowed face surrounded by colors, it felt like someone’s final scream frozen on canvas.

I thought maybe that was just the artist inside him. Every artist is a little weird, right? Everyone knows that.

Everything was going normal. But then… one evening, everything changed.

That evening it was raining. I came home early from work. Ronnie was in his room. The door was slightly open, and I could hear faint music playing inside—probably Billie Eilish. Along with it, there was a strange metallic sound.

When I went in, I saw Ronnie pulling out a big black box from under his bed. Inside were tools—cutters, saws, drills, keys—and the most shocking thing, a small pistol.

Ronnie was startled for a moment when he saw me, but then he smiled and said:
“Oh hey, when did you come? These tools? They’re antiques. I restore them—it’s just a side hobby.” He said it so casually.

But inside me… something shook. Why would an artist and businessman have all this? A gun? Keys? Drills?

That night I couldn’t sleep. There was a strange metallic smell coming from Ronnie’s side. His paintings, his attitude—suddenly, everything started to disturb me.

The next day, when Ronnie went out to meet a “client,” I secretly opened that box again.

This time I found some canvases wrapped in plastic. When I opened them, my breath froze.

The first painting was of a woman—naked, lifeless, lying among red flowers. It looked so real, almost like a photograph of someone. The blood—the red paint—looked way too real.

The other paintings were even scarier. Each one showed the moment of someone’s death. Faces of people, eyes wide open, screaming—as if their death had been captured alive on canvas.

And then I found an envelope—inside were old newspaper clippings:

“Young Missing After Art Gallery Event”
“Unsolved Midtown Murder”
“Local Artist Last Seen With Victim”

Every headline somehow connected to Ronnie’s paintings.

Ronnie wasn’t just an artist… he was a killer. A psychopathic artist. He killed people, mixed their blood into his paints, and captured their final moments on canvas.

That night, I was terrified. I wanted to run away… but Ronnie came back too soon.

“Looking for something?” His voice came from the doorway.

I turned around. He had the pistol in his hand. Calm. Relaxed. Like nothing was wrong.

“You opened the box, didn’t you?” he asked with a smile.

I stayed silent.

“No worries,” he said. “Now you know the truth. And this truth… is only between you and me.”

“You’re insane!” I shouted.

“I’m free,” Ronnie replied, and then went quiet.

Three weeks later, neighbors reported a strange smell coming from the apartment. When the police came, Ronnie was gone. But on the easel stood a new painting—two figures: one screaming, the other smiling.

At the bottom was a single sign: R

And carved into the frame of the canvas:
“Art is pain. And fear is eternal.”

Well, Ronnie is a psychopath who kills people and paints the scene of their death with their blood. He thinks it brings him peace... but no, that’s not true. The more he does it, the more insane he becomes — not calmer.

You know what they say — some habits can end up being deadly. That’s why it’s better to let go of certain habits before they destroy you.

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In the end , I would like to invite my Steemit fellows @jonspha @drhira and @artist1111 for for the Participation and valuable feedback. Thank you.

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Author

@uzma4882