Hella walked with the painter through the forest. It was summer. The hot afternoon sun could not directly blaze through. The leaves of the trees were glowing brighter, more golden, or in a deeper green, depending on whether they were thicker or sparser. The light beamed through the forest like a sun-smile.

Hella and the painter chatted with each other.

Hella spoke with the self-righteous certainty of a young woman: “The portrait is very beautiful, but too austere. You know, it is like the forest here, but the smile from the sun above is missing. And yet, that is the most beautiful part of it.”

The painter answered: “Yes, if only I could always do as I pleased. But I have to appease the people. I have to do it the way they want it, otherwise I do not receive any commissions.”

The girl felt disgusted by this response. She thought one should rather suffer than betray one’s beliefs. Later she was ashamed of her dismissive arrogance—thought about just how hard life can be, and how terrible is the struggle for the basic necessities of life. And then she realized: a few are strong enough to resist and finally assert themselves; others, however, have to give in so that they are able to live. And the ability to live is indeed the purpose of existence.

She then looked at the painter. She had dark green eyes. Almost like the dark parts of a Reseda blossom or a deep green chrysoberyl. But she herself had a cornflower blue linen blouse. Something very ordinary. But this blue, which appeared blunt on the garment because of the type of fabric, was reflected in the painter’s lustrous eyes with tremendous intensity. The black interior of the pupil disappeared. In its place glowed a blue sphere as if from a brightly polished Lapis lazuli. And around it the green-rimmed star of her eye. The white of her eye radiated like a glacier in the sun. It was gorgeous. The sight of this resembled something mystic, demonic. And yet it was only the reflection of the ordinary linen blouse in the painter’s kind eyes. But it is the enigmatic miracle of life that out of nowhere, without our knowledge and participation, meaning arises.