Heavy rain never made the man lost his spirit. He liked the sound of
drizzle which fell to the roof. He could hardly wait for the smell of ground after raining. He even loved
the way wind blew his hat.
The man, however, took shelter from heavy rain as he wanted to enjoy
rain from his place. He sat down in front of a closed cafe. His shoes were
splashed by puddle, and it looked so dirty. After thirty minutes, the rain went away. The sun appeared and shined the
world. The wind revealed the coldness and took the warmth. People went out from
their houses and continued their activity.
The man
walked to the street and looked for his usual place for working. He sat in
the corner of
street, and then started to paint. He waited for people to come and order his
painting.
Most people in the city knew him as a talented artist. All people
liked him. They respected him and often bought his painting. His most famous
painting was
called The Mask. It was a painting
showing the face of a man. A part of his face was covered by a half mask. The
mask was full of color
and picture of things and people, yet the half face has no eyeballs.
There were only eye sockets without anything. It was very dark and
gloomy, and it had no
color except grey and black.
He was a happy-looking
person. However, it was not true. To a boy polishing his shoes which he met
after painting, the man said the
truth.
“You know, I’m
not a
happy man. I like
to be called as that, but I think it
is wrong.”
The boy continued his activity. “I didn’t understand,”
he said.
“How old are you?” The man asked unrelated thing.
“Twelve.”
The man nodded. He observed the boy. The boy seemed to be a hard worker, and he had a lot
of enthusiasm. “I am always able to see a mask on one’s face. But, I don’t see
anything on your face. Before
you walked here, I could see that you helped an old woman to search something.
You are also friendly with people whom you met How can you do that?” he asked.
“I did
not do anything special.” The boy stopped his activity and looked at the man. “What do you mean about mask?”
“Yeah, the dark one which people wear on his face.”
The boy frowned. “I never see that kind of things.”
“You know, I can see it because I really know what things inside a
person are. A
man may be a good person to a woman, but when facing a dirty homeless kid, he
changes into a horrible man.
But you are different..”
The boy smiled. “Not all people like that.”
“Really? Let me show you my life. I thought I was a happy man, until I
was ill. My money ran out
for treatment. The maid who worked to me took my daughter away from
me. I didn’t know what happened to her until now. People said she was dead. I
had asked police to look for my daughter. The police said yes, but I know that
the police didn’t do anything for me as I had no money. I went to my friend,
but I didn’t get anything.”
The boy felt sorry for him. His eyes gazed on the
puddle. For a while, he is just quiet...
“I hate
my life,” the man murmured. “All people were full of fake.”
For some
minutes there was only the rustling sound of leaves. The dark cloud hang on the
sky again. There were only few people walking through the street.
“I’ve been thinking, but I think that there are more
people who look like they are. Perhaps you don’t lucky enough to meet them...
But, I believe that you will.
You have to wait,”
the boy said.
The man
did not say anything for a while. Then, he said, “Waiting is painful.”
Slowly,
silence encircled them. Both are too busy with their own thought.
The man
stood. “I don’t know if you’re right or not. However, I am
happy for meeting you. I
am free of worry to know that there is person like you.”
The man paid for the boy. They separated each other.
The boy sat down on the stool, and kept wondering.
***
The next day, the boy came to the place where he met
the man. At the corner of the street is the place where the man usually sat. The
boy waited for him. Nevertheless, he did not meet the man.
The boy came near to a woman selling fish chips. “Do
you know where the man who usually paints there?” he asked.
“Oh! That poor man was stabbed by robbers. He is a
good man. I don’t believe it happened to him.”
“Where is he?”
“He was dead.”
The boy could
not utter a single word. He murmured thanks
to the woman and staggered when walking to the stool. Beside him, a
girl bringing a photo turned her head to him.
“I can’t meet him,”
the girl said.
“Their appearances are very similar,” the boy whispered.
The boy took
the photo. He looked at it. In
the photo were the girl and a man who looked like the man who drew the face. []
(photo: tumblr.com)
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