a series of short stories
THE SUFFERER
 |
| the sufferer / individual print edition of 6 / etching on gold-leafed paper |
In a house of nothing lived a sufferer. He suffered greatly because he had nothing and could make nothing. He had half the teeth any man should, and little to chew with them. His knees were scraped red from kneeling and his eyebrows tilted up towards the sky.
Rarely did the Gods pass
by this house of nothing, most of them simply did not see it, and the
others found it unpleasant to see. The sufferer would make fire,
shout, and jump, but the Gods kept their course since nothing was
happening.
Once, a God’s little
daughter fell out of her crib in the sky and onto the house of
nothing. It was a long fall and she did not live. It was not long
before the angered father found his child in the arms of the sufferer
and condemned him and his house of nothing for eternity. Then he flew
off, and his sorrow came down in wind and water.
Time passed, and the God
whose mortal enemy was the God who lost his little daughter paid the
sufferer a visit. He was dressed extremely well and looked and
smelled like a fine garden. Beautiful creatures surrounded him,
carrying with them the world’s delicacies and eating them.
“Get off your knees,
sufferer, I want to say something to you”, the God said. “The
little girl that met her death in your house of nothing was said to
bring me my demise. I am aware that there is nothing I owe you, but
my joy commands me to reward you.” And with one wave of his scented
hand, the house of nothing became the house of solid gold. Then the
God left, and with him his fantastic creatures, only his fine
fragrance stayed, but also not for long.
News of a solid gold house
traveled fast and wide. The sufferer no longer suffered and gave
jolly tours of his golden home to visitors from far and further,
sometimes even a curious God or two. The rest of the time, he did
nothing, and when he was in want of something or other, he would chop
a tiny bit of his house and send someone to purchase it. His mouth
was filled with golden teeth and they revealed themselves in
courteous smiles to the curious faces around him. As he perched on
cushions, the sufferer’s knees grew soft and his eyebrows
straightened and no longer tilted to the sky.
This went on for some
time, until the God who was betrothed to the little Goddess who met
her death in the sufferer’s house grew old enough to avenge his
loss. He arrived on a monstrous bird and his fury was plain to see by
his clenched teeth and fists, and he summoned the sufferer.
“What have you to say
for yourself?” he demanded. The sufferer went to his knees but
could think of nothing to say. “Very well,” the God said, “I
shall commend my bird to peck this house of gold away to nothing, for
it deserves to be nothing more!” And so the monstrous bird did,
rather quickly. When the bird finished, the God stroked it on the
neck, saddled it, and flew away. The sufferer stayed on his knees,
first out of reverence and then to see if there were any golden
crumbs left. But the bird was very thorough and even his golden teeth
were gone. So he raised his fist to the sky and screamed in anger.
The God heard him and turned his bird around.
“What do you say,
sufferer?!”, he demanded.
The sufferer stood up and
said “God, I beg you to take me to the skies with you!”
The God was outraged and
said “If I do, it will only be to drop you from there!”
“Then so it be”, said
the sufferer, and so it was. And where he fell, a golden lake formed
with golden creatures in it, and one could have a swim there if only
one could find it.
THE SAD MAN
 |
| the sad man / individual print edition of 6 / etching, drypoint and aquatint |
Once, there was a man who decided to go
for a swim in a lake. After a few strokes, the man felt very thirsty
and so he drank the lake in a few vigorous gulps. Among the dying
creatures of the lake, the man spotted a fish for which he suddenly
felt great affection. The man felt that if the fish were a man, it
would somehow do the same things he did, and they would be of the
same opinion about many things in life. Urgently, the man grabbed a
cloud and squeezed it until rain poured out onto his fish. The fish
swam happily in his new puddle.
Barely did the man have time to enjoy
his new friend when he spotted a desperate bird at his feet.
Apparently, it had fallen out of the cloud. It was a good kind of
bird, no doubt, and the man felt that if it were only a little bit
cheerier, it would be great company. So he broke a nearby tree into
many branches and built the bird a beautiful nest. The bird smiled
and plopped right inside.
Hardly did the man get a good look at
his new friend when he heard cries. He looked around and saw a family
of squirrels scattered about on the ground. Apparently, they had
fallen out of the tree. The little one was so sweet that the man’s
heart nearly broke. He looked around but there were no more trees
around. Just a puddle with the fish, and a nest with the bird. And so
the man sat down among the squirrels and wept with them, cursing his
helplessness between roaring sobs.
