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The Boy

There once was a boy who had trouble liking himself. He was a nice boy, but when he was young his mother told him he was worthless. When he grew older he left his home and went out into the world. He traveled and saw marvelous things. He lived on a ship and went very far away. Once he went all the way to the North Pole and saw icebergs. It was dark at the North Pole and the stars twinkled constantly. The sky danced with brilliant colors, the Aurora Borealis. Even as far away as the North Pole, sometimes he still felt worthless and sad. 

He went to Japan, and saw women with their faces painted white and chopsticks in their hair, and watched a play that he seemed to understand, even though he didn’t speak a word of Japanese. In the play, one of the characters was the wind. He loved the sea and the wind. They were comforting. The sea was vast and he could lose himself in it, and the wind sent him one direction and then the next, opening up a world of delights. But among all these delights, he sometimes still felt worthless and sad. 

Then one day he met a lovely creature. Her hair was spun gold and she had a twinkle in her eyes and a mischievous grin. “I’m lonely,” she said. “I’m lonely, too,” he said. The two of them would get together and talk and play. She wasn’t always happy, either, and told him she wanted to leave. She wanted to find a place far away and more promising. She, too, had been out in the world and traveled and had seen marvelous things. One day she would leave. The wind would pick up and blow her far away.