One fine, “cold, dark” day
I could see the pain, the brutality, the helplessness. How could I ever forget that sight!
Pain, remorse, helplessness… the harsh brutality of life… as if watching from above with half-closed eyes and giving you that mocking sneer that rips your nerves apart… a void that sucks you into it, destroying whatever is left of you… I could see that in those eyes.
The cobbler continued to work, his tired hands hardly being able to lift a strip of leather. He had painful blisters all over them and the only way to avoid them was well… to forget about them. The moaning winds scathed his unclothed-self as if mocking at his poverty with a sadistic pleasure. The sunlight penetrated his vision and the only protection must have been the thick, long, matted grey hair, probably dirty enough to be confused with a duster. But he kept on working his hands rubbing hard on the brush trying to make the shoe bright! Oh, what a mockery! He seemed be to be looking at the stones all the time – probably comparing it to the stony reactions of all his appeals to God. So much pain, so much brutality! You couldn’t see him work… the way he would cut strips of leather, as if he were cutting his own fingers… the way he would dip his fingers in the gooey gum and spread it all over his newly cut leather, as if he was trying to embalm his own body… but nothing seemed to work. The emptiness, the cruelty of life stared point-blankly on him and seemed to do nothing but laugh…
Another fine, “cold, dark” day
The cobbler continued to work, his hands always on the job regardless of how tired they were. There were blisters all over but that acted more as a fuel re-energizing the confidence in this person… as if giving him proof that he was working hard to survive… a feeling of self sufficiency was inherently possessed by his entire soul. The winds kissed his body and thumped his back as if acknowledging his efforts and driving him to work harder! The sunlight gleamed in his eyes and he would continue to try and give a similar gleam to his shoes so that he could see himself in them! He seemed to be looking at the stones all the time… they seemed to awaken an inner strength in him… power to shun the world! There was so much hope in his eyes! You could see him work… the way he would cut strips of leather, as if he was trying to shape the course of his own life… the way he would dip his fingers in the gum and spread it all over his newly cut leather, as if embalming his body with holy nectar! There was not a sight which could be more beautiful that this… everything seemed just perfect. Life seemed to look at him with care, blessing him…