Read Online Radiance of Tomorrow by Ishmael Beah - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ishmael Beah
Ads: Link
though he had on checkered pants. When he got closer, you could not help but laugh at the natural beautification of his trousers. Soon all the young people whose pants had holes in them were referring to it as a new style, ‘skin to cloth.’
“The tailor in town was of course unhappy about this and blamed the man with the holes in his trousers for ruining his business. No one came to get things mended anymore; natural beautification had taken over. The tailor followed the man everywhere, waiting for the perfect time to steal and destroy his trousers. Late one afternoon, after the man had returned from his farm, he decided to bathe in the river. He took off his trousers and carefully washed them. Then he laid them on the grasses to dry and went into the river. He submerged himself in the water to get a nice soak. The tailor, who had been hiding in the bushes, decided this was his chance, but as he was preparing to move toward the trousers, another man came out of the bushes, took the trousers, and disappeared. When the man came out of the river, he couldn’t believe his pants were missing. He called out, ‘If this is some kind of a joke from gods or any human, I am not laughing.’ He waited awhile, but no response. Then he saw the footprints of the thief and began laughing so hard he fell into the water and struggled to pull himself out, still laughing. He said, ‘There must be somebody worse off than I am, and if so, please enjoy whatever is left of my trousers. Thank you God and gods for not making me the poorest of men.’ He danced in the grasses while the tailor watched, still not happy because he knew the thief would use the trousers. He wanted them destroyed.
“When the man walked down the path toward town, the tailor rose from hiding. He thought he should clean and cool himself off. He took off his clothes and dove into the river. The naked man heard the sound of the water and ran back, thinking he could see who had stolen from him. He saw no one, only some fresh new clothes: long pants and a shirt. He looked around, but the tailor was deep under the water, enjoying its coolness—even the top of the river had calmed. The man danced as he wore the new clothes, thinking that this was a wonderful day.
“When the tailor came up for air, he noticed that he had nothing to wear. It was a strange thing to see a naked tailor running through town.”
The gathering was in a fit of laughter. Colonel, Ernest, and Miller were the only ones to whom laughter didn’t succeed in introducing herself. Ernest’s eyes searched for Sila and his children. Watching their happy mood brought a stroke of peace in his heart. Colonel looked around to see whether he could determine who the thief had been. Miller had witnessed too many hardships to think about stories, to feel the functions of them. He got up and walked away, as though the laughter was tormenting him.
The children of Oumu’s generation laughed purely and repeated the funniest lines to one another. The adults laughed even more because they knew the story was true. The tailor was among them and the checkered-trousers man was there, too. But who was the trouser thief? No one admitted it, as usually things are mended at such gatherings.
After the laughter died down, the adults and elders formed their own circle, leaving the children to themselves to talk about the stories. The adults and elders started a serious conversation about godliness. The imam and the pastor agreed that all human beings embody God within them.
“Then how do you explain what happened during the war?” someone asked. There was no answer for a while, and then Pa Moiwa spoke. “When we are suffering so much, I believe whatever godliness that is within us departs temporarily. During the war and all that it brought about, we as a people of this land chipped away at the embodiment of God within us and all the traces of goodness that were left after God departed. And now there are many who are empty
“The tailor in town was of course unhappy about this and blamed the man with the holes in his trousers for ruining his business. No one came to get things mended anymore; natural beautification had taken over. The tailor followed the man everywhere, waiting for the perfect time to steal and destroy his trousers. Late one afternoon, after the man had returned from his farm, he decided to bathe in the river. He took off his trousers and carefully washed them. Then he laid them on the grasses to dry and went into the river. He submerged himself in the water to get a nice soak. The tailor, who had been hiding in the bushes, decided this was his chance, but as he was preparing to move toward the trousers, another man came out of the bushes, took the trousers, and disappeared. When the man came out of the river, he couldn’t believe his pants were missing. He called out, ‘If this is some kind of a joke from gods or any human, I am not laughing.’ He waited awhile, but no response. Then he saw the footprints of the thief and began laughing so hard he fell into the water and struggled to pull himself out, still laughing. He said, ‘There must be somebody worse off than I am, and if so, please enjoy whatever is left of my trousers. Thank you God and gods for not making me the poorest of men.’ He danced in the grasses while the tailor watched, still not happy because he knew the thief would use the trousers. He wanted them destroyed.
“When the man walked down the path toward town, the tailor rose from hiding. He thought he should clean and cool himself off. He took off his clothes and dove into the river. The naked man heard the sound of the water and ran back, thinking he could see who had stolen from him. He saw no one, only some fresh new clothes: long pants and a shirt. He looked around, but the tailor was deep under the water, enjoying its coolness—even the top of the river had calmed. The man danced as he wore the new clothes, thinking that this was a wonderful day.
“When the tailor came up for air, he noticed that he had nothing to wear. It was a strange thing to see a naked tailor running through town.”
The gathering was in a fit of laughter. Colonel, Ernest, and Miller were the only ones to whom laughter didn’t succeed in introducing herself. Ernest’s eyes searched for Sila and his children. Watching their happy mood brought a stroke of peace in his heart. Colonel looked around to see whether he could determine who the thief had been. Miller had witnessed too many hardships to think about stories, to feel the functions of them. He got up and walked away, as though the laughter was tormenting him.
The children of Oumu’s generation laughed purely and repeated the funniest lines to one another. The adults laughed even more because they knew the story was true. The tailor was among them and the checkered-trousers man was there, too. But who was the trouser thief? No one admitted it, as usually things are mended at such gatherings.
After the laughter died down, the adults and elders formed their own circle, leaving the children to themselves to talk about the stories. The adults and elders started a serious conversation about godliness. The imam and the pastor agreed that all human beings embody God within them.
“Then how do you explain what happened during the war?” someone asked. There was no answer for a while, and then Pa Moiwa spoke. “When we are suffering so much, I believe whatever godliness that is within us departs temporarily. During the war and all that it brought about, we as a people of this land chipped away at the embodiment of God within us and all the traces of goodness that were left after God departed. And now there are many who are empty
Similar Books
