Let us expose a fraud…….

About a boy's dream.

Let us expose a fraud…….

 

Thomas was peering at the two boys outside the window of his office. They were fiddling with their yachts beside the pond into which the sun was shedding its light gently. Thomas wished the sunlight also fell into his office. Yet he could never take a look at its track along his walls and across his floor.

 

Thomas was annoyed throughout the day. His mother forced him to go meet the girl she had introduced to him earlier.  Thomas picked up the pictures of his family affixed to the clock on the wall.  Thomas had three bigger brothers.  His family called them mature and successful persons since they had married before 35 years old and got their degrees before 22.  Although this picture stood on his desk, Thomas had hardly taken a glimpse at it.  He was more interested in the model yacht which he put in the far corner of his office.  Beside the toy yacht, there was a bookshelf.  Among his books, Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was his favourite.

 

The door suddenly opened.  His companion led a person to his office.  This person dressed like a magician.  Thomas almost burst into laughter.

 

“Good guy.  This case is yours.”  His companion said.  “This man. Oh…no, our magician is suspected of defrauding customers of a large sum of money with his ‘magic’ watch.

 

His companion left.  Thomas and the person looked at each other squarely for a moment.  Thomas awakened from the silence and started to read the man’s history.

 

“Oh, funny man.  Your name is Watchman, is it?  Where do you live?  What do you do?”  Thomas asked with his hand covering his mouth in order to disguise his laughing voice.

 

Watchman seriously said, “I am a magician. I can help people acquire their wishes.  My home is every corner of the world.”  Thomas started to be angry with this person.  He raised his head and looked at Watchman.  He discovered that Watchman’s watch was glittering with the number 18 and his eyesight kept straight on him without the slightest fear.

 

“Mr. Watchman.  Listen carefully.  We charged you with the crime of fraud.  Do you announced that your watches make everyone’s wishes come true.?”

 

“Certainly, it’s magic.”

 

“Then why do those watches never show the right time?  The customers found that they all broke down after buying them.”

 

Watchman raised his eyes.  He looked at Thomas keenly.  “Do you have any dream? Good boy.”

 

Thomas looked somewhat amazed.  He did not reply to his question and repeated impatiently, “Do you admit your guilt?  How do you defraud customers?”

 

Watchman’s face was carved with a naughty smile.  He did not pay any attention to Thomas’s question.  He began to repeat his history, “I invented a new watch several years ago.  It’s a great job.  My invention was called ‘realization of our dreams’.”

 

“Dream……”

 

“Yes….dream.  Once you wear the watch, you can forget your own age.  You can choose a favourite age from which you can make a restart.  You can make your dream.”

 

Thomas indulged himself in his words; he took a look at his model yacht.  The sound of the clock struck his ears.

 

Thomas was laughing.  “Please do not amuse me with your attractive story.  Who is supposed to believe it?”  He opened the file and read “Here is one of your customers.  She is a factory worker.”

 

Watchman shouted aloud.  “Yeah…. I remember this lady.  She wanted to be a writer since she was a teenager.  What a sweet apple she is!  She wrote a poem for me.”

 

Thomas also remembered the woman had written a poem to describe Watchman.  He agreed that this woman was gifted.  He read the report aloud.  The fact was that the woman had missed her wedding ceremony since the watch she brought from Watchman broke down.  When the wedding ceremony was supposed to begin, she was still sleeping at home.

 

Watchman had apparently not heard his words.  This provoked Thomas’s anger.  He brought forward his body and shouted at Watchman, “She could not find a husband before 30.  You interrupted her fortunate future.  Do you understand?”

 

Watchman took out a notebook from his bag.  He made a cross on it, talking to himself, “One more failure. Yeah…”

 

“What are you doing now?” Thomas asked in wonder.

 

“Do you know what, my boy?  Watchman seemed to be disappointed.  “People usually destroy their own future.  Why do they succumb to believe the physical world?  They developed their law of life just according to the law of the earth.  Yet they do not discover their own needs in life.  Many were worried they cannot graduate, work, marry at some so-called suitable age.  They lost their confidence and become frustrated once they cannot get those things according to their ages.  Are they ridiculous?”  Watchman took out a watch from his big bag.  “Look at this watch.”  He pushed the button on the margin of the watch.  “It can control our actions with our psychic mechanisms.  We will not lack the will power to accomplish our goal once forgetting those age-limits of our life.”

 

The sunlight outside the window had gradually stepped into Thomas’s office and lighted up the clock on the wall.  Thomas picked up the watch and checked it carefully.  Pressing the button, he found the number quickly jumped to eight.  Watchman smiled cunningly, “Thomas, are you eager to be a eight-year-old boy at that moment?”

 

“Shucks!” Thomas replied.

 

Shortly after the clock on the wall struck heavily, it stopped astonishingly.  The light went out.  Outside the office, Thomas’s companion announced that there was temporarily electrical outage.  The room was buried in the darkness.

 

Watchman spoke in a ghostly voice, “Well, good buddy. Put on the watch.  It’s time to cruise.  You can actualize your dream right now.”

 

Thomas gripped the watch and felt that his heart was beating at full speed.  “It’s high time that you get recognition for what you are eager to be in your life.”  Thomas told to himself appealingly.  Watchman silently stared at him.  His face was loaded with a victorious expression.  Thomas had already disappeared against him.  The clock on the wall stopped at eight.  His family picture had fallen down from the clock.

 

Outside Thomas’s office, his companion repeatedly shouted, “Thomas, where are you?  Does the suspect admit his guilt?”  Shortly afterwards, more and more peoples shouted for him.  “Hey, Thomas.”

 

Thomas stood beside the pond on the park.  Taking out his model yacht, he put it onto the surface of the water.  He never felt so happy and comfortable before.  Watching the yacht advancing slowly, he felt that his body become lighter and lighter. He remembered that his father gave me a blow when he had failed in his examination. He could not but remember that his grandmother kissed him in his birthday party. She had brought him this yacht in his birthday. His grandmother reminded him that he should pay his effort to the examination. When he was a child of eight, he finally got a distinction in the class. His classmates had clapped their hands for his success. They have given me Mark Twain’s book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.

 

Starting from that day, he determined to be an adventurer. In order to make his wish come true, he had brought various equipments and had saved a large sum of money. He swore that he should discover some unknown place.  Unfortunately, He seemed to forget his determination day by day.  He just remembered that he got a pass for every examination.  He just remembered that he was busy with his job and life plan.  He spent all his money to buy a house and a car.

 

“I have forgotten it.” He shouted loudly.

 

Raising his hand that wore the watch, he pronounced “Tom Sawyer, wait for me.” He pretended to sheer the yacht. “I have my adventures soon.”

 

His companion ran towards Thomas. “Thomas, what’s going on? The suspect has run away.  Why have you come out of the office?”

 

Thomas made no reply.  He stood on the playground.  His model yacht sunk into the bottom of the pond.

 

 

Thomas’s office lighted up.  His clock was running again.  Passing the corridor to go back to his office, he was absorbed by a notice.  The notice said,

 

“Every colleague:  Please take care of a suspect whose name is Watchman.  He has already escaped several times.  He defrauded those in charge of him every time.  If he still told you about dream, you should not listen to him.  Thank you for your co-operation!”

 

(1,435 words)