empty...
his bowl had sat on the table for three days now, empty, unused. he felt that way too...
for three days, mr miyuki had sat silently at the table in front of his window, not really thinking about anything in particular, not even sure if what he was experiencing was real. it seemed to be quite surreal. every day for the past 48 years, he had risen at 5.45am, washed, slipped on his gown, eaten a light breakfast [most often it would be hot steamed rice, or more occsionally, for a real treat, he would add a little miso, tofu, or an egg], before dressing in his work suit, and heading out of the door to work. he had a routine.
now, nothing. now idle, his hands stroked the rim of the bowl, tracing it's shape, over and over, as his brush had traced the shape of characters so many times.
he enjoyed his routine. not now. he was lost now. nothing was familiar any more. his hands barely knew what to do with themselves, restless, and the rest of him, in the frozen state that he had taken on since his last day at work. his retirement had come as a shock. he had quietly hoped that no one would notice, if he carried on, doing his work in the same deft and beautiful manner. they didn't for many years, he had past the official retirement age of 60 unnoticed, but in the year of his 68th birthday, he received a formal visit from a town hall official, who brought with him the papers for mr miyuki's retirement, and insisted he sign them. a young man, he had pressed home the point that mr miyuki stood in the way of progress. the cheek of it! 48 years, and he was standing in the way of progress! he had not been pleased, but as the official retirement age had passed at 60, he was not in a strong position, and bowed out gracefully. but he couldn't take it in, not then, not now.
there had been a delay in the delivery of his table from work. miss arakino had refused to work in the inky space he left behind, and all efforts had been pointed at resolving the matter, as the operation of the register was so critical to the town's everyday life. you can't stop births, deaths and marriages. not for anything.
so, for now, the desk, and the tools of his trade, the table, brushes, inkstone, inksticks, were all neatly stored away in a side room, awaiting dispatch to the still unsuspecting mr miyuki...
[installment #3 from 'beautiful old ink life' by Blue]
>> installment #4 : coming soon... [to be continued...]
<< installment #2 : 'the book'
<< installment #1 : 'beautiful old ink life'
© Blue 2008 all rights reserved.
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Comments and faves
Maureen F., mubeen491, victorgil84 © Madrid, joshua l, and 35 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Maureen F. (54 months ago | reply)
very well done !!
--
Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
David/. (54 months ago | reply)
intriguing, both the words and the illustration....
kevsyd (54 months ago | reply)
Thank you, such a deft balance.
missamaretta (54 months ago | reply)
i really like it!
Paul Grand (54 months ago | reply)
Lovely and soft processing, divine imagery!
Incognita Nom de Plume (53 months ago | reply)
Lovely marriage of visual and literary style -- each close-textured, quiet -- almost reticent yet elegant. I'm off to see the website now! Thanks
Ando : @ando_perez (53 months ago | reply)
Apologies to all those who are waiting for the next installment...I've been very busy for the last 10 days, building this website for a painter client. Back on my own projects this week now...
Berta... (53 months ago | reply)
Love your work ...
It's beautiful !
offzen (47 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called ***NU ZEN***, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Gustavo Sehmsdorf (42 months ago | reply)
Well done!! I like it.
carson.a (40 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called vessel wednesday, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
carson.a (39 months ago | reply)
thank you for adding this to vessel wednesday ; such a beautiful image and story attached to it
jamie heiden (32 months ago | reply)
love the words too.
fizzix (30 months ago | reply)
I am already addicted to the story... beautiful work in print and words.