Oppressor

 Special side story. Amor Fati (1)

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    ***Read the complete translation here     https://www.patreon.com/collection/188783

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    The clumsy sounds of a piano drifted into the backyard on the spring breeze. Several people were playing different notes, each with a different melody.

    A man in a light shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, was shoveling. Even in the mild weather, his forehead and neck were damp with sweat.

    His strong forearms flexed as he scooped up dirt and tossed it out of the pit. His skin, tanned from work outside, was a handsome coppery color.

    The man stabbed the shovel in the ground, planted it firmly, leaned his elbows on it, and exhaled. His shoulders and back of his sweat-soaked shirt were taut.

    Theo, squatting over the pit, watching the labor, suddenly asked.

    "Why are you doing all this fun stuff by yourself?"

    "Because ......you think it's fun?”

    "That digging game looks fun....... Can I join you?"

    "If you do, you and I will both get in trouble with the teacher."

    "...ha."

    Theo made a rumbling noise. Theo's chubby, childlike face was filled with envy.

    "You got all the tickets, didn't you?"

    "Yeah, but you know what, if I didn't, I could just color and th e teacher wouldn't know."

    The children in the classroom in the free learning center had to color in one fruit on their record sheet for each song they completed. They colored all ten fruits, the teacher would come and check them.

    But most of the time, they would color two or three fruits after one song. The teacher knew this, but turned a blind eye.

    The man smiled.

    "Still, if the teacher hears you play, she'll know. Whether you really practiced or not."

    He pulled the shovel out of the ground and went back to work. Theo didn't answer, just pouted his lips and cupped his chin in both hands.

    In the silence, the sound of digging mingled with the birdsong. As he shoveled, he glanced over at the suddenly quiet child.

    Theo was staring into the pit, his cheeks smushed between his hands. He had been openly depressed earlier, but it wasn't just because he couldn't dig.

    "Ha..."

    Theo sighed in frustration. He was eight years old and seemed to have all the cares in the world. He ignored the boy and concentrated on his work.

    "Ha......."

    "......."

    "Ha......."

    "Uncle."

    "......yes."

    The working man opened his mouth. Theo looked at him with gloomy eyes.

    "Why?”

    "Do you have a girlfriend?"

    "I don't have a girlfriend, but….”

    "Then you don't know anyway."

    Theo sounded strangely dismissive.

    "I don't have a ...... girlfriend, but I have a wife."

    "Girlfriends and wives are different."

    "I know because she was my girlfriend before we got married."

    "Oh, right, you’re the teacher’s husband......."

    Theo mumbled, looking like he'd realized something.

    The man chuckled in disbelief. The kids at the academy sometimes knew him as the head of the house.

    "You know, my girlfriend is the prettiest girl in the class, and she went out with me even though all the other boys, not just me, really liked her, because I'm the fastest runner and the best ball player."

    Theo's troubling words began with a statement that Heiner couldn't tell if he was bragging about his girlfriend or himself.

    "But she's pretty, so she's a little bit proud, and if I say the slightest thing to her, she gets all pouty and stuff, and she's been telling me ......."

    Heiner didn’t know where he learned the word "proud" when he was just starting school. He even has a girlfriend already, are all kids that precocious these days?

    Whether the man was lamenting the state of 'things' or not, Theo was serious.

    "We were dating for a while. ......But then the other day she broke up with me, and I got her back, so we're still together, but then something happened, like I like her more......."

    "Oh that's right, you do too."

    "Uncle likes teacher more too?"

    "Yes because I've been there, but you can't help it if you fall in love first. Just accept it."

    "Well, teacher is the prettiest girl in town......."

    It was unhelpful advice, but Theo seemed to feel a connection.

    "All the other guys really liked teacher, didn't they?"

    "Like crazy, chasing her around."

    "But how did you meet her?"

    "I won because I was the strongest."

    "Don't lie to me, I'm not a kid and I'm not fooled."

    Heiner rummaged through his memory, then muttered in a slightly unsure voice.

    "I think she liked my face......."

    "Hmm, I’m handsome too, but your face looked like a scary black fountain pen."

    "I don't know ......what you're talking about."

    The man was not a very child-friendly face. His imposing size and cold demeanor were enough to intimidate the timid children.

    Of course, the child in front of him was not one of them.

    "Excuse me, uncle."

    "Yes?”

    "Did he have a crush on her first?"

    Theo's question was barely out of his mouth when the back door swung open. Theo looked back first. The man looked back after him.

    A woman in a light dress that fell below her knees, her blonde hair tied back in a low bun, her hands on her hips.

    "Theo, I knew you'd be here."

    "Teacher, I'm more than halfway there."

    "Then you're halfway there, come on in."

    The woman smiled sweetly. Theo scratched the back of his head, stood up, and obediently walked into the house. 

    The woman who let him in closed the door behind her without so much as a glance at Heiner. Heiner, who had been staring at her the whole time, picked up his shovel again, a little disappointed.

    He thought she'd stop and talk to him.

    He saw her every day, but when she walked away, he felt a little sad. It was a moment when he realized that Theo's earlier concern about his girlfriend was realized.

    'I should have been more comforting.’

    Heiner clicked his tongue and began digging like a machine. The dirt he scooped up was piled in a heap outside the pit. All the while, his gaze occasionally rested on the door. After a few minutes, the back door suddenly opened again. Having been peering intently in that direction, Heiner immediately straightened up.

    The woman who opened the door was carrying a tray with a glass of water and a towel on top. When she made eye contact with him, she smiled sweetly. Her blonde hair sparkled in the sunlight.

    "Hey, Uncle."

    For a moment, he thought he smelled a sweet scent on the spring breeze.

    "Did you fall for her first?"

    With the change in the wind, the man suddenly remembered a distant memory. A girl he'd watched wistfully from a distance. But the memory was no longer a living fantasy, but a memory of a time gone by.

    The man didn't think the moment he fell in love was a coincidence; he would have fallen for her any time, any day. Even at this moment.

    So it must have been a fate he had to make inevitable.

    "Heiner."

    Stepping closer, Annette set the tray down on the ground. She wiped his damp forehead with a towel she'd brought with her.

    "Aren't you tired? You’ve been working since morning. Get some rest."

    "......then I’ll have to come back and get dirty again."

    He said, disappointed that she hadn't even stopped by for a moment. Annette tied a towel around the nape of his neck.

    "Just get someone to do it, it's not worth the trouble."

    But Heiner knew she didn't really like strangers in her house. Instead of pointing it out, he changed the subject.

    "You said you wanted a pond."

    "I said I'd like to have one, not that I want one."

    "It's irresponsible of you to say that while looking so pretty."

    She looked up at him with blinking eyes, unable to see how saying "I wish I had it" was any different than telling him to make it happen.

     Annette smiled.

    "I wouldn't say that if I knew my husband was going to have such a hard time."

    Heiner's jaw dropped slightly at that. Even though they'd been married for almost a year, the term was still new to him.

    Suddenly, she heard a call from inside the house, "I'm done, teacher!” It was almost a shout. Annette stood up, dusting off her dress.

    "I have to go."

    Heiner unconsciously reached out to grab her hand, then pulled it back when he realized it was covered in dirt.

    At that moment, Annette leaned down. Her lips brushed against his cheek. The soft touch lingered so briefly that he wondered if it was an illusion, then she pulled away.

    "See you later."

    The face that came into view smiled. Her fresh, sunlit smile spilled into his eyes.

    Heiner stood frozen for a moment, then smiled back at her. And not with his eyes, but with his lips. Gently, like a leaf in the breeze.

    It was a brilliant spring day.

    ****

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