Martoons

Today: Wide Eyes and Fred continue their conversation.

Cast of characters

Fred

Wide Eyes

Scene: At the edge of Cleaning Lady’s village

*

Wide Eyes paused slightly before answering.

“Actually, I came here to see the sights but due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve had to lower myself and do a little work. But only when I need cash.”

“Which is continuously!”

Wide Eyes chuckled. “That’s the Korean in me – I’m a socialite and friends cost money.”

He took a long, drawn-out puff on his cigarette, then exhaled off to the side.

“Don’t intend to stay long, though. I’ll go and see a few more temples, wander through a few more pottery markets, hike a mountain or two more and then it’ll be me go bye-bye.”

He yawned.

He was also lying.

None of that touristy crap interested Wide Eyes.

* Why is Wide Eyes really here? *

He normally rolled out of bed in the late afternoon and spent most of his waking hours at night down near the college.

He flirted with pretty college girls in coffee shops, then played cards and gambled all night with a group of male college seniors he’d met.

Last night had been no exception, and he hadn’t been to bed yet.

“I’ll probably be leaving this God-forsaken peninsula any day now,” he said and took another puff.

Fred nodded, still racking his memory.

* Will Fred remember how he knows Wide Eyes? *

As if to disrupt Fred’s memory search, Wide Eyes started rambling. “I’m also an amateur filmmaker. A friend here bought me a top-of-the-line video camera.”

“I had one back home but it was stolen out of my sister’s car.”

“I’ve put my new one to good use; done a lot of videotaping, especially lately, both for entertainment and … evidence.”

The story was sounding strangely familiar but Fred still couldn’t make any connection and gave up.

Wide Eyes, meanwhile, was himself now getting red lights.

Proceed with caution with this man.

* Why does Wide Eyes need to be cautious? *

At the same time, though, he was never one to throw away an audience.

Fishing through his jacket’s inner pocket, he produced a tattered photo and showed it to Fred.

“My adopted parents gave me this. It’s an old photo of my real father. He was a Canadian believe it or not; a U.N. soldier here in the Korean War.”

He paused while Fred perused the picture.

“But he and whoever my Korean mom was orphaned me off and then I was eventually adopted by my Canadian parents.”

Fred was intrigued by the grainy black and white showing a serious and intelligent-looking 20s-ish soldier with an ill-fitted beret.

The soldier was looking amused as he stood amongst a series of totem-pole-like statues with huge, exaggerated scary faces on them.

“That was taken here in Korea,” Wide Eyes explained. “They used to erect those things at the entrances to towns to scare away evil spirits.”

Fred nodded. “So, did the thought ever cross your mind of trying to relocate your original Canadian father?”

Wide Eyes looked away. “Hell no, I’m not into all that biological crap. My parents are the ones I have now in Canada. I’ve put ‘em through hell but they’re still my parents. My…”

He flicked rabbit ears.

“real… father – that guy’s probably dead.”

He did a shushing gesture. “But I could care less anyhow.”

He gazed into space while absentmindedly extending his arm down and niftily flicking the ash off his cigarette.

Fred felt a tinge of bitterness seeping through Wide Eyes’ words.

“Well,” he consoled, “Guess it doesn’t make all that much difference now, does it?”

“Actually, it does,” Wide Eyes objected. “It makes me a half-breed and I’ve been getting an earful from people here about that.”

“They all know right away that I ain’t pure. It’s a big deal around here. Why do you think they call me Wide-Eyes? But, hey…”

He puffed the cigarette again.

“This conversation is getting way too serious.”

Fred looked at the photo again then handed it back. “So, if you were born here can you still speak any Korean?”

“Forgot it all,” Wide Eyes said. “It’s funny though, I do seem to remember a few swear words.”

He exhaled slowly and off to the side again and slipped the photo back into his pocket, pleased that Fred had taken such an interest in it.

However, his mental warning light was still on.

“Well, I really should get going.”

*

Tomorrow: Wide Eyes scurries off.