Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

*

As the car gently pulled away, Fred stood at the edge of the Chinju traffic rotary waiting for the light to change.

Korean traffic light cycles are painfully long – one or two minutes, and it’s unheard of to cut across the street against the light.

Even if there are no cars, one or more can easily appear out of nowhere.

So, Fred waited like any other normal Korean and over the next minute or so several dozen pedestrians accumulated there, most looking down at the street or staring catatonically straight ahead.

At this particular standing spot the wind was swirling around the rotary and nipped at Fred from all directions.

Yet, despite the external chill, inside he felt like a pot of porridge coming to a slow boil.

The internal, emotional turmoil was trying to tell him something.

He’d developed a mantra, which he repeated in situations like this: “I will not generate negativity.”

“I will not generate negativity. I will not generate negativity…”

Standing fast (how much longer would this frickin’ light be?), he found himself looking up to the sky for relief, yearning for the sun – but clouds had rolled in.

His eyes panned to an office tower’s roofline where a giant billboard was mounted.

Its dominant colour was pre-harvest rice plant green (which is almost bluish), and it advertised soju.

A pretty woman’s beaming, happy face with huge, sparkling white teeth filled about half the board; beside, her delicate fingers caringly holding a full soju shot glass.

In the background was a misty airbrushed waterfall. This fantasy message of refreshment was a split second escape for Fred.

He cracked a twisted smile as he affectionately flashbacked to the good times he’d had with cohorts, drinking in the vicinity of this very same Rotary.

Strangely, that all seemed like ages ago. It was as if he’d come to Korea years before, and those memories were from that time.

The traffic light finally changed and he crossed quickly, wanting to avoid getting swallowed in the small mass of Koreans also crossing.

Koreans are generally slower walkers than Canadians; if you get caught in the middle of a mini mob, you’re stuck.

Reaching the other side and well free of the pack, he took his usual short cut down a back street and trudged toward Central. About eight blocks to go.

He dragged his weak, limp legs along against the stiff breeze, which was throwing darts at his cheek bones and knee caps.

More flashbacks – this time to the Edmonton winter back home.

But whereas that prairie wind was nagging and scolded you like a nit-picky mother, Chinju’s was damp, dense, and bitchy like a cranky big sister.

Sometimes when we’re exhausted the time races ahead of us out of control. Right now for Fred, every step required effort; almost struggle.

It was like walking through knee-deep snow. Passing a small storefront, he noticed its clock inside. He was going to be late.

If only I could stop time – for ten or fifteen minutes! – simply to catch up!

* Will Fred make it to work on time? *

*

Tomorrow: Fred manages to scrounge up enough energy to get himself to work.