Martoons

Cast of characters

Mr Go

Mrs Kim

Mrs Park

Miss No

Donna

*

Beard      

The wives were surprised and disappointed that Fred would be moving away to Ulsan.

This sentiment turned to shock when they suddenly saw Miss No standing at the other side of the bonfire.

She wasn’t looking their way but the flashes of the flames made her face flicker like an evil spirit.

They hadn’t seen her since the pow-wow and were guessing that this might not be the best time to approach her and suggest they sing campfire songs.

* What do you think? *

“My plan,” Go said, nudging the housewives to regain their clearly waning attention, “Top secret, okay?”

But the housewives were mesmerized and looking past Go. He turned, following their line of sight and then he too saw Miss No’s flickering face.

She was still oblivious to them.

Standing beside Donna but in a world of her own, No’s eyes locked on the dance of the bonfire.

She was deep in thought, hypnotized by the licking flames, when she was approached by an aggressive salesman.

“Excuse me Miss, look at this.”

He was selling calendars with a 3-D picture of an airbrushed waterfall, the type of item you’d find in a mall kiosk.

He tilted the graphic slightly from side to side and the turbulent rapids appeared to be splashing down.

No was enraptured by the illusion, with her eyes hypnotically drifting from the flickering waterfall over to the bonfire’s wavy flames.

As the flames licked up, her eyes followed their curves and flagellations.

Now, suddenly, she was flashing back to that wavy white Santa Claus beard again … and the man earlier hobbling out of the men’s; the second one coming back moments later; and the portrait of Mr Kang’s father.

There it was: wispy, scraggly, unmistakable.

She snapped out of her daze and looked away from the fire, but the beard image was seared on her eyeballs and kept flashing all over the night sky wherever she looked.

She laughed out loud. This whole evening had just been too weird.

The calendar guy – a nerdy, insecure type – thought this woman was laughing at him and became unnerved. He instantly packed up his waterfall picture and fled.

No’s bout of hysterics also got a rise out of Donna: “What’s up, boss?”

No waved her off. “Oh nothing – except that I’m hallucinating…” She shuddered and then clutched Donna’s arm.

Her eyes scanned back to the fire. And it was still there. “Donna, look into the bonfire.” She pointed toward the heart of the flames. “Do you see it?”

* See what? *

“What are you talking about boss?”

“That Santa Claus beard shape. Right there – clear as anything.”

“Yeah,” Donna said as if agreeing with a child’s imagined story. “Yeah, I see it right there.”

“All wavy, curly and scraggly. Yes definitely … right … there. That is so-o-o cool!”

“And for some annoying reason – I honestly don’t know why – I keep seeing Mr Kang’s father. I’ve never even met the man; only seen his picture on Mr Kang’s desk months ago.”

“But I can’t get him out of my mind – particularly his Santa Claus beard!”

Her voice drifted off into a trance-like tone and her eyes remained locked on the core of the bonfire. “It’s put me in a bad mood!”

Donna chuckled uncomfortably: “Well, Christmas was only a week ago …” but then suggested “maybe we should leave this area.”

*

Across on the other side of the bonfire and still unseen by Miss No, the housewives looked at Mr Go and then each other with a think-up-something-quick-to-get-us-out-of-here expression.

“Ah, so cold out here,” Mrs Kim said, folding her arms tightly against her chest and rocking her upper body from side to side.

“Let’s go back to the car,” Mrs Park said, clutching her fists down at her side and stomping her feet into the sand.”

“Let’s warm the car up and hang out there for a while.”

Kim concurred and turned to Mr Go. “Goodnight Sir! … Oh! And you too Mr Fred!”

And they fled. The abrupt movements caused Miss No to snap out of her bonfire-staring trance and notice them. She reacted with lightning-quick reflexes.

“Yah, yah!” she called out after the wives and instructed Donna to come with her.

They quickly caught up to Kim and Park. The wives were having trouble traversing the frozen beach, their smallish feet sinking in the sand.

* What is No going to say to them? *

*

Tomorrow: No comes to some false conclusions…