Story Submitted by Helen:
Martin and I decided to meet for dinner at a restaurant in the middle of the city. It was a nice day out, so I sat on a nearby bench to wait for him to arrive.
Arrive he did, and we gave each other a big hug. After a few initial pleasantries were exchanged, he snapped his fingers and said, "Shit, I forgot something for you back in my car. Be right back."
"Okay!" was all I could say. I wasn't expecting anything, but I thought it was touching that he'd bring me something in the first place.
He returned a couple of minutes later, walking down the sidewalk with a short stack of blue ceramic plates, about five of them. He wore a big grin as he carried them towards me. All at once, he tripped, fell head over heels, and dropped the plates, shattering them all over the sidewalk.
I reached for his arm and helped him up. Miraculously, he was unhurt. "Are you okay?" I asked him.
He smiled and said, "I broke the plates! I did it! Me!" then turned around and walked away from me.
I took a few steps after him and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah!" he replied loudly, without looking back, "I broke the plates!" He flapped his arms into the air, then dropped them and sped away.
"I see. Are you… are you coming back?"
He hurried away and out of sight. He didn't come back, and I didn't hear from him again after that.
According to some tribal cultures, you're now married. Congratulations!
ReplyDelete^*snerk*
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I could understand being embarrassed about falling on his ass. But why bring PLATES to a first date in the first place? Literally the only thing I can think of is that he was a potter and made them for her. Which is still kind of over the top for a first date.
I think the plates were symbolic of the multiple personalities that had suppressed his natural one. He needed a witness as he shattered the proxies, dispelling his unwanted identities. Unfortunately, the shock of resetting his mind made him forget he was on a date.
ReplyDelete^ This, brilliant:).
ReplyDeleteSee, I thought it was that old trickster-spirit that seems to like going out on dates so much (see other very similar posts for more!). Alas, this mischievous imp, which has been known by many guises in different cultures throughout history, such as leprechauns, the Norse god Loki and Greece's Pan among others, likes initiating things but never knows how to finish... kissing, relationships and sex are not this creature's concerns. It only wants to take you on a data and leave you there as it skips away singing a song!
ReplyDeleteI think he was going to give her a gift of fine china that had been handed down for many generations. He spent the whole day thinking "Her online pictures are so beautiful, she *will* be my wife. She *will*."
ReplyDeleteOn the way to the date, he became so afraid that she would accidentally drop the plates and smash them, his subconscious mind blocked them from his memory completely. That's why he had to go back to his car to get them.
As he walked toward her, he kept thinking "She's going to drop them. She's going to drop them. They represent our love for each other, and she'll drop them and shatter my heart."
When the worst happened, all he could say was "I broke the plates. I did it. Me." And then he knew that every disappointment in his life came from his own inadequacies, not from the actions of others.
This epiphany changed the course of his life. He immediately left and moved to Tibet where he became a monk.