The Curious Case of David When you wake up one day, and you find that your appearance has changed.
By Albert Lee Mp3 audio link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieYNhLk4sfU&f eature=youtu.be
Prologue Have you ever imagined like this? One day when you wake up and look into your reflection from a mirror, your face changes every morning, and every day your mission is to pass your new day or meet some new people by having a new face. You may become a five-year-old child or an old man approaching his end. Every day when you open your eyes, you are given a new identity and a new body to face new challenges. You change and become another man every day but you are not what you were yesterday.
The Curious Case of David Written by Albert Lee of XE45A Instructor: Kenneth M. Smith Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages Kaohsiung, Taiwan R.O.C, 2014
Words Checked: 4779 Words in Oxford 3000: 92%
About the Author
My name is Albert. I am nineteen years old and I am studying in Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages. When I have some, I like singing, watching movies, and meeting new friends. Also, I like travelling to different places to experience new cultures.
Table of Contents
Chapter One- A normal boy .......................................................................... 9
Chapter Two- Child .................................................................................... 16
Chapter Three- Old man ............................................................................. 25
Chapter four- David ..................................................................................... 25
Chapter 1: A Normal boy This is a true story happening to David, a short and humpbacked person. A boy who is sixteen years old chose to abandon his family due to his family’s disruption. David’s mother died in cancer when he was five. After his mother’s death, David’s father became a heavy drinker. David greatly suffered from father’s violence from his childhood. He gradually loses hope about life. David does not know who he is, and what he fights for life. He is more close-minded and more self-abased than any other child with the same age owing to hungry for love. One day, he decided to leave his home. “Maybe in this world, there is no one understands me.
Father is my only family member; however, he does not like me at all. In this world, there is no one trustworthy.” David grumbled with sorrow. With determination to walk away from his family, he did not leave any message for his father. He escapes from the place where many traumas have scarred him. David left his home with enough money that affords him to stay in a hotel for a couple of days. Due to parents’ separation and father’s violence to him since he was a child, wandering alone is not a big deal for David. It is nothing more than being lonely. David walked into a simple and ordinary hotel in heavy steps. “Good day, sir. I want to live here for a whole week.” The hotel owner stares at him. “Are you alone, kid?
Where is your family?” “I like being alone, and I do not have a family.” David lowers his head and says without emotion. “Kid, here is the key of your room. Coke, Sprite, and water are in the fridge. If you have it, please make sure to pay the money in here. By the way, please pay the fee right now. It is our rule.” Thomas, he is a hotel keeper who is famous for his stinginess in the town. His daughter died from a car accident five years ago. From then on, he closes himself and never contacts with his friends. Thomas runs a plain hotel with his wife. They never actively concern about their guests. They even don’t remember any passenger’s face, not to mention
making their guests outstand the bills. Nevertheless, compared to other hostels, the accommodation fee of his hotel is quite cheaper. Entering his suite, David puts his luggage beside the windowsill, and then he lies on the bed thinking about who he really is, and what the meaning of life is. “Why don’t I have a happy family? I am edged out in school, and even my parents do not like me. Maybe I should not live in the world.� David murmured. That is a freezing night in winter. David thinks about what he encountered in his life and he cries. Too much tear, he falls asleep.
Chapter 2: Child Next morning, a cool Tuesday morning, David should go to school, but that is all right. His classmates will not discover his absence, or maybe they won’t care about his absence. Anyway, David has left his home. “What an annoying day again! Where should I go?” he thinks about the question in between reality and dream. David opens his eyes and touched his face. He feels something wrong. Something unexpected happens! His body has turned into a six-year-old boy’s body. He cannot believe it so that he rushes into the bathroom to see what happened to him from a mirror. He has to tiptoe up to see himself from a mirror. When David sees his reflection from the mirror, he freaks out. He becomes a
six-year-old boy with blonde hair. David first touches his soft, child-like hair, and then his freckled-faced cheek. “What happened? Why did I turn into a child after getting some sleep?� David talks to himself with nervousness and astonishment. For the unexpected change, David does not know what really happened with any sense. His former plan of leaving home is to escape from that broken and unpleasant family. To his surprise, he never thought of that his body changes overnight. David sits on the cabinet base trembling. A dressing table is put in the front right of the bed. He sees himself in the mirror. He still cannot believe that he has turned into a boy who is five or six years old.
“Seems like I cannot go anywhere today.
Maybe taking
a nap later, my body will be back.” thinks David. He suddenly thinks of that with a boy’s body he can’t do anything. He decides to take a walk in the nearby park, a place a child may go. David still can feel the fear and helplessness in his heart. He does not know what happened. Taking a sip of milk and picking up his backpack, David is ready to go to the park nearby the hostel. That is a sunny and bright day in May. Lavenders in the park sparkly shine under the sun. Birds tweet as if they chant and praise for the beauty of nature. In David’s mind, the last visit to the park is at the age of six or seven. His father took
him to the park and bought an scoop of ice cream for taking a walk. The wonderful memory comes into David’s mind. He cannot help smiling when he recalls his father holding his hand to the park. At once he forgets that he is facing a big problem--- his body has changed. In his childhood, David has a good relationship with his father. However, when David’s mother passed away, his father became alcoholic and began using violence to David. David stepped the sand on the ground. The shoes become dirty. He has been looking at the sand drift, and the memory that David’s parents took him out for a picnic in the park occupies his mind. Although it has been a long time, this beautiful memory is still present in David’s mind. While he
feasts on a happy memory of his childhood, a girl about five years old suddenly walks toward him. “Hello! Why are you alone? My mommy says sand is dirty, so she does not allow me to play. Look! I just made a camellia necklace.” the little girl says. David knows he is a teenager with five-year-old child’s body. He has to speak and act as a child. David tries to answer his new “friend” in a childlike tone. Then David answers “Hi! I am David. My mommy goes to the supermarket to buy baguette and she will pick me up. We are going to have spaghetti for dinner. What about you?” “I am Shirley. My mommy is there. I will go to kindergarten next year, and I can make so many good friends.
Do you want to play on the slide with me?” Shirley touches her head and smiles at David. “Yap! Take me to the slide!” David decided to be a real child again, to act and speak like a child. In fact, there is a reason why he tries to do that. To David, his childhood is fantastic. He wants to be a kid again, back to the time his parents being with him. “Wait for me here, Shirley. I can show you how to play on the slide.” David says with excitement. “Sure! I wait for you down here.” “I am ready! One…..Two……Three….! Watch it!” “You are safe! You are not afraid of sliding from such a high place!” Shirley says with eyes staring at David.
“Now it is your turn. You can do it.” Shirley climbs up to the slide and is ready to slide down. “It is too high! I cannot do down alone!” Shirley stares at the ground and says nervously. “Go! That is all right. You can do it.” “Ok! I am ready. I am going to slide down.” Shirley lets go her hands and slides down. That is the first she slides down on her own, because her mother does not her to do so. It is probably because of her family background. Shirley’s parents divorced when she was one, and her mother takes care of her by herself. She feels worried that her daughter may get hurt. She always takes good care of Shirley very carefully.
“Yaehhhhhhhhhh! David, look! Did you see that? I did it!! Sliding is not that hard!” Shirley shouts excitedly. “I told you so. You can do it.” David feels content in his mind, because it is the first he encourages other, and also the first time he concerns about other. He suddenly becomes aware of that he is able to love people around him. “This is my first time sliding without hands holding the slide.” David feels surprised. “Really? You never played on the slide before?” “Mommy says it is very dangerous, so I cannot play on it.” “Does your papa bring you here to play on the slide?”
asks David. “I have never seen my father before, but that is all right. Mommy loves me very much. She usually buys me milk and chocolate.” When Shirley mentions her beloved mother, David sees happiness and joy in her eyes. At this moment, Shirley’s mother walks toward them. “Shirley, who is this little boy? Haven’t I told you that you are not allowed to play with other children? How could he get himself so smudged? Mud is on his body everywhere.” Shirley’s mother is a bit angry. Shirley anxiously explained, “Mommy, he is not a stranger. He is my new friend, David. He taught me how to play on the slide.”
“Hello, Mrs. I am David. My mommy is in the supermarket and she will pick me up later.” Looking at David, Shirley’s mother smiles at him. “Sorry, David. I was too harsh to you. I did not mean it.” She smiles at David again. Shirley raises her head and asks, “Mommy, can I share one piece of chocolate you bought in supermarket for David? He is my friend.” “Sure! Good for you, Shirley! It is great to share what you have with other.” Shirley smiles. Shirley’s mother takes out a piece of chocolate from the shopping bag and gives it for David. “David, this is for you. It will be great for us if you come
here to play with Shirley next time. Let’s go, Shirley. I have to work later. I will take you to aunt Amanda’s house. Behave in auntie’s house, ok?” Shirley’s mother tells her in a tender tone. David feels upset at this time. He decides to leave. “I am sorry that I have to go to the supermarket to meet my mother. She is waiting for you. Nice to meet you! See you next time. Goodbye!” David waves and leaves. After saying goodbye, David cannot help crying. Meeting Shirley and her mother, it reminds him of his happy memory with his mother. She used to buy baguettes for David, and worried about whether he was sick or not. He starts to miss his mother. On the other hand, David also appreciates
Shirley for she made him learn how to share. When Shirley shared her chocolate with him, she was so kind and knew how to give. David feels warm. Joy and gratitude in his mind is beyond description. He never knows that he is capable of encouraging people. It is David who taught Shirley how to play on the slide. He tromps alone back to the hostel. On his way, he ponders. “Good evening, Mr. Thomas. How are you today?” David asks the hotel keeper. “Kid, I have not seen you before. Who comes with you in our hotel?” “My name is David. I came here with my mother
yesterday. I was blocked by the counter. Sir, this is for you.” David decides to share his chocolate that Shirley gave him with Mr. Thomas. “Thank you very much, David. It smells great.” The owner takes up the chocolate and smells it. Thomas takes a brand new notebook with a delicate leather cover and gives it to David. “David, this is for you. You can use it to do homework afterwards.” It turns out that although the hotel owner seems stingy, and unwilling to care about people around him. As a matter of fact, he cares about people in a way he used to be. He concerns about others in his own way. The day passes with peace. David lies on the bed
thinking back what happened today, and soon after he falls asleep.
Chapter 3: Old man The next morning, and David opens his eyes. Compared to yesterday, now he is stronger and able to handle the challenges that he may face. When he thinks of what happened yesterday, he feels warm and happy. But suddenly, he feels something thing wrong with his body again. So, he jumps out from his bed without thinking too much and sits straight on the bed because he wants to see how he looks like in the mirror. “Oh my god！Yesterday I was a five-year-old kid. What made me become a sixty-year-old man? I just can’t believe it！” In fact, David is getting used to changing his appearance
every single day, after all, this is not his first time to suffer from this. He only worries that the game will never stop and he will suffer from it forever. Every single day, he has to become a new person, and meet new people with different appearances. That is what he is worried about. He stands up from his bed and walks to the balcony. He founds that he becomes an old man because he is humpbacked and can’t walk and stand well. It even can be difficult for him to walk from his bed to the balcony. He needs to walk carefully and slowly. After about 10 minutes, he goes back to the bed because the position makes his back hurt. “Where am I supposed to go today? I went to the park
yesterday, because I was a 5-year-old kid. Now, I am an old man. Where should I go?” David bends his body and stares at the front. He cannot see very well probably because he is old. “Then what about go to the park again today? Park is a place where children like to play, and old people get together and chat” He decides to go to park again.
Although he
cannot move very quickly now, he still prefers his new role, an old man than a kid. That is because he does not have to talk childishly like a child. He drinks some milk, and put on his backpack and leaves the hostel. It is extremely weird for an old man to put on a teenager backpack. No old men wear like that. But it doesn’t matter that much, for him, facing the new changes of his
appearances is more terrible He moves slowly and is ready to move to park step by step. On the way there, he founds the scenes that he never noticed before, for example, Miss Smith who sells fruits painted her fruit shop into colorful colors, and also, he never notices that there are some people sing and play guitar happily on the street. He has never seen that before. It turns out that he used to focus on himself and seldom pay attention to the society and people in his life. The distance from his hostel to the park is about 10 minutes for walk, but he spends almost 30 minutes because once he walks faster, his legs will hurt. It is a bright, sunny day in March, the lavenders in the garden of the park are
blooming, and the birds are also chanting for the beauty of the nature. He walks to the place where he met Shirley yesterday, and Shirley is playing with playground slides when he arrives. She looks happy and brave, and she is not afraid of height anymore. Now, David decides to go to one place before he meets her. He then walks slowly to the supermarket in front of the park. “Yeap it is! It is the chocolate that Shirley likes. I am going to buy one for her� David is pointing the chocolate on the shelf. He eagerly wants to do something that will make Shirley happy, so he buys one and want to give it to her. He walks very slowly back to the park, and he sees Shirley sliding down from the playground slides. He walks to
her and gives her the chocolate. “Shirley, thanks that you gave me chocolate yesterday. I know it’s your favorite brand, so I bought the same one for you today.” “What? Who are you?” Shirley is staring at the old man standing in front of her with confusion. She can hardly remember who he is. David notices that he becomes an old man today, and he is not a little boy anymore. No wonder she cannot recognize him. “I am one friend of your mother. She is the one who told me that you like the chocolate.” David is trying to explain for himself.
“Ohhhh, thank you so much� Shirley replied him innocently. David is afraid that she will know he really is, so he is ready to go without talking too much with her. Even though he does not have much time to talk to her, but still, he feels warm in his heart. He thinks of the life that he used to have, he never shared or bought anything for others before. He realizes that it is not that hard to build a relationship with the people around him once he treats them sincerely and joyfully. We do not need to care who gives more, all we have to do is to give out. The sky is getting darker and darker, and it starts to drizzle. David is looking for a shelter where he can avoid the
rain. He knows that he needs to walk very slowly on the slippery ground because once he falls down, his old body will get hurt badly. It is raining harder, so he opens his backpack to see whether he has anything useful. Suddenly, one woman, a middle aged black woman, comes to him. “Sir, take my umbrella. I still have another one in my bag. The ground is very slippery, so please be careful.” The woman gives him her umbrella, and also gives him a sweet smile. “Thank you so much. Where are you going?” says David. “I am going to the supermarket in front of the park to get some cheese and tomatoes for today’s dinner. Ahh, by the way, you look so cute with the backpack.”
“So nice, it is nice of you to prepare dinner for your family every day.” David says. “Yes, I enjoy cooking every day, but actually I do not have family, I am working as a maid in one big rich family. I will serve them in my whole life time. They always treat me as one of their family.” She says. “Then I can walk you to the supermarket, because I am also looking for a shelter to avoid the rain.” On the way, they talk a lot and both of them feel very happy. David is surprised that she tells everything about her to him because it is their first time to meet each other. She has started to work in Simpson family since she was 20 years old. She is a black, but she is working in a family of white
people. That a black works in a family of white people is considered impossible for others. But she said every family member treats her very nicely and they think she is also one of their family members. That is why she decides to devote her entire life time to work in that family. She will not quit her job until someday she cannot work anymore. “But you are doing the same thing every single day and you get a low salary. Won’t you get bored of your work?” David asks her curiously. “No, not at all, my job is one part of my life. I enjoy my job and I also enjoy my life. Some people once looked down on my occupation because I am nothing but a housekeeper. Even my family did not support me at that time. But I know
everyone should be treated equally. Every occupation is equally important. If you know how to respect, and help each other, and then you will have no regrets.” After hearing what her said, David thinks of his father. “But don’t you want a family that belongs to you? If you have your own family, you can take your children to the park every Saturday. In the park, you can see the beautiful flowers and enjoy the fresh air. “Ahhh, every member in Simpson family is just like my own family. I have worked in that family for thirty something years, I cannot remember well. I saw Elsa and Roseline grow up, and for me, they are just like my own daughters. They never regard me as a housekeeper. When they were young, I
often took them to this park, and we ran here in here, collected the shells and also they made me a necklace with marigold flowers.� She looked very happy when she was talking about this. After hearing that, David starts to miss his father. He starts to feel regretful that he used to look down on his occupation. His father is one of the workers in a building company, where he can only get low salary. There are several times that he told his father that he wanted a rich father, and it really makes his father sad. He used to feel angry and sad that his father cannot even buy him a new pair of sport shoes. David starts to cry when he recalls what he did in the past. “Sir, Are you all right? What are you thinking?� she asks.
“Nothing, I think I ought to go. My wife is waiting for me to have dinner at home.” He answers. “Okay, sir, please walk slowly and carefully. And please greet your wife for me” She waves his hands to him, and also gives him a big and warm smile again. “Thank you so much, lady. Bye bye.” David said goodbye to her and then left. Every single word that she told him makes David think deeply back his life. And it seems that she is reminding him something that he already forgot. He reminds that he used to look down his father’s occupation and he even never respects his father. When he recalls all the happy memories that he spends with his father, he begins to cry. Even though his father used to
treat him badly when he gets drunk, but generally speaking, he is just like the lady who is working for Simpson family, because both of them are very responsible for their jobs, and enjoy their jobs. As same as the lady, his father works very hard every day, and treats every detail of his work carefully and patiently even though he always gets a low salary. In David’s mind, he actually can feel that his father worries about him all the time. He gets nervous when his son gets sick or something bad happened to him. Even though David’s father seldom shows his love to his son, he is still a good father. “Am I a good son to him?” he asks himself. He walks back to his hotel again. The tiring day makes
him feel extremely exhausted because he has walked for the whole morning in an old body, which gets tired easily. He lies down on the bed, and thinks again what happened today. Suddenly, he realizes the meaning of life. David is thinking in his mind “Actually, it is not that hard to build relationship with others once we know how to love others, share with others and express our love. Everyone living in the world is learning how to respect others and share with others. Now, I only want to go back to my life, and I want everything to stop right away. I do not want to become others. I want to be David, the one that I know the most� He starts to cry, because he wants to go back to his world badly. He does not want it when he gets up every morning,
and he finds his appearance is different from the last couples of days. He starts to miss his father. It is impossible if he goes to see his father now, because now he is not David, instead, he is a 60-year-old man with gray hair. David wants to start over his new life.
Chapter 4: David It is 6:00 am in the morning, and the birds are singing happily on the tree. David can hardly remember when he fell asleep last night, because he was too tired. The birds are singing extremely loudly outside this morning. David rubs his eyes and wonders whom he will become today, a 40-year-old lady who sells flowers in the market, or a muscular and strong truck driver? When he thinks of this, he begins to feel upset and tired. He opened his eyes and looks his arms, hands, fingers, and toes. He jumps out from the bed excitedly and rushes into the bedroom to see how he looks like in the mirror. “Oh my god！I change back！Now, I am David！Now, I
can be myself� David shouts excitedly and loudly when he sees himself in the mirror. At the moment, he cannot describe how happy he is by words. When he thinks of the wonderful stories that just happened in the past few days, they make his heart complete and fill in his emptiness. He learned a lot from the people whom he met in the past few days. From Shirley, he learns the importance of sharing. Sometimes we can feel happier if we treat the world in a simple, and sincere way. If we can forget the bad memories as a child, we will notice how beautiful the world is. And even one candy can make us happy all day long. From Shirley’s mother, he can infer that she is a mother
who is over-protective of her daughter. But at least she is willing to try, and she is willing to change her mind. She always tries to protect her daughter very much without letting her do dangerous things. In the end, she let her daughter try more new things. From the owner of the hostel that he went to, he sees one man who always hides his real feeling and emotion to others. His appearance looks cool and unfriendly, but actually he cares every event happened in his neighborhood secretly. People may think that he is not a positive man, but he has always been helping the poor in his way. And the lady who is working as a housemaid, he does not know her name actually, but he also learned a lot from her.
She always shares her happiness and gives positive effects on people around her. She knows the importance of paying attention and being responsible for her job, even though some people once looked down on her occupation. She does not care about how others think about her. All she cares about is what she can give out and contribute for the people she loves. She knows who she is, and she knows her mission in the life is to light up others’ life. When David recalls having spent time with those good people that helped him, he shows a big smile that he has never had before. He is getting to know how to make himself better, and he also wants to become a blessing and the sun in others’ life.
That’s it. David will remember all the changes and all the lessons that he gets. He leaves the hostel and he is starting his new, bright life.
Synopsis Have you ever imagined like this? One day when you wake up and look into your reflection from a mirror, your face changes every morning. Every day your mission is to pass your new day or meet some new people by having a new face.