Zephyr town, the town where the people depend on their windmills to survive, is greeted by a near constant breeze all the time. The people there are at ease, and enjoy the frequent bazaars that provide healthy competition amongst the others and those who come in from the city. And inversely, the people who come from the city enjoy browsing the bazaar and purchasing goods from the good people. But, something happened in this small town that caused the bazaar to close down for good. Many things could have happened.
But here is one.
In the town, there lives an artist, one who spends most of his time either in his home or out by the waterfall, drawing or whatever. He doesn't have many friends in town, and the people don't often visit him. The boy wasn't very social, this was true. Some people wondered if he wasn't an outcast, or trying to hide something. Until…
One Friday, as the rest of the town was preparing for the bazaar, the boy stayed at home, no interest in the bazaars anymore, no interest in the people. And the last visit from the mayor may have pushed him over the edge. He recalls as he works on his sculpture, all the color gone from his face…
…
The mayor had come over to talk to the boy about the bazaar, and how they were so close to being the top.
"You know our goal, don't you?" the mayor asked the boy.
The boy, timid as he was, nodded and uttered a nervous, "Y-Yes, of course I know that."
The mayor shook his head, "Then you also know that your shop will never get that much if you keep charging so cheap!" the boy could tell he was trying not to yell. Still, the boy flinched. The mayor sighed, "Raise your prices, or we'll have to take drastic measures." he warned, "The rest of the town is starting to wonder about you."
The boy looked down, "I-I'm sorry…" he said. He looked to the statue he had been building for the very man who was standing in front of him. The statue was covered with a sheet. It was meant to be a surprise.
"You don't have enough merchandise, either." The mayor added. He walked over to the covered statue, "What is it your working on? Maybe you could sell it for a good price.." he said, thoughtfully, reaching up for the sheet.
The boy started to panic. No! He was going to ruin the surprise! He quickly tackled the mayor to the ground, "Don't do that!" he yelled as he did.
The mayor screamed and quickly jumped up once he hit the ground. He shook his head at the boy on the ground, "You act so strange." he said. He shook his head again as he walked out the door.
The boy, his eyes quaking with hurt at the words of the man he admire, just laid on the floor, staring at the ground. He hid his eyes as he stood slowly. He took his hat off and threw it to the ground, "I'll show you." he muttered. He turned and looked up at the statue, tearing the sheet off of it, "I'll show you all." He grabbed his carving knife and slashed at the statue
…
The boy finished what he was carving and let the knife clatter to the floor. He turned away from his work and walked into the kitchen. He had been sculpting right into the night, and morning was just hours away. Everyone would be waking up, excited for the mornings bazaar. Spring was the nicest time to have a bazaar. But the boy was finished trying to sell people his work. They never appreciated it like he did. He looked over at the window, his reflection staring blankly back at him. Out of the corner of his eye, just behind the boy staring at him, he saw the statue.
What used to be a muscle-bound man, was now barely a man at all. The arms had been cut off and carved to look as if the skin had been decaying away. The face even looked as if something had been eating the skin away. And, on the chest, a heart was carved, a big slash through it. As if to show the man depicted had no heart. The smile on the mans face, was now a frown, there was even a tear drop underneath the eye. As if the man regrets his decision. It is said that an artists work reflects the artist.
The boy looked back at his own face, the pain, hurt, and anger building up. Oh yes, he may regret his decision, but he was going to do it anyway. He grabbed the carving knife off the counter and headed for the front door. He glanced back at the statue, a playful smile on his face.
"I'll be back." he almost sang as he closed the door behind him.