Both of us are in the same sort of situation - - we can afford
to help each other out." He told me not to worry about paying
him back yet. "I never thought you'd be fired. Remember that
first day that you came, there was that young boy crying -
- well, - 68 - that young fifteen year old boy fell into the
same trap you did. He couldn't sell any subscriptions. He
only lasted six days, and he got cheated out of a ten-dollar
security deposit. He didn't get a single penny back when he
left. That boss is really something. That sign is still posted
in the window. I'm afraid more people are going to fall into
the same trap. These days it's difficult to find jobs... " he
pressed his lips together tightly.
The bell signifying the beginning
of class rang and I left him, filled with gratitude.
IX.
As I left Tanaka's school, I
was so touched, I couldn't help but to cry. I walked dazedly
to the front gates of the school. Suddenly I realized my own
predicament. I was standing in front of a wide open street
that led in a hundred different directions, yet I was standing
still with no place to go. Where should I go? I thought for
a while but couldn't decide what to do. I blindly followed
people as they walked. I walked and walked. Two people that
had left deep impressions on me appeared in my mind, spinning
around like the images on the revolving horse lamp.
One of them was Tanaka. He'd
saved his own food money to lend to me - - he'd bought new
tabi socks for me, and when he heard that I'd been fired from
the newspaper agency he wouldn't let me return any borrowed
money to him. The other
person
was someone with the face of a man and the heart of an animal
- - the boss. His target was those who were unemployed, with
no place to go. He used that sign - - "Hiring Newspaper Boys"
to trap people. Then he cheated you out of your security deposit,
and forced you to work for him without paying you a penny.
He glutted himself on poor people's money, thinking only of
himself.
When I thought about the boss
I trembled with fear. I thought about giving up my plan to
go to school, and returning home. But even if I wanted to
go home, where would I find thrity dollars for the train and
boat tickets? It would be impossible to find large sums of
money like that as a stranger in Tokyo...
I walked and walked, and eventually
ended up in Ueno Park. I sat down, feeling as though I had
neither the stringth nor the energy to move. I didn't want
to cry in front of so many people, but inside I wept.
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