Mr. Cucumber

The door chime rang at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday, and I hurried to open the front door to find a green man there. Or maybe he wasn’t exactly a “man”. After all, vegetables have no gender.

“M-Mr. Cucumber,” I said.

“Hello, Mr. Human,” he said. “How have you been?”

At that moment, scenes from our training days, when we shared the joys and sorrows, came to mind. That has never happened in the past few years. Things were tough back then. We were young people chasing dreams, full of energy, but also very vulnerable. We were always together and encouraged each other. “What we do here now will eventually come back to us in the form of our ability.”

However, after graduating from the academy, we lost contact with each other. That’s partly because we were going our separate ways, but that’s probably not the only reason. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I’ve lost the edge I once had.

Mr. Cucumber looked much the same as before. His skin was still shiny after all these years, and his prickly thorns were still the same. But what had happened to me, on the other hand? Now I’m just an office worker for a small company. I do sales and handle paperwork. That’s all I do every day.

“You don’t seem to be feeling well,” he said.

“Well, I’m a little tired,” I said, inviting my old friend into the room. He took off his leather shoes (he was wearing an expensive-looking designer suit, by the way), politely removed his hat, and stepped into my small room.

I poured a glass of water and took it to him (he doesn’t drink). As I watched my green friend drink it with relish, I felt a strange sensation deep in my forehead. It feels like something is aching here. I wonder what it is…

Mr. Cucumber looked on me, half-smiling. It was easy to imagine that there must be a reason why he was here today. But I don’t know what exactly that is. It’s because I’ve been adapting to society for the past few years. Because of that, I forgot my dreams and hopes…

“Have you figured it out by now?” He said.

But I didn’t understand. All I could think of right now was the image of a large woman, Ms. Hippopotamus…

“Hey, is Ms. Hippopotamus involved there?” I said.

But at that moment, the front door slammed open and someone broke in. That’s strange, I thought. After Mr. Cucumber came in earlier, I firmly locked the door with my hand. So how could that someone come in? But the answer was simple. Because the person who came there was Mr. Air. Mr. Air used some pneumatic trick to easily unlock the door and enter this room.

“Mr. Air,” I said. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Hey,” said Mr. Air. “How’s it going guys? Are you having fun?”

Then I finally remembered that Mr. Air and we two had a kind of rivalry. We were among the best in the academy. If he was not the best, one of us was. That was how we survived those days of friendly competition.

“He was just trying to remember something,” said Mr. Cucumber.

I was trying desperately to remember that. Mr. Air was invisible, but he seemed to be watching me closely, probably with his arms folded - or some similar action. I had to remember it at all costs, I thought. Otherwise, something important would be missing from my life.

Just then, the door slammed again. I wonder what has come this time. Cucumber and air, what’s next? But what arrived at that time was something without form. Of course, Mr. Air doesn’t have a physical form, but he does have a proper personality. I know it. But what was there was something else of a different kind. It’s something we shouldn’t see.

I opened my eyes and faced it. “Hey, what’s this all about?” I said to them, but by now they were both gone. Before I knew it, both the cucumber and the air had disappeared from my room. There was nothing I could do - as a tired office worker - and I had no choice but to face it. In a sense, this is what I was most avoiding, and at the same time, what I most wanted.

(Omission: I cannot tell you what happened during that time. Because it happened in a pre-linguistic place.)

Eventually I realized that some dreams died. They were destroyed to pieces and never came back. My small room became a graveyard of dreams. And yet, despite being there, I was still alive. I kept breathing - meaningless breathing - remembering what Mr. Cucumber once said to me. He had said. We can be good or evil.

If so, I wondered which side I was on now. But no matter how much I thought about it, I could not really figure it out. It was only natural, since I didn’t even know what I was in the first place. The air in the room was terribly thin because Mr. Air had disappeared with his friends (or relatives) in tow. My mind was still filled with images of the inside of Ms. Hippopotamus’ big mouth. Whatever it was, she was a huge woman…

Soon I heard a click somewhere and I knew it was time. Slowly I opened my eyes and there it was, a strange sight. For a moment I thought I was dreaming, but it was not a dream. I instinctively knew it. I took a deep breath and put my hand to my head. There it was, my empty brain. The cucumber and the air were gone now. I knew that I was at the starting point. This is where something begins, I thought.

“In any case, this feels terribly lonely,” I said. I was secretly hoping for a reply, but it seemed like no one was around.

“I want to fly,” I tried, but there was no response.

“Fuck you,” I said, but again there was no response.

When I closed my eyes, a vision of the vast ocean came to mind. A gray, unforgiving sea that swallows everything. I tried to sleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. This was because I had been sleeping far too much.

As I continued to breathe, I realized that a rhythm was forming. Mr. Rhythm. Where the hell did you come from? Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale again. I’m here, trying to start living. I don’t know why, but it happened. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale again. I’m lonely, but at least I’m not alone. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale again...