Story Week 7: The Empty Man

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John’s parents had divorced when he was six years old. This was hardly unusual. After all, many of John’s schoolmates had divorced parents. The thing that was unusual is how John’s mom and dad treated him. Both of his parents were determined to prove themselves superior to the other, and therefore more deserving of John’s love. They showered him with gifts and toys. If John’s mom bought him a PlayStation, then John’s Dad had to buy him an Xbox. As they each competed for John’s love through material means, neither thought to actually talk to their son or show him any affection. They never taught him how to live in the world or how to develop a connection with another person. 

John grew up spoiled, and he was dissatisfied with everything around him. He always felt that something was missing, but could never quite put a finger on what it was. His life felt directionless and without focus. A friend of John’s father got him a job in investment banking. He was good at the job, but still felt unsatisfied. He didn’t enjoy the pressure and the stress, and he believed that he could find something better. John decided to go into marketing. He was also good at that job, but again felt that he could do better. John went through a continual rotation of jobs, and became more and more irritated when nothing fit right. 

He did the same thing with relationships. He would date a beautiful girl, then dump her when someone prettier came along. He never got to know any of the women in his life as people. He didn’t even realize that it was possible to connect with another person outside of the physical. He continued to feel empty, and he never understood why. Eventually, word got around about John’s fickleness and no one else would give him a job. He couldn’t get a date, because all of the women realized that he would quickly throw them away like used tissue. John was alone, unhappy, and had nothing to do. 

One day, while John was walking down the street and feeling sorry for himself, he was grabbed by a strange man. The man was dirty, smelly, and wearing multiple layers of ragged clothing. John froze in fear. He expected the obviously homeless man to hurt him. Instead, the man gave him a hug. The man told John that he could see the sadness in his eyes and that he hoped he would one day find joy. Rattled, John gave the man a couple of dollars and stumbled home. 

That night John had a series of odd dreams. In his dreams, John seemed to live many different lives. He experienced the life of a rich man who died alone and unloved. He was a woman who grew old surrounded by a loving family. He was a homeless veteran, a doctor, and a little girl battling leukemia. In each of these dream he experienced a different perspective on the world, and felt emotions that he had never known. He saw humanity in all of its wonder and all of its pain. In John’s final dream of the night he relived his own life. However, he saw it as though from one step removed. He watched his parents neglect his emotional needs and realized the insecurities and bitterness that drove them. He observed the way he’d treated the women in his life and stood as witness to their pain. He began to understand the emptiness inside of himself. 

The next day John swore to change. It was a slow and arduous process. He had much to atone for and a great deal to prove. But, he succeeded. John got a job helping people. The work was difficult and exhausting, but he was satisfied and proud of what he accomplished everyday. John met a woman, a social worker. She was nothing like the women he usually dated. She was attractive, but not stunning. Her name was Brenda. She was smart, brave, and deeply compassionate. John grew to respect Brenda, then care for her, then love her with an intensity that was utterly foreign. Brenda had never known the selfish man that John used to be. She only knew the John who cared and who tried. She loved him back, deeply and without reservation. John finally found his happiness, and with it he found clarity. Happiness did not come from the outside, but from within. John had become a man that he could be proud of, and that made all the difference.

Author's Note: The Stonecutter is the story of a simple stonecutter living in Japan. He is happy with his life until he sees how a rich man lives, and he wishes to have that kind of life. A mountain spirit hears his wish and grants it. But, the stonecutter still isn't satisfied. He continues to wish for a different life, and in various iterations becomes the sun, the clouds, and a rock. No matter what he becomes, he sees that there is something else with greater power. He believes that power will lead to greater happiness. Eventually, he wishes to become a stonecutter again and is once again content. I took the general theme of the story, that of a man who was never satisfied, and changed it around. My main character, John, is unhappy and empty, but doesn't understand why. He slowly learns that happiness must come from the inside. Unlike the stonecutter who only finds happiness when he learns to be satisfied with who he already was, John learns that he must become someone worth of respect. He must fill the hole inside of himself and become a whole man. When he manages this, he has the means and the drive to find happiness.


Bibliography: "The Stonecutter," The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Web source.