Written by: Rushina Tamang - 26008, Grade X
Posted on: 18 August, 2023
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, in the eastern parts of Japan, there lived a noble man who never showed his face. The man was rarely seen in public but when he was, he would always wear bulky clothes and a hat that concealed his face.
The villagers spread rumors around the village about how they thought the man must be very ugly, which is why he was covering his face. They also said that the man’s face was so ugly and hideous that it scared the demons away. Hence, in the village, he was known as “The Demon Noble”. The man’s skin was so rough and scarred that it almost looked like it was melting. The villagers would also always wonder how the man could tolerate the heat in such bulky clothes as he wore bulky layered clothes all year around.
And in fact the rumors were true, the noble man used to cover his face and hide his body because he thought he looked hideous. When the man was young, he never thought of his looks in a bad way. He never even thought that his looks mattered. He was an energetic and optimistic person. But one day, while he was playing with his friends, one of his friends told him that he looked like a horse with smaller eyes. His friend also pointed out that his skin was too dark in comparison to the society’s standards. The man went back home that day and looked at the mirror for an hour. The more he looked, the uglier his face and body became to him. Hence, he decided to never show his face and body to another ever again.
Any place or any time, the man’s face and body were always covered. And on top of that, the man was also never excited about going outside his mansion as he was conscious of the rumors that went on about him. One day, after the man finally left his mansion after 3 months as he was bored, he walked past a man washing his clothes outside. When he looked at the man, the man looked hideous to him. He felt very bad for the man as he knew the pain. But more importantly, he was surprised to see that the man was openly showing his ugly face to the society and was smiling on top of that.The man sees that the ugly man’s daughter comes up to him and hugs him. He is in disbelief thinking how can an ugly man like him have a daughter, or even a wife.
The man had reached the age of 26 and was supposed to marry at the age of 23 but had refused all marriage offers as he thought he was just unworthy of anyone’s love. But looking at the ugly man, he thought how the ugly man could feel worthy enough to have a wife and daughter. Hence, he went up to the man and asked him, 'How can an ugly man like you think that you're worthy enough to have a daughter or wife?’
The ugly man became speechless for some while and all that came out of his mouth was ‘Sorry sir?’
And again the man repeated the same question without shame.
Luckily, the ugly man was a patient person who respectfully answered the noble, ‘Why would I need to look better in order to know that I’m worthy of something? After all, my face is just a face. It cannot change my personality or my heart. I’m just like a geode, a dark, spotted and rough stone on the outside but on the inside one can never know what type of beautiful crystal there exists.’
The noble man got startled for a bit. That conversation hit him hard on the head. He again asked the ugly man, ‘How can you be so happy even while looking so hideous?’
The ugly man again calmly answered, ‘It is because this is my face, and it is just a face which I have already accepted. I have accepted the way I look, which has allowed me to be this happy. As I have learned that accepting myself helps me accept others and appreciate others. Which is also how I got my wife.’
The noble man was left speechless. He went straight to the market after that conversation and bought a mirror that he took back to his mansion. There he placed his mirror on the wall and sat in front of it. The man hadn’t seen his face or body in the mirror since he was 7. The man remembered what the ugly man had said and built courage in his heart and mind.
After struggling for about 30 minutes, the man finally let go of his hat. He finally accepted hsi body and accepted the way he would look when he looked in the mirror. But surprisingly, when he took off his hat and looked in the mirror, He saw that he looked fine, and handsome even. And after covering his skin with clothes for so long, the man’s skin had also become whiter than snow. That day, since he took courage, he realized that he actually wasn’t ugly. And the noble man finally let go of his insecurity, his bulky clothes and face covering hat and finally accepted himself for the way he is.
