SPEAKING TO NO ONE

SPEAKING TO NO ONE

The first time I saw him I found it difficult to hide my laughing; it turned into a nervous laughing, because I knew I was being even more ridiculous than the man beside me. We used to take the bus at the bus terminal near where I lived, so the following times I was careful enough not to sit near him. He wore suit and tie like a normal person going to his office downtown, clean and shaved, but he spoke aloud all the time, as if an invisible listener could attentively listen to him. I was a bit afraid of him, as we´re never comfortable with things we can´t explain.

The first time I saw a man speaking aloud while walking on the street, by himself, I turned my head and watched, curious at what might be happening. Soon after a second one did the same and I could see he was using a cell phone. For a minute I remembered the strange person who made speeches on the bus. Mobile phones can make people look a bit odd, at least for me.

This time the man was not carrying a cell phone. He just walked from one side to the other, gesturing and speaking as an actor rehearsing for a play. I was sitting at a table and watched him during his continuous trip. He spoke and spoke, his arms helping him demonstrate his claims and this friend of yours just staring and thinking about the percentage of insane people who don´t live in clinics … At last I saw the tiny black thing in his ear, but it took me quite some time to understand (…) the impossibility of seeing things as we used to see in the past. I guess there´ll be a moment in the future when we won´t be able to laugh at anything or anybody.