A Modern Nemo 5

Shoji opened the book to the first page.

Are you tired of this life? was the first sentence of the first chapter of the book. Intrigued, Shoji read further. Why would a businessman, one of the richest in the world, say this? This life?

Maybe you ought to take a look outside the four walls of your room; there's a bigger world out there.

Hey, Shoji thought, he's right! There's more than just school and work.

What if I told you that you can be a part of something greater than yourself, a glory that you can share in? And no, I'm not talking about some cult where you have to surrender your freedom and possessions to some guru in India. No, I'm talking about something else.

Shoji went on to read about how Konstantiniadis' dream came about; that when he was just sixteen and in the midst of his rebellious phase, an idea came to him: people were so engrossed in keeping up with the world's standard of living that they failed to look around and see that there was more to life than just mere existence.

On one of his trips at sea aboard one of his father's container ships in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Konstantiniadis had an epiphany. He saw nothing but water for miles around and if something were to happen to the ship, he would perish. Then it dawned upon him that to live, not just merely exist, he would have to be an active participant in this unscripted opera called life. The day-to-day things like working, sending kids to school, getting married and paying the rent were nothing more than routines in life's game. One would never be noticed. To be noticed meant to navigate through the great ocean called life, and this was what true freedom meant.

Freedom meant getting out of life's normal routines and taking charge.

"Shoji!" called his mother from downstairs, "it's time for dinner!"

"Just a minute," he replied and continued reading.

True freedom means to conquer, the book continued. True freedom means to explore. True freedom means to be your own self.

As Shoji continued reading, he discovered that Konstantiniadis came to love the sea and was angered by the pollution, over-fishing and dumping of waste worldwide. For freedom to be exercised, Konstantiniadis was saying, it had to be given meaning and he found it in the protection of the environment. Such a profound insight was mind-blowing for Shoji.

Of course, he thought. I just can't work, play and eat. That's all just meaningless!

"Shoji," said another voice. It was his father, who had just come back from work. He was a manager in a supermarket. "What are you doing in there? It's time for dinner."

"Onii-chan," it was his younger sister. "It's time to eat. Your food will get cold."

Shoji irritably put the book aside, stood up and opened the door. Before him stood his father and sister.

"Let's go," said Mr. Kawamura as he turned, "don't keep your mother waiting."

Shoji's sister, Haruko, took him by the hand. She was twelve years old and had a rather playful personality. "Let's go, onii-chan," she said and led him to the dining room.

As the family ate dinner Shoji seemed oblivious to everybody. He barely spoke and ate little. The ideas from Konstantiniadis' book were swirling around in his head. Everyone else's attention was on Haruko, who was talking about what happened in school.

Upon finishing, Shoji put his chopsticks and bowl down. "Thanks for the meal," he mumbled as he rose and proceeded to return to his room.

"You haven't eaten much, Shoji," remarked Mrs. Kawamura. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "I've got a class project to work on."

"Do your best, onii-chan!" said Haruko with a raised fist.

"Do your best, son," said Mr. Kawamura. "We're looking forward to see you working in the EOGC Territories."

Shoji smiled wryly, waved a hand and went upstairs. The power of the book's message was impossible for him to ignore and he spent the whole night reading it. By morning he looked haggard, having had only thirty minutes of sleep. His mother noticed but before she could ask him what happened he had already walked out of the house and hopped on his bicycle.

As he was pedaling, keeping the bike balanced was quite a challenge as he was still drowsy and he nearly crashed into other people several times.