Illusions

Trần Việt |

One late autumn afternoon, in an old coffee shop at the corner of the street, the old writer and the young painter sat opposite each other. He was over seventy years old, his hair was as white as old paper, his eyes were like those of someone who had read too many books, loved too many people and was disappointed many times. He was just over twenty-five, his hair tied tightly at the back of his neck, his shirt had a few paint stains, his face was sad like water-dipped rice paper.

He looked at him for a moment and then asked: "Are you heartbroken?" "No, sir." "So the paintings can't be sold?" "No, sir." "Or can the landlord increase the rent?" He sighed: "I just found out that my idol in the painting world is a very ordinary person.

He nodded slightly and said: "Human life can have three times of great pain. The first time is when you know your parents are not superheroes. The second time is when you know your loved one is not an angel. And the third time is when you know your idol also has very normal bad habits, sometimes even petty, selfish and lives completely differently from what we imagine." He nodded: "But I am so disappointed, when I once thought he was a genius, a noble soul.

He looked through the glass and recounted that at the age of thirty, he once idolized a famous writer. He memorized his author's works, hung photos in the room, and even imitated how to smoke and how to look far away when taking portraits. After many years of waiting, he had the opportunity to meet his idol at a literary conference. "For three hours, he only talked about himself. I thought I would meet a great soul. But in the end, I only met someone who really liked to hear me speak. At that time I was very sad." He paused for a moment and then slowly said: "Later I understand, what makes people suffer is not the truth, but the breakdown of illusions. We don't hurt because our lovers no longer love us, but hurt because we think love will be permanent. We don't hurt because life is unfair, but hurt because we naively think life is always fair. "You were silent for a long time and then asked: "In your opinion, shouldn't living without illusions?". The old writer nodded: "Actually, illusion is not an enemy, sometimes it makes us see life as lovely. Until now, I still keep for myself an illusion when believing that the best book of my life has not been written.

Then he smiled. A smile of a person who has gone through many truths, but still decided to keep some beautiful illusions for himself to continue living.

Trần Việt
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