Mr Cellophane

My entire life was spent trying to fathom him. To me, he is someone that I truly fear yet respect. He is like a mysterious author who conveys messages indirectly and discreetly and to fully understand his "hidden message", readers have to read between the lines. I have studied him like a book and have failed miserably to understand him. Over the years, the constant attempts to dissect his mysterious motives have sharpened my abilities to see right through people. Most people, in general, are easy and they are basically what they show themselves to be; no hidden messages whatsoever. Some people try to convey a message discreetly but fail terribly as I scrutinize and peel the mask that covers them. He, is however a tough riddle to crack. He is very intelligent and very inconsistent with his actions, like a general who never uses the same strategy at war.

Just yesterday, my mum made a comment about a friend who is living close to Mount Vernon. The words "Mount Vernon" immediately reminded me of my late grandfather who was cremated there 15 years ago.

He has always been a very filial son and who has always preached about being grateful and I knew then that the words "mount Vernon" must have struck a chord in his head, but I wasn't sure. It might just be another failed attempt to decipher him, and I found myself wondering if he was reminded of his late father and if he would take time out of his extremely busy schedule to pay his respect, something that he has not done in a long time. I thought then that I would never find out since he was not known for showing his emotions.

Later on that day, my mum received a phone call from my dad asking us if we wanted to go visit the "old man", an endearing term that he uses whenever he refers to his dad. I let a smile slipped though my mouth as though I had solved a very difficult riddle. Is this finally a start to a brand new era, or is this the beginning to an end? Did I finally break the code? Am I finally getting to know him? Or has old aged changed the way he think? Is he becoming more straightforward at conveying his messages?

I always thought that life is like composing music. When people are fairly young and the musical composition of their lives is still in its opening bars, it is hard to predict what goes into the writing of the song. However, as one gets older, their musical composition is complete, and every motif, every word is exposed. Maybe my dad's musical composition is finally complete.