The Vain Life of an Old Man

His name was Rodolfo.

He was an ordinary person, except for the simple fact that his skin was green. Because of that, his life was based on mistreatment, disrespect, and prejudice. But his life began to change at 70 years old.

It was July, the 15th. It was raining. Rodolfo stared at the solemn street. The raindrops fell on the soaked asphalt. Suddenly, a Chevette 84 drove by. The smell of smoke reached Rodolfo’s nose.

Oh, shit. He had discovered the meaning of life. Yes, Rodolfo. The man whose skin was Green, whose name nobody knew. Rodolfo discovered the meaning of life without ever having spoken to anyone outside his family. Perhaps that was why, he believed, he had discovered the meaning of this miserable burden we call life. To him, it was so obvious that the human mind must have been utterly alienated. To not have noticed it in all of human existence! Either Rodolfo was a genius, or he was far too isolated from the world. But now that he knew its meaning, there was no more reason to keep living, he thought. But he soon realized that if that truly was the meaning of life, he would be killing himself without even having fulfilled his existential purpose! At 70, he realized he had spent his life having done absolutely nothing and only now, barely able to walk without his lower back bothering him, Rodolfo was going to truly begin his life.

He opened the door of his house and went out into the street. The sensation that the cold raindrops stimulated in Rodolfo was like an orgasm he had never felt.

After walking nearly a kilometer without caring about the rain, the old man reached the edge of a lagoon. His greenish countenance showed a sadness accumulated over decades. That day was the happiest of his entire life, he felt like the most important person in all of human history, but he couldn’t smile. He stared at the overcast sky for a few seconds and closed his eyes. The sound of rain falling on the lagoon water was soothing. The old man sat on the grass bordering the lagoon.

Well then. He was the only person on the entire planet who possessed the truth. It was now his duty to inform others. But who would trust him? Who would listen to a green old man? For a few moments, Rodolfo hesitated. He thought he shouldn’t do it, but he remembered how magnificent the truth was. He stood up and went looking for someone.

Since it was raining, everyone in the town where Rodolfo lived was inside their homes or at work. Near a market stood a tall, thin man with a thick mustache. He was standing staring at the ground, as if receiving a lecture from someone. Suddenly he turned his gaze toward Rodolfo and was startled, having never seen a green person before, it was bizarre. Rodolfo, on the other hand, was very nervous, this would be the first time in over 55 years that he would speak to someone outside his family.

Hello, I have some things to say… Oh my God, you’re green, my God! Yes, I know… Suddenly, the man attacked Rodolfo with a piece of wood that was on the ground.

What is this? Why is he hitting me? What did I do? Argh! My arm! Please stop! The old man groaned. But the man kept beating Rodolfo until he fainted. Then the man threw the stick at his victim and walked away briskly.

A few hours later, Rodolfo woke up feeling a pain so deep he couldn’t think. He noticed his left arm and legs were broken. Why would a man beat an old man for no reason? He needed to tell these people about the meaning of life as soon as possible, this was deplorable! Suddenly, Rodolfo heard some laughter. It was a group of three children playing in the rain. Rodolfo watched them.

They were so pure, they didn’t seem like the ones he had known at school. He took a deep breath and called them. He wanted help, that terrible pain was unbearable. He couldn’t move because of his fractures.

Eww, gross, a green old man! Shouted one child.

Hahah, what a disgusting thing! Retorted her friend.

Help me, please! Agonized Rodolfo, barely dragging his voice.

Suddenly, a child came close and grabbed one of Rodolfo’s feet and pulled. The child began dragging the old man down the street. Rodolfo agonized, the damn child was pulling one of his broken legs with such force that the old man fainted.

The children took the old man to the lagoon where Rodolfo had been before. And they began to stone the poor man. He awoke to a rock thrown at his back. Rodolfo couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Children stoning an old man. It couldn’t be. Another rock, this time to the head. Rodolfo fainted again. After the fourth rock thrown, the children tossed the body into the lagoon and ran away.

The only man who would discover the meaning of life had been murdered by youths who, in a not-so-distant future, would commit suicide from depression. Among the reasons for their depression was the irrefutable doubt about the meaning of life.

A moment before dying, when he was already heading toward Paradise, Rodolfo thought:

“I don’t understand, I spent my whole life being judged for what I was on the outside, it corroded me to the point of becoming empty inside; and when I finally fill myself, I meet such a tragic, pathetic, and painful end… I pity humanity”