The Timeless Library

33. Humble

"I only got to know him at the final stage of his life: wrinkled with age, clouded with cataracts, hobbling around on a crippled leg yet refusing to rely on a walking stick. Some would call him pitiful in that condition, but knowing a small part of his life's story, I can only call him admirable.

I was told that, before moving here, he was a rogue living on the streets of the Azores islands. I can't pretend to know what he was up to back then, but from the antics I was able to witness during his stay in this town, I can only imagine the sorts of things he was capable of in his prime. Sometimes I like to daydream scenarios. I picture him trespassing into a farm, sprinting through fields full of cows to evade the authorities after his latest heist. Or maybe he used his charming, heartfelt smile to convince someone to pay for dinner and shelter him for the night. No matter what sorts of stories I imagine taking place in the early days of the Azorean thief, how he managed to survive for so many years with that sort of lifestyle will always be a mystery to me.

Needless to say, nobody in the Azores saw any potential in him. He was born on the streets, and he would die on the streets: a logical conclusion, honestly. It is easy to think that things will stay as they are forever, and that nothing can be done about it. But a young heiress from my town proved that wrong.

The story goes that she visited the Azores on a holiday, looking to enjoy the sun-kissed beaches and gentle ocean breeze promised by colorful travel brochures. Instead, she found an old man limping up and down the street, wearing rags and charming other tourists out of their money. Anyone else would've left it at that-perhaps reported it to the authorities, at most-but this particular heiress has a heart of gold, and the money to afford indulging in it. Without even asking for permission, she took his hand, threw him into her car, and ordered her driver to take them to the nearest hospital. A sort of wholesome kidnapping, if you will.

From that point on, his life completely changed. Though most of his many ailments were in their final stages and practically incurable, he received medical attention from some of the best doctors this side of the world, undoubtedly extending his lifespan by at least a couple of years. The heiress bought him a ticket to Lisbon and made him move in with her, even going so far as to grant him full use of the left wing of her mansion. It sounds like a dream, doesn't it?

Apparently, to this thief it was more akin to a nightmare at first.

He was bitter, ungrateful at this forceful change of life. The miserable streets of home were still home, after all. Without a moment's hesitation the heiress had yanked him out of the safety of all that was familiar to him. It was an instant loss of trust where there had been none to begin with. Alone and resentful, he shunned all of us no matter how much we tried to include him in our town's community. He even tried to escape on three separate occasions! It was obvious that he didn't want to be here, even if we couldn't understand it at the time.

And yet, as weeks turned into months, his icy demeanor slowly began to thaw. Maybe it was because of the way the heiress hugged him every day as if he was her own grandfather. Or maybe it had something to do with how our little community would drag him out to dinner every other week. Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I like to believe my homemade pastéis de belém played a part as well.

There came a point where he started to smile, and from then onwards, he never let us see a frown on his face. If he was ever in pain, he never let it show. Even when his cancer worsened, impeding his ability to breathe properly, he still smiled. Even on his deathbed, he laughed at our jokes, and even tried to stand up to reassure us he was still doing just fine.

That is why, though his body was old and fragile for almost as long as I knew him, I will always remember him as the strongest person I have ever met. His rough start in life carved him into someone who was cunning, stubborn, relentless, a fighter. And after all the hardship, thanks to the generosity of one kind soul, he also experienced and reciprocated love, compassion, a sense of community. He lived quite the life, didn't he?"

Turning away from the podium and the tearful crowd, I looked toward the casket and forced a smile.

"Thanks for letting us be a part of your story. We'll really miss you, old man."