conversation

Can you describe what kind of person you were?
I was a person you probably wouldn’t like to have as a friend.
Why?
I was in and out of jail so many times.
How many?
I lost count.
Do you remember the first time you were in jail?
I stole two books when I was about twelve.
Why did you steal books, not money or other things?
Because I wanted the books and I had no money to buy them.
What books were they?
A dictionary and an encyclopaedia.
Why them?
Because I love reading so many things in the encyclopaedia, and there were words I needed to check up in the dictionary.
You love reading books?
Don’t get me wrong! Don’t think I couldn’t read because I was a criminal. I have always loved reading, reading all kinds of books, magazines, newspapers, anything I could get hands on.
Can you tell me something about your childhood?
Well, my childhood, not much to tell really. My parents died when I was a baby, and the next of kin was my father’s cousin, he put me in an orphanage then emigrated to Australia after the war, that was all.
How long did you stay in the orphanage?
Oh, about thirteen or fourteen years.
Can you describe your life in the orphanage?
Orphanage is not like a family home as you know; I got a roof over my head and some food, that’s all, of course I had to do work as I grew older. Cleaning and looking after younger kids.
Were you going to school then?
Yes, but only because the school had many books to read. I told you I love reading, didn’t I? In the school I would hide in the toilet or at the back of the bike shed to read books. Teachers used to get very angry and I would be punished, so I started to “borrow” books to take back to the orphanage. But before long the teachers realised many books were missing and I was thrown out of school.
Did you take all the missing books?
Yes.
What happened to those books? How many?
About a dozen, I hid them under the floorboard. I found a space under a loose floorboard inside the storage room one day when I was told to clean up the storage room, so I put a bucket on that floorboard to stop other kids finding it.
What did you do with the books?
I read them over and over whenever I got a chance.
What kind of books were they?
Some were children’s stories like the Brothers Grimm and Andersen’s fairy stories, but “Treasure Island” was my favourite. Later on Shakespeare’s plays became my obsession.
Oh? Why?
I love the richness and the beauty of the language flowing through his stories.
Oh. You said that you have been in a jail many times, what other crimes have you committed?
Mostly stealing books or money. I left the orphanage when I was about fourteen. I couldn’t find any work and had to sleep rough, eventually I found I was better off in jail, at least I would get a bed and free food, you can’t imagine how tough life can be on the street particularly in the winter. So I would commit a crime in order to get in jail, but I never hurt anyone and I only stole money from shops.
Are you saying you were not guilty?
Of course not, but I considered it was less wrong.
Why less wrong?
I always gave the books to charity shops after I’d finished with them, so other poor people could buy them cheaply. In a way the shops were forced to give a little charity to poor people.
Stealing is still wrong and against the law.
Yes, but it helped some people to read and gave me a chance to go to jail at tough times, if you were desperate you would think differently; anyway if I never stole from those shops, do you think they would ever give anything to the poor willingly?
Probably not. What was the last crime you did?
I stole a typewriter three years ago.
A typewriter?
I needed it. Who are you and why did you ask all these questions? I haven’t stolen anything since that typewriter.
I am a friend and I need to find out something about you.
Why?
Do you remember your uncle, I mean that cousin of your father. Do you know what happened to him?
No, the orphanage told me that I was sent to them by my uncle, he told them that he couldn’t take care of me. Besides, he was going abroad to live in Australia or some country. I suppose you can’t expect a single man to bring up a baby, although I have always hoped to know him.
Did you ever have any contact with him?
No, oh, once he did send a big pack of toys to me, if you count that as a contact, I wished they were books though, but other kids in the orphanage enjoyed the toys nevertheless.
Was there a big panda in that toy pack?
Big panda? Yes, funny you should mention it, it was so strange for a panda to have an eye patch, no one wanted it, but I thought it was special, so I kept it for myself; that was the only toy I ever had, in fact I still have it with me, it’s like an old mate, how did you know about it?
Ah, you are the right person.
Right person for what?
Your uncle died three years ago, and in his will he left everything to you.
Oh? You know my uncle? You just said he died …
Yes, I am sorry; I am his friend and the executor of his will. You are to inherit over two hundred thousand Australian dollars.
He died …
Don’t feel too bad, your uncle was a quite decent man, he often regretted not contacting you earlier, but he worked hard to save this money for you.
It would have been better to have a poor uncle during the hard times.
Two hundred thousand Australian dollars is a large sum, enough to buy yourself books for a lifetime.
Oh, why did you need the typewriter?
To type. I signed a contract with a publisher yesterday, they have accepted my first book. I received an advance payment of a hundred thousand pounds.
Congratulations! What is your book called?
“I did it myself”.