More About This Painting
In Strange City lives the Wise One—Mr. Lakis. A guide for children on the path of learning. Mr. Lakis lives in the small lending library of the city… I suppose, because whenever I go, he’s always there. Mr. Lakis—the Wise One—knows the answer to anything you ask him. Once, I racked my brain trying to find a question he couldn’t possibly know. And I found one! Early in the morning, I went to the library with a confident European air and asked: “Mr. Lakis, I have a question. What goes meow-meow on the rooftops?” I saw Mr. Lakis let out a muffled sound and reply: “Wow, wow, wowww! Where did you think of that? What a difficult question! Do you know the answer?” Ha! He didn’t know! How could it be that my mother, who only finished elementary school, knew, and the Wise One didn’t? But to be fair, I didn’t really know the answer either—I had only once told my mother that I didn’t eat the jam, and she answered, “…Yeah, right! What goes meow-meow on the rooftops?” “Tania, Tania, you’re here!” the Wise One said. “Can I help you with something today?” “YES!” I said decisively. “Today I will read a book…” “About cats!” he added sweetly.
How does he know everything?! I wanted to learn it all too! From that day on, every day I went to the lending library and read whatever the Wise One suggested—or whatever caught my eye. And as I grew, I read more and more. And as I read, I traveled through my books to countries I had never visited. I met the gods of Olympus! I learned to identify the fish of the sea (which I later tasted too), I understood why the sun makes us bloom like spring flowers! I met inventors with wild ideas, traveled by rocket into the unknown universe—which I often argued with in my mind—and I learned to distinguish the good from the bad. I continued to grow, carrying entire imaginary worlds within me, feeling safe because I had some answers… Until the day came when I would create a story of my own… about a Strange City… that had a lending library… where the Wise One lived! Thank you, Mr. Lakis!