I moved into a new home this week, well it wasn’t new, but it was new to me. It was listed as a roomy one bedroom, one level, house with a small yard. When I arrived to my new home it was empty. The old couch and chairs weren’t left in the living room. They even took the old aluminum table and chairs that were in the small kitchen.
I was hoping the metal bed frame was still in the bedroom with the old mattress, so I had a place to sleep the first night. I went to the bed room and it was empty except an old chest of drawers. I thought, Well at least I just need to get rid of one thing.
Expecting to spend the first night at my new house removing all of the junk that was left by the previous owners before the movers arrived tomorrow. I was relieved all there was is a three drawer chest, so I started to remove the big drawers and found them full of old sheets.
I brought a box of big trash bags with me, so I started filling one with the sheets. When I got to the bottom drawer I was starting to perspire, so I took a break with a bottle of water.
When I returned to the bedroom the bag had fallen over to the chest of drawers. I had removed the first two drawers, so the bag was falling into the chest. I scratched my head, but just shook it and got back to emptying the bottom drawer.
I was removing the last sheet and was perspiring more than usually, but I was down to the last one, so I kept at it. Under the sheet was a South American Tribal Mask that I was surprised to find. It was a big one, so I pulled the drawer out to the floor and looked at the mask.
Looking at the mask, I felt a strange sensation that I shook off and finished the bottle of water. Leaning over the drawer I reached in, carefully lifted the mask, to my chest, and sat it on top of the chest of drawers. I was looking at it and I felt like it was looking back at me with its eyeless eye-sockets.
I almost laughed and shook that thought, but I kept watching it; for what I didn’t know. Then I thought of where I was going to hang the ugly thing, and I walked around the small house imagining where I would put the furniture. I couldn’t stop shaping each room’s layouts around the Mask as if I was going to hang it in every room.
That night I slept on the floor with the big blanket I brought and the mask was by my side all night. The next morning I had thoughts of sorrow after leaving for breakfast that I didn’t understand. Luckily after the movers had left I couldn’t find the mask.
Changing the Little Things 