TheTragic (Comedy) Story

In 6th grade, we lived in a two-storey house. A family of three lived upstairs: a father, a mother, and their 6-year-old son. The father always had a full head of hair, and there was a rumour that it was a wig. In the four years they lived there, I never once saw him without it, so as far as I was concerned, the wig was a myth.

Then one evening after school, I was riding my bike around the compound. The front yard and backyard were connected by a path along the side of the house, just wide enough for a single bike, and I rode through both all the time. That evening, as I rounded the house, something unprecedented appeared above me: the tip of a bald head, peeking over the upstairs balcony.

I couldn't stop. The momentum was too much, so I had to finish the lap through the backyard and come all the way back. The whole way, I couldn't believe what I'd seen. I needed to know if the myth was real.

Coming back toward the narrow entrance to the front yard, I was so excited to confirm my discovery that clipped the handlebar on a pillar. I went down hard, my shoulder took the impact, and my legs got tangled in the frame. I yelled for my mom, who was watering plants in the backyard. She came running, took one look at me, and gave me an earful for falling.

To this day, I don't know whether it was him or the wig was real. The mystery still haunts me and the mark on my shoulder is still there as a reminder.