ALVIN, THE MASK MAKER’S APPRENTICE

When Alvin was six years old, he was fitted with his first mask.

“It’s just that he cries too easily when the older boys tease him.” his mother explained.
“We don’t want him to turn into a sissy or a cry baby” his father declared, “He’s too old to be doing this.”

It took Alvin a little while to get used to the mask and occasionally, when he was alone, he took it off and cried a little. But all in all, Alvin was happy, for though he felt hurt when other children made fun of him, he never cried in public again. Eventually, Alvin felt proud of his new status and often took part in rougher games at school. He forgot that once he was easily hurt or scared and felt scornful of younger boys and girls who cried and ran away.

Alvin’s second mask was fitted because he wasn’t keeping up with his class mates in arithmetic and spelling.
“He’s an intelligent boy.” explained his teacher, “ But he is too easily distracted and rarely completes his home work.”

So off he went with his younger sister who had a bad temper and needed an anger suppression mask, to be fitted with the first of a number of young scholar masks. As time went on Alvin became used to his masks and even took a hand in selecting them. He particularly enjoyed being fitted with an athletic excellence mask, and specialised in swimming and track. Like most of the villagers, he took it for granted that boys and girls wore very different masks and some day he would acquire an adult mask. But first, he had to receive his apprentice mask and decide what role he wanted to play in the village. Shortly after Alvin under went his initiation rite and was inducted into the world of masculine affairs, he went to the Mask-maker’s hut to be fitted with a temporary adult mask.

“Well, Alvin” what would you like to be?” inquired the Mask Maker, waving his hand at the row of diverse masks.

There were masks for hunters, for carpenters, bakers, sales men, teachers and farmers. There were masks for ditch diggers, horse trainers, weavers, preachers and potters. Alvin was initially attracted to the mask of a soldier but he was equally interested in that of an artist. Then the mask of a trader caught his eye and that of an explorer, in fact the more he saw the more confused he became.
“Look,” explained the Mask Maker, “You only need to try one for a week, see how you like it and if you don’t come back and try another one.”

Reassured, Alvin tried on young soldier's mask. Initially, he enjoyed the way he looked in his new uniform, the manly gossip and boasting around the soldier’s camp fire. He didn’t mind the endless marching and rifle practice. He took pride in his ability to sneak through the woods and play ambush games with his fellow camp mates. However, one day Alvin saw a senior officer beating a young recruit. The recruit had fallen asleep on guard and that was against the rule! So Alvin returned his soldier’s mask and tried on a horse trainer's. But then he found he had to put down horses who were past their prime or damaged. Over the next few years, Alvin tried and rejected almost every mask offered by the Mask Maker. He tried on a musician's, a cabinet maker's, a school teacher's and even a ditch digger's, but he simply couldn’t make up his mind. His parents were getting worried and most of his peers had selected their masks and were well into adulthood. Almost in despair, Alvin went back to the Mask Maker and asked for help.

“I really want to please my parents, “ he said, “and impress my friends and attract a girl. I know I have to choose something, but I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I’m not even sure that I want to!”

“Do you have any ideas, any feelings about what you want to do, Alvin? Maybe there is some thing you haven’t thought of yet, maybe something you dreamed about when you were a child. Who did you most want to be like, who did you admire or were curious about back them?”

“Well, there was someone.... I sort of wanted to be like you...You know, a Mask Maker. But!” he burst out , “But there is no mask for Mask Making, I looked and looked and couldn’t find one!”

“You’re absolutely right, Alvin!” the Mask Maker declared, “There is no mask for mask making and there never has been!”

“Then how did you get to be a Mask Maker?”

“ Its a long process, Alvin, and it takes a lot of courage, that’s why there is only one Mask Maker in a village.”

“I don’t care how long it takes! I’m sure I can do it. Just tell me how!”

The Mask Maker sighed, then pulled up a seat for Alvin, “You see these masks over here?”

“Yeah, they’re girl’s masks. What do they have to do with me?”

“Well, if you want to be a Mask Maker you need to understand all the masks and all the roles. Even the one’s you might not like.”

“You mean wear a girl’s mask; learn to be a wife or a mother?” Alvin was incredulous.

“I told you it wouldn’t be easy . But that’s not the only task.”

“What more! “

“The first step in becoming a Mask Maker is to wear all the masks, male and female, adult and child. Then you need to take off all of your personal masks, the one’s your parents selected for you, the ones that helped you with your school and your friends."

“Even my initiation mask!” Alvin gasped.

“All of them.” the Mask Maker was firm.

“What would happen if I don't want to?”

“Alvin, the reason why everyone in this village selects an adult mask is to ensure we all get to choose a role in the community. This guarantees individual liberty and an orderly, regulated society.”

“You mean if I can’t choose a role, I’ll be banished from the village?” Alvin had heard some dark tales about the unselected, the ones who didn’t fit in.

“Not exactly, although most of the youth who have trouble settling down eventually return and choose one of the less promising masks, some of them become originators and actually create new roles, for the Mask Maker to make. However, that is very rare! Most of them live very lonely, short lives outside the village, and quite a few do away with themselves.”

“You mean they commit suicide?”

“Unfortunately that is often the case. You see Alvin, for all our talk regarding individuality, independence and self-sufficiency most of us really want to be part of a community. We are social creatures and need our little masks to fit in.”

“Except for the Mask Maker” Alvin responded

“Except for the Mask Maker, he or she needs to master that most difficult of all tasks, that of being himself.”

We are happy to report that Alvin successfully put on and took off all the masks the master gave him and after a long, long apprenticeship, he learned the art of Mask Making and how to be himself.

Stories For A Winter Night