むりょうmuralfree of charge

"Have you seen the mural exhibit yet?" a man calls out to you from his car window.

"Uh...no." you respond, a little bewildered. You've just stepped out of the train station and haven't gotten your bearings yet.

"You really should go. They have beautiful mural paintings from the 16th century. Some fill an entire wall! They're really amazing to see."

"No, thank you." you respond. "I have a strict budget for my vacation."

"That's no problem, because admission to the art museum is free!"

But you won't be persuaded that easily. "Sorry, I don't have a way to get there." And it's then that you notice that the man is in the driver's seat of a taxi.

"That's OK too, because I'll drive you there, free of charge." the man replies with a big grin.

"Excuse me? I didn't know that taxis were in the business of giving free rides." you respond skeptically.

"But these murals are a national treasure. I'm always happy to show a foreigner some of our culture."

"What the heck." you think to yourself. You really didn't have that much planned anyway. So you get in the back seat of the car and the driver pulls away.

"You're really going to love it. Some of the paintings go back to the Edo period when mural painting reached its highest form." The driver continues to ramble on about the breathtaking beauty and size of some of the most well-known murals. And then he pulls over to the side of the road next to what looks like a giant cave.

"Here we are!" the driver exclaims.

"But all I see is a cave." you respond.

"That's the beginning of the exhibit. You see, murals started off as cave paintings back in prehistoric times. The exhibit shows you murals from all of the periods of Japan's history. It's a real eye-opener."

"But this doesn't look like an art museum. There's no one at the entrance." you say as you look towards the cave opening while furrowing your brow.

"Of course. Like I told you, admission is free. What would the curators do standing around at the entrance? They're all inside to answer questions. And the gift shop is at the end of the museum."

"Well. What have I got to lose?" you think to yourself. "The ride was free, and now that I don't know where I am, I can probably at least find a map inside."

So you walk into the cave, wondering why it's so dark inside. You know, this really doesn't seem like a typical mus—

It's then when you feel a sharp pain in your head and you lose consciousness. When you wake up, you feel like hours have passed. You begin to realize what happened, and a quick check of your pockets confirms it. Yes, you've been robbed.

Let that be a lesson to you, there's no such thing as a free ride!

jekor
2009-04-28