A man had a wife.  He was a young man. Just when he had become a man and should decide for himself suddenly someone had the right to tell him what to do again. The man loved the woman who had become his wife but he also loved being his own man. With the wife came a whole new set of parents and relatives who had opinions on how he should do things. It was difficult being told what to do. The man made plans to go away. Only for a little while, to make a better life for himself and his wife. Going away would help.

A man had a wife and a daughter. It seemed to the man that he had only just married and already he had a daughter. The wife took care of the daughter so it should not have been difficult being a father . Yet the responsibility weighed heavy on his shoulders. The man went away for a while to make a better life for himself, his wife and his daughter. The man stayed away a long time. Staying away helped. He was his own man. His wife came to live with him.  

A man had a wife and two daughters. This is how a man is tied down by life, thought the man. Hadn’t he only just been a free man with a wife and one daughter? The first daughter had been taken care of by older relatives and he and his wife had been free to live life. They had been free but they had not known enough to appreciate it. Now they had two daughters, all four of them living together. The man dreamed of going away.

A man had a wife and two daughters. His wife was pregnant again. Was he not doing his all to support his family of four? The man knew that he had nothing more to give. He could feel the forces of the world tugging at him, conspiring to tie him down and crush him at each step. A human chain of bodies and relations and obligations. The man could not bear it. The family went for a short trip. The wife was no longer pregnant. The feeling of relief was strong in the man. The feeling of relief was strong in his wife too because she knew that she would never forgive him.

The feeling of relief sustained the man for some time. He went away sometimes but only for short times.

Again life weighed heavy on the man. He discovered new more clever ways of going away. The man discovered how not telling people his plans made it impossible for them to expect things from him. The man discovered how not telling people his feelings freed him for being brought to task for them. He discovered how to arm himself with many friends to avoid a particular one. In particular, he discovered the value of unaccounted time. No one knew where he was, who he was with, where he had been, where he was going or when he would appear again. The man could almost breathe freely now.  His family might think that he was in the room but on the inside the man carved and carved at the chains that held him back. Finally he was free to be himself!

The man had a second wife and a step-daughter. They were a different kind of wife and daughter. The first ones had been like leeches that latched on and never let go. A man could not relax when he knew that someone was sapping him of blood. The new wife and daguther were like hawks who swooped down to tear off what they needed and then left him alone. A man could survive the attacks and heal inbetween.

After a long time the man suffered a stroke. He could no longer walk or play tennis. The man was 73 years old. Time had passed so quickly! Such bad luck too! Had he not only just managed to free himself from his duties as a father? His first daughters, nagging, problem-oriented women who were always bringing up the past, came to visit him at the hospital. Luckily their mother refused to see him or speak with him since a long time. The man was relieved that he had escaped in time.