The Gate of Sorrows Read Online Free PDF

collection of colorful children’s books.
    It was a translation of a foreign book. The author’s name was long and unpronounceable. The artwork and colors were charming, but somehow different from Japanese books for children.
    Kotaro glanced furtively up and down the aisle, took the book from the shelf, and opened it.
    Kumar was a monster.
    That was the opening sentence. It was the only text on a double-page spread. The artwork showed a fjord framed by mountains under a blue sky. There was a little waterfront town in the distance with tall, peaked roofs and a church with a steeple. Kotaro turned the page.
    Kumar had always lived in these mountains. He loved the mountains that rose above the fjord.
    Right, got it. So what kind of monster is this? What’s he look like? Kotaro riffled the pages, but there wasn’t a single picture of Kumar. Then his eye fell on a line that told him why.
    The people in the town could not see Kumar, because he was invisible.
    Kumar was a monster who had lived for uncounted years in the mountains overlooking the fjord. In fact, he had lived there for so long that he couldn’t remember living anywhere else.
    If this had been a Japanese tale, Kumar would have been the guardian spirit of the mountains. He’d have protected the mountains and the fjord and the little town of Jore from bad monsters, and lived happily ever after.
    Kumar loved the town and the people who lived there. He loved the songs they sang at festivals and the music they made. He loved the smell of pancakes that wafted up from the town. He loved the sound of people’s laughter, too, and the church bells.
    Kumar was born invisible. That’s the sort of monster he was. But he didn’t suffer; on the contrary, it made him a more formidable opponent for the bad monsters. He could sneak right up on them before they knew it.
    But one day, while Kumar was fighting a cunning lizard monster trying to sneak into the town, he miscalculated and let his opponent strike a blow. The wound was deep and painful, and Kumar’s blood poured out. Worse, the precious horn on the top of his head was broken. Long ago his father and mother had warned him that his horn was almost as important as his life.
    That was when Kumar saw it. What was this? His body was invisible no more. He could see his arms and legs. He was astonished to see, for the first time, the sharp, curved claws that grew from his fingers and toes.
    Without his horn, Kumar was visible. Until it grew back again, everyone could see him.
    Oh no!
    Then something worse happened. The old belfry keeper and his little granddaughter, up in the tower, caught sight of Kumar.
    In an instant, the whole town was in an uproar. A monster! A monster is here! In great pain, Kumar staggered into the mountains. The townspeople kept the lights on all night, and some went into the mountains with torches to search for Kumar. Find the monster! Find him, kill him!
    I’m not a bad monster. I’m a monster, but I’m still Kumar.
    Kumar shed bitter tears as he fled deeper into the mountains. But no matter how far he went, his pursuers would not give up. Day after day, they harried him and gave him no rest.
    Kumar was tired and hungry. He wanted to eat a fish from the fjord.
    Just before dawn, Kumar came out of the mountains and went to the shore of the fjord. He could see Jore in the distance. He watched the sun rise above the town.
    Lit by the sun, Kumar saw his face and body for the first time in the water.
    He looked just like the bad monsters he had been fighting all his life.
    My face is no different from the bad monsters. I’m the same color. I have the same tail. That’s why people are so afraid of me. That’s why they harry me and give me no rest.
    Kumar walked into the water. He dove in and began to swim. He had to go somewhere far away.
    Goodbye, good people of Jore. May we meet again.
    Kumar could hear the church bells in the town ringing as he swam away. He never returned. The waters of the fjord