The morning for Tom began with the sun telling jokes to the clouds, who laughed so hard that couldn’t hold back their tears of joy that felled abruptly in the always serious black road that connected his house to the university. Even though the annoying black crows that circled around his head didn't let him sleep, the even more annoying Mr clock wanted him to be on time today.

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Armed with his always-carry-to-university pack composed of a heavy rock, some white papers, pencil case and the secret that his house whispered to him long time ago, he set off to campus.

When he descended the stairs from his room and reached the entrance of the gray building where he lived, Tom encountered the first of his numerous problems of the day.

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The carpet of the hall the building had grown fangs overnight and greeted him with a fierce growl.

It was not the first that happened in this past weeks and it was always a difficult situation.

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With no ther choice, Tom decided that he would have to part with his pencil case to get out of the situation unscathed; if not managed carefully, one could end up with a few scratches. Determined, Tom threw his pencil case as hard as he could in the opposite direction of the building's exit. As soon as the capet went to investigate the noise caused by the pencil case, Tom jumped down the steps separating him from the entrance and dashed towards the door.

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When we was out, he closed the door and took the road that led him straight the gates of campus.

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The walk form his house to gates was very nice even though it was rarining a bit. He felt relaxed after the tense situation he overcame, but that relaxation didn't last long because main gates of te entrace to the university were closed and a group of students was gathered in front of them.

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--As today the clouds have decided to have such a good time we also want to have a bit of fun. -- Said the big twin-brother gates -- So we have decided that if you want to enter today you will have to solve a riddle --   When they finished talking a big and self-satisfied smile pop into the door’s faces.

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The crowd stirred and protested but didn't changed the gates mind so finally the crowd and Tom had to yield and listen to their whims.

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The gates said:

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-- What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows? –

 

Unfortunately for the doors, Tom loved nature and spent long hours walking through valleys, ridges, and forests. Therefore, it wasn’t difficult for him to find the answer.

--Mountains!-- shouted Tom over the roar of the crowd.

 

The doors froze for a second, not expecting the answer to come so quickly.

 

--Yes, of course, a mountain. I wanted to give you something simple so you wouldn’t be late to class.-- muttered the doors, annoyed by how quickly their fun had ended. --You may pass.--

 

After letting the crowd through, Tom headed to the only class he had that day. “Lectures on Un-learning”. Although the title didn’t suggest it, the class was one of the most difficult that Tom had to face.

When he arrived at the class, barely on time, Professor Joaquín was already there. He gave Tom a grim look as Tom found a seat at the back of the class just moments before the lesson began.

 

--Well, as we have been discussing in previous classes, one of the keys to un-learning is the disconnection of the senses. We are so accustomed to them that we only interpret reality in the way they tell us, which blinds us to the true reality.-- The voice of Professor Joaquín, always controlled and stern, resonated throughout the auditorium, accompanied only by the murmuring of pens on notebooks and the footsteps of the distinguished professor across the stage. --Therefore, today we will do a practical exercise.-- The murmur of pens stopped. “We will spend the rest of the day without vision.-- The looks exchanged among the students were ones of annoyance.

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It wasn’t the strangest of the “practical exercises” that Professor Joaquín had proposed, so it didn’t catch any student by surprise; however, they all knew this would mean a long day.

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When he arrived at his building hours later, exhausted after such a hectic day, Tom noticed that the rug was much calmer now and was purring peacefully in front of the stairs that led up to his room.

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“They must have had their fangs removed. I can’t imagine how awful it must have been to have them taken out,” he thought with a hint of irony.

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As he stepped over it, the rug didn’t even notice, and he finally reached his room, closing the door to the world and heading straight to bed to rest.

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“What a day,” thought Tom before sleep found him.