Episode 5: "The Little Old Chair"

"...Well? What is it?

Got something to say?

I don't much care for people staring at me."

I could tell I was making quite an unpleasant face.

"You can see for yourself.

I'm a chair.

I've been in this factory for over forty years.

Comfortable?

Not anymore.

After forty years, what do you expect?

And don't you go looking down on me!

When I first came here,

I was a fine chair.

A very fine one.

And this company was different then, too.

Hm?

What's that?

You think the company is in better shape now?

Ha!

That's not what I'm talking about.

You're probably thinking about sales,

better wages,

things like that.

All right, all right.

Slow down.

I know what you're trying to say.

And yes,

those things have improved.

There are more sincere young people now.

It's become a wonderful company.

...No.

Actually,

that's not quite right.

It's always been a wonderful company.

That's right.

I've been watching all these years.

I should know.

But...

I worry about this company."

"What?

You look surprised.

Is that really how you see me?

Hmph...

That's a little lonely."

"I suppose that's because I'm just a chair.

You think I don't care about anything.

You poor blind fool."

"What worries me...

is the heart.

The heart of this place.

That's what truly matters.

At least, if you ask me."

"There are more machines now.

Sales have grown.

The company has become strong enough to withstand almost anything.

Maybe.

But there was a time,

long ago,

when even the smallest setback made everyone wonder if the company would survive.

The chairman's wife used to worry all the time.

Back then,

the chairman was still the president.

He never said it aloud,

never showed it on his face,

but more than once

he wondered if it was all over.

How do I know?

Because he sat on me,

restless,

smoking one cigarette after another.

You learn a lot

when someone sits with all the weight of their worries."

"Funny...

Those days feel like yesterday,

even though they've become so far away."

...

"The man who still sits on me every morning,

drinking his coffee...

He joined this company a little after I arrived.

When he was young,

he used to cry.

No one else seemed to notice.

But I did.

He couldn't do the job the way he wanted.

It frustrated him.

After everyone else had gone home,

he would stay behind,

working alone,

long into the night.

I remember those days well.

Eventually,

he became very good at what he did.

I never saw him cry again.

Only when he was young."

The old chair quietly looked across the factory.

From where it stood,

it could see everything.

It remembered the days

when the president and his coworkers were still young,

working with energy and hope.

Then the chair spoke once more.

...

"I don't remember the craftsman who made me.

But I'm sure

he built me with all his heart.

Perhaps...

he breathed a little life into me."

"And maybe...

that craftsman's heart

still lives inside me.

Perhaps that's why

I love this warm-hearted company so much."

"What?

You think I sound human?"

The old chair gave a gentle chuckle.

"Everything has a heart.

Even things.

Don't tell me...

you never knew that."