Once upon a time there lived a man named Igor. He was tall, his silver hair slicked back meticulously, and he always wore a serious expression on his face. He lived in a house on a hill a little overlooking the town, and the townsfolk rarely saw him.

Igor’s reputation was that of a snob. He rarely spoke to anyone, and when he did, his words were curt and his voice frosty. He had a penchant for walking alone, on the rare occasions he was out of the house, never saying more than a short greeting to everyone he met. And so, people found him standoffish and unapproachable, interpreting his aloofness as a disdain for the common man.

However, the truth about Igor was quite different. He was an introvert, finding more comfort in solitude than in crowds. Conversations with all but equally serious people like himself drained him and left him feeling flustered. Yet, he wasn’t self-absorbed as the townsfolk believed. Among his few close friends he was known as an organizer and a brilliant historian.

One day, a storm hit the town, and much of it was flooded. Those who had to leave their houses had to seek shelter in the town’s covered courts and in the classrooms of its elementary school. The townsfolk were in a panic, fearing they would soon run out of medicine and food. The local stores were quickly running out of supplies, especially toilet paper and paracetamol, and fear was creeping into every heart.

Despite the grim situation, Igor left the house and returned with a large crate of groceries and boxes. The few who saw him fueled the fire of resentment and Igor soon became the subject of hostile whispers. Many thought he was hoarding.

The next day, a little boy, Luc, mustered the courage to approach Igor’s house. His mother was ill, and they had run out of toilet paper and paracetamol. Swallowing his fear, Luc knocked on Igor’s heavy, wooden door.

Igor answered. He towered over Luc, his stern face devoid of any smile. Luc stammered out his request, asking if Igor had any toilet paper and paracetamol to spare.

To Luc’s surprise, Igor didn’t send him away. Instead, he disappeared inside his manor and reemerged with a box with both items requested, and a bottle of Le Petit Marseillais liquid soap [“Il met l’accent sur le naturel!”]. He gave it to Luc with a smile, without a word. The young boy thanked him profusely and ran off. Before reaching his house, Luc passed by the covered courts and gave the liquid soap and some of the paracetamol to Raph, a boy about his age, whose house had been demolished by the storm.

The next day, the town woke up to an incredible sight. There, in the middle of the basketball court, was a large pile of food, medicine, and other necessities. There was only a note that said “For the town, care of Dr. Olivier.” The town’s leader, Dr. Olivier was called, who put together a team, including another doctor and a nurse, to handle distribution and diagnosis. Within the hour, many townspeople came and added to the pile, which now included clothes, beddings, canned goods, diapers, and a large box of doxycycline and penicillin for those with early symptoms of leptospirosis. People who were more fit also organized themselves to cook and to bring supplies to old people living alone. The crowd was well disciplined and in good humor.

As the supplies dwindled down and the crisis abated, a box was found at the bottom of the pile, part of the original pile that had been ignored. Inside, someone discovered several T-shirts branded “Iguane d’Igor“.

Word spread quickly. Igor, the so-called snob, had purchased a large amount of supplies, but not for himself. He had risked being trapped in a flood to get many of these supplies.

A different rumor then spread. The town knew that Igor wasn’t a snob, but a very generous and courageous man, caring in his own quiet, introverted way. No one, however, asked him directly about what he had done.

It was little Luc who knocked on Igor’s door later, and thanked him again for the toilet paper, paracetamol, and soap, and also for the pile. Igor smiled, disappeared, returned to the door and offered the kid a Coke and a Kit Kat, then said bye and to take care.

Igor continued to live his quiet life, oblivious even to the town’s respect and appreciation. But in their newfound attitude, they began to notice things about the quiet man they never noticed before: that he had a pet iguana, belonged to a club of Latinists that met by Zoom every Thursday, had a masters degree in Medieval Studies, ran a profitable distribution business online, and that the prettiest girl in the next town, a virtuoso pianist and music teacher, was his fiancée.

People can tell when someone is can ignore his inconvenience, pain, and even lack of competence. Generous people just do it, never think of their help as a performance.

(Q.C. 230527)