She ran up to me and said breathlessly, "Oh, thank goodness you're alright! After you staggered away in a fit, I thought you might have tried to kill yourself and were now meeting with your maker!"
"Well, that's not entirely untrue..." I explained.
"But at least you're alive. I'm so happy!" she squealed.
Something didn't seem right all of the sudden. Why would someone I barely know be so happy whether I lived or died? As far as I could tell, I was nobody to this woman, but she still cared about whether I was happy or sad, alive or dead. Why would she care?
"Tina?" I asked, "Why do you care if I live or die? I am no one to you. I'm just one of five billion wandering souls. (Except for my divine burden assigned to me by the Almighty himself) I am not important to anyone and, try as I might, I haven't yet gained fame or fortune for anyone to care about what happens to me. Why are you different?"
Said Tina, "Remember what I told you earlier? I am very interested in the extremely small. I think we should all pay more attention to the extremely small. Isn't that what life is all about, after all? Isn't it all about the 'little things'? And I still think you are a pompous jerk for saying I was wasting my time!"
"Go on." I pressed. I was intrigued. A bit annoyed, perhaps, but still intrigued.
"Think about it! What are the most important things in life? Of course, they are the things that you hold near and dear. Your dreams. Your hopes and fears. Your friends. Your family. The time you spend together. The little things you do for each other. They may not mean much to anyone else and they may not change the world, but isn't that what life is about? Isn't life worth living when you enjoy those little things in life?" Tina said.
"Well, yes, I suppose those things are important," I agreed.
"It's just like it is in anime..." Tina continued explaining.
"Aaaagh!" I interrupted, "Don't tell me that you're an anime fan, too!!!???" I screamed in horror.
"Why, yes, I am!" Tina said rather matter-of-factly. "Is there something wrong?"
"No...no," said I shaking my head in disbelief, "Please continue while I mind my blood pressure," I stammered.
"As I was saying," continued Tina, "It's just like it is in anime. There are stories about the simple love between a boy and girl. There are stories about conquering the fear and the monsters inside you. There are stories of people reaching to fulfill their own personal dreams. Stories about kids finding out who they are and where they fit into this crazy world. People trying to find the confidence and courage inside themselves to press on. Stories of hope in a world of bleakness. People who desperately want to love others and have others love them. Characters that are so wrapped up in their own little universes that nothing outside matters."
"...." Said I (which wasn't much, I must admit).
"That's why I'm so happy to find out that you were alright," explained Tina. "Even though you are just one person, you are still important. I couldn't help thinking 'What about your feelings? What about your dreams? What about your life? Had they all perished?' Are all the feelings we have, even if they don't change the world, do we feel them for naught? Is anyone's existence, anyone's experiences, anyone's emotions so insignificant in the grand scheme of things that we can just ignore him or her? I don't care if my life won't change the world. I don't care about you because yours will. If I did, then it must be a sad, selfish world it is that we're living in, don't you think?"
"Let me guess," I ventured, "you must be a fan of shoujo anime, right?"
"Why, yes! How did you know?" she asked.
"Excuse me," I frantically blurted out, "but I feel an irresistible force compelling me to climb this mountain again. Please forgive me if I won't be staying for dinner..."
"But we would love to have you!" exclaimed Tina.
"No! That's OK," I quickly offered. "Besides, I have a splitting headache right now. I need the thinner air at the top of the mountain to cure it," I lied.
"OK, just don't do anything rash up there," replied Tina, "and let some air out of that ego! You might just like yourself more for it."
After several long hours, I had reached the summit again. And once again, I spoke with God.
Wailed I, "O God! Why do you continue to torment me! Have I not been your faithful servant? I've tried to enlighten the ignorant with the vast knowledge contained in the vessel that is my brain, but you keep throwing hopeless anime fans into my path! These people are not ignorant! They choose to be narrow minded and isolated! I cannot enlighten them! They enjoy being imprisoned in their own version of darkness! Why...why must I suffer! What have I done to deserve this punishment? Please! Please give me some sign that this is your will!"
And this time, God spoke to me! Just like the first time when he set me on my task to enlighten the ignorant.
I heard God say to me, "Fool! You have not learned the lessons I have put right in front of you! For shame! You have grown conceited over the years. You only humble yourself before me but not in front of your fellow fan! Before you can continue your task of enlightening the ignorant, you must first rid yourself of ignorance and arrogance!"
"What lesson have I not learned?" I asked humbly. Then, I had a revelation! "Have these anime fans you've put into my path...has this been your way of teaching me something?"
I heard God say to me, "I see that your keen intellect is a great asset, but it is also your greatest failing."
"How have I failed you? Please tell me what I must do! How have I strayed from your path?" I begged.
But God did not answer me anymore, and somehow, I knew that he was finished speaking to me.
When God speaks to you, you listen very very carefully. I went over his words over and over in my head until I was dizzy thinking about them. I don't know how long I stayed on that mountain, thinking and thinking. Finally, weak from hunger, I climbed down from the mountain once again.
As I reached the foot of the mountain, I heard a voice.
"Here he is! I can see him!" the voice said.
I looked in the direction of the voice. It was Hugo. I was so delirious from my encounter with God that I couldn't recognize Hugo's voice. (The hunger might have had something to do with it, too, I must admit.)
Just as I reached out to Hugo, Tina came running up to me just as she had the first time. She said, "Oh, thank goodness you've returned! It's been two days since you last staggered off. I figured for sure you had hit your head on a rock, since it's so inflated, you know."
Said Hugo, "OK, honey, we found him. He seems to be fine, just a bit scrawny. I told you not to worry about him. He's not as stupid as he looks, you know. Let's take him home and give him a decent meal."
Said Tina, "Alright, dear."
My ears!! What was I hearing??!! 'Honey??' 'Dear??' Could it be...??
"Um, excuse me," I asked weakly, "but did I hear right? Could it be that you two are...married???"
Said Hugo, "Of course we are, you pompous moron! You mean it took you this long to figure it out?"
Said Tina, "Yes, wasn't it obvious?"
"No! I wouldn't have guessed it!" I said obviously flustered, "You two are so opposite from one another. One of you is interested only in the very large and other is interested only in the very small. How could it be that you'd be husband and wife? I just don't understand it."
Said Tina, "Its because we need each other."
And suddenly, the lesson God had been trying to teach me came through like a beacon cutting through the fog of my mind.
Of course! The greatest stories of all time embody both: the very large and the very small! All at the same time. Seamlessly. Effortlessly. As paradoxical as it sounds, you need both to have a truly great story. Stories of war aren't as gripping without the story of the individual soldier and his sacrifices. Stories of love aren't as passionate until you see them in the context of a bigger picture. Over and over again, we are attracted to stories that tell of the very small happening under a story of the very big.
Why didn't I see it? All this time, it was I who was ignorant! It was I who couldn't see! I was so absorbed with myself all these years that, I was blind to the lessons all these anime fans were trying to teach me!
"How about after dinner, we sit down and watch the latest anime from Japan?" suggested Hugo. "I hope your Japanese is good enough to keep up. I just got this tape today."
Said I, "OK, I'd like that a lot."

David Ho runs RIAP, an American animation studio that takes anime as its primary influence. Visit http://riap.com to learn more.