Chapter 51

Carl also had a strange habit. He loved peeling apples, but he didn't use a fruit knife. He used a small metal blade that we used in school to sharpen pencils. Even stranger, he never peeled apples to eat them. He did it purely for the act itself. I once asked him why he liked peeling apples so much. He said it was so the peel wouldn't break. At the time, I didn't understand what he meant at all. It was only much later, after we became true friends, that I finally understood the meaning behind his answer. Tyler was Carl's mentor. In fact, they were also distant relatives. Tyler was a remote cousin of Carl after several twists of the family tree. But Carl preferred to address him as Mr. Hawd. Carl respected Tyler deeply. From the way he spoke, it was clear he even saw Tyler as a father figure. Between his words, I could tell that Carl had once received tremendous help from Tyler. I also sensed that Carl was a man with a past, and that his story was anything but ordinary. But Carl