Time ran slowly in the cave. People went to and fro, stumbling here and there, being dashed once in a while, but soon they apologized and continued their ways. The heat of the sun heated up the stone and they understood that was day. At night, crickets and toads talked, and those combined noises to the cold of the night were as then they knew that the day was already finite.

It was a distant land, so distant that few times they had heard somebody from other lands; it could be said they were sure enough of having never found somebody who lived out of that immense cave, so big one that could shelter more than a thousand inhabitants with certain comfort for several years. They were guided thru the wide corridors and rooms by the sounds: of the own voice, of the drops of water that fell in echoes down the walls; and also for the touch, even when they were out of the cave. The bright and warm sun at the beginning of summer touched their faces and undressed the seniors' tired expressions, who were the major number of inhabitants there; almost half of the people had the faces marked by the wrinkles and lines of a time already lived and that had drew them the faces with different forms, tired, marked, even ugly. But that lines just meant part of what they were, it was what their lives had been, the only and true result that the years add in each human being. The children and young - few ones, but strong and active presence at the cave - were more red-faced and their skin was not so marked, therefore the time had not still gotten to penetrate them enough in the bodies and hearts. But nevertheless, they were not beautiful at all. They were descending of an old race of rude, strong and raw lines. All of them had an appearance rough, uncommon, it was almost all like this. There were few ones who resembled little different from it, more jovial, of finer and well drawned faces, but those ones were not upset about the cave companions' grotesque appearance, neither the others demonstrated any embarrassment or inferiority before the ones of well drawned and unmarked faces. All were greeted and they were excused at each step that they took, if by chance they had dashed in another person. Their voices, used to the echo of the cave and the sound that it produced - which had to be the more clearing and intelligible as possible - were clear and clean, beautiful and calm; pleasant and soft voices, as melody always played in tuned instrument and by musician of high study and talent.

A "thank you very much", one "excuses me" or "please", were exquisite sounds, of voices that were guided and improved for generations, until that it could go out like that natural and perfectly, with no untunes or alteration.

It happened that, certain day, a visitor from a distance came to find the immense cave in the middle of the distant place; and, from where he came, the people showed magnificent appearance, of velvet skin and well drawned faces, so much that their faces glittered to the view of who observed them. No wrinkle was forgiven or accepted in that society from where he came, the oldest ones looked for all the forms of treatment against the vestiges of the time that marked their faces without any reticence or warning, except the one that the mirror and the other citizens did them.
Then they ran to the surgical centers, to the doctors, to do the perfect picture of the beauty of their faces above the time and its effects; they cut, they sewed, they filled out and they restructured with such substances, not natural to their organisms, but capable to offer them the image upon the most perfect derme.
All the ones were like this in the land where the traveler had come from, and that was the factor of common sense that could tie them in the society: The perfect face, always, to the eyes of everything and everyone.
They were and they should be seen like this, otherwise, the ones of ugly and aged faces would be reason for public banter, disrepute, humiliation. Always seen by the curious glances of an entire population, it was not acceptable any pattern of smaller beauty than that, of the youth stamped in the face, correct and sustained by any conditions: the natural or the artificial.

The boy that had arrived there, suddenly and not less surprised for having found such immense cave - never formerly known - stamped same perfect face, golden due the sun. He was still young, but had already suffered some small interventions that turned his face in acceptable patterns to the society which he lived in.
The nose, now straight and imposing, and the cheekbones in correct angle, gave him superior appearance to who looked at him and stared at such soft contours, so pleasant to the glance.
And it was like this when he approached of the cave, slowly, curious for such a discovery. In the distance, several people walked inside and outside of the cave, they accomplished their tasks. Ugly. So ugly ones! Hideous! - he cried out. He wanted to run, but the curiosity was larger than the horror of coming across with such different people, out of all the beauty patterns that he was used to since his childhood in the land where he inhabited.
He approached a little more and he thought about coming, asking them the right direction of that place and how long they lived there. But at each step that he gave there was not any desire from the citizens to come to his encounter or to drive him one single word. They continued their works without noticing the stranger there beside them.

"Hello" - he said, timidly, under a lot of horror for staring at such ugly people still more closely. Their faces seemed him gaunt and wrinkled, something inadmissible and, immediately, it happened him how much those people needed - and pretty urgent - of a repair surgery that could save them from those marks that the time had deposited naturally in their faces, but that was not, absolutely not natural to him.
That sound of the "Hello" traveled the short distance where those people were and somebody stopped the step and said, with the most beautiful voice that the visitor had already heard:
- What a horrible sound was that?
Other citizens came and they joined to hear. An older one, with the most beautiful voice of all, asked:
- Who emitted such grotesque sound? Is there anybody out of our land here?
- Yes - the young traveller answered - I feel if I scare someone with my presence, but I would like to know where I am and if...
- Be quite, man! - the senior gentleman said, an old man of extremely marked face - don't let the sound of such strident voice go out; and of speech so bad pronounced. Can't you see that it hurts the ones who are hearing you?
- But... - the boy got surprised and offended. After all, his voice was not like this so irritating and the way he spoke was of certain comprehensible way. But, to those people's ears, accustomed and improved to hear and to speak with mastery and perfection the sounds of the own voices, to hear that foreigner was like to tear the tympanums with immense aggression.
- Don't scream and come closer, so that we may see you. - he said, amongst other ones who joined to see the stranger.
The boy got scared when those people of rude appearance came nearer him, ralling round and touching him in the face and shoulders with the hands.
- What are you doing?! - he cried out, still sharper in the voice, what did make the others ones step away immediately, covering the ears.
- We are seeing you! Or how do you think that we may see the one who is here in front of us?
Just then the boy noticed:
- All of you are... blind ones?...
- All what?
- Blind... you can't see, all of you don't know... anything?
- What do you mean? - asked a little boy, who touched him in the face - I am seeing you, with my hands... Your face, your body; it is like all of us here. Your skin is flat and thick and the body strong as mine. The straight hair like the one of my father and the big hands as of my brother. You are alike all of us here, as I have just seen.
- But... You don't understand... - the traveler sat down in one of the stones in the entrance of the cave, shocked for such experience - You don't see each other, with the eyes, they don't see your faces... the marks, the contour of the time, the wrinkles and the appearance gro... - he will say " grotesque", but he stopped when noticing that rudeness would be to say what he intended to say.
- Forgive me, boy, but I should ask you to interrupt your words.
- I have been rude, I know. But the fact is that from where I come, people are not used to let their faces be marked for the time and they constantly reform their faces in search of the best, of the most exquisite appearance. But you don't see each other, not in the way as the ones from where I come are used to. You take care of the external part, faces and body, with just what it needs to stay healthy and alive until you are accomplished with your lives and destinies. That is... - he gave a break, and there was silence. But he continued soon after - You are lucky people. Incredible people! You don't allow the vanity to light you to a constant look for the perfection, for the beauty, for the perfect face, because you can't see them and so it doesn't make any effect, it doesn't anguish your beings, it doesn't disturb you. I have never thought before, but perhaps it may be the perfect society... - concluded him, excited.

But the old gentleman, of tired appearance and of soft voice, came closer him and said:
- Boy, I don't know about you do speak, what the appearance can mean or what that vision as you have just described transmits to the one who possess it. But horror.... of horror now you have made our world covered, stranger. Your voice is such a horrible one that I recommend you to enter in our shelter; there we cultivate the formula that will make your voice fine to our ears, that don't tolerate anymore to listen such a deformed sound and out of our patterns. Several of us have already had to use that formula, that burns and hurts in the beginning, but after some days, your voice will be as our society can accept.

The boy was surprised with what had just heard, and the enthusiasm of before finished as his faith in having found a world where all the ones were accepted with the defects, qualities and changes caused by the time.

So it is, the perfect society is really out, completely out of our patterns.

And he left, returned to his world of beautiful faces and irritating voices, leaving behind and yet hidden of all, the cave of people of rude appearance and voices that seemed fine crystal.