Social Short Story – The other old man and the sea
Photo credit: jober788 from morguefile.com
The man was walking fast, his ragged clothes dancing about from side to side. The other guy stopped him dead on his tracks. He had a careful look and said, “Where do you think you are going old man?”
“To the river?”, he said quickly while restarting his car engine. The man stopped him this time, this time saying, “Now wait a second. How do you just all of a sudden have a car now?”
“It’s yours”, he smiled wickedly, as he zoomed past the man, who was left bewildered. He slowly went to the river and had a drink of water. The reflection was clear. A maiden came around and stood still beside him. She didn’t know what to do so she kept standing watching, waiting for some movement.
Silence. A bird chirped somewhere far away as the sun set.
The man had had enough now; he walked back and didn’t take any notice of her; neither did she. She moved to the river and started drinking. The man said aloud enough to be heard, “No wonder. Huh!”.
The path was uphill and winding; the goal was difficult to reach. Yet he somehow reach his destination and said to the officer, “I’m here. All my life I have waited for this moment”. The officer wasn’t very pleased, or welcoming. He just put the stamp and beckoned the man. The man felt happy inside and jumped with joy. His exuberance was contagious; everyone around also started to jump around, singing, shouting slogans of freedom and achievement, throwing their papers and documents hither thither. “What a beautiful mess”, the man pondered as he smiled to himself.
But it was hot now, and his shadow had vanished beneath his feet. He was all alone. And hungry. S0 he caught the bird which flew above him, and killed it through its chirping. Poor thing, he thought to himself, as he took a big bite of the breast. There were screams of pain and pleasure at the same time, which the man found quite intriguing. He had no money, or education, but Life was good to him and he was good to Life.
“Ahoy there! Can anyone help me?” cried someone. The man got up quickly wasting no time and left his house in a hurry. He was also carrying a gun with him, and wore his old hat, which he absolutely adored. No one could separate him from his hat, no one. Resolved, he moved outside the house. He knew he didn’t care for the cries for help. And he didn’t have a plan either; he just kept on walking. The jungle grew denser with every step; he might have also heard some hissing, but he didn’t stop. When the man finally found a clearing he saw some people sitting around a beach fire, talking among themselves in a language he didn’t understand. He was in two minds now.
The man greeted the eldest looking guy, who was wearing a suit, seated on a majestic chair. His looks showed he thought highly of himself. Beside her, was seated a queenly lady with the most gentle smile, which reeked of innocence, the kind which could make anyone potent man go weak on the knees. However, it appeared that she was married to the majestic guy. The man moved forward and kissed the damsel’s hand; in doing do, he heard a noise, which sounded unpleasant. He decided it was time to go now.
Just as he was preparing to leave, he heard a female voice, “Don’t be shy. Just chill”. He took no heed and turned his back on the people, maintaining his composure. “What do they know of Life”, he wondered as he went back to his hut.
The night was calm. The starts shone bright. The people on the beach slept one by one. The lake was still. The birds had returned to their homes. The sounds of the forest could be heard from a distance. The man lay on his back looking up. The gun was beside him, just in case.
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