YJA2017 [ A Bench ] Writer

Over a year ago I met an old man who I had a chat with outside a park, a place I like to contemplate. He seemed lonely and in pain, so the first words I said to him on a warm spring day was;" It’s a lovely day, don’t you think ?"
He looked anxious at first, but my words seemed to relieve some of the tension of a stranger greeting someone who wasn’t a familiar face, and the old man replied;" You look familiar, do I know you? "
- "No, I don’t think we meet before? But I do often come here to just think, I think its a place of solitude and peace... Maybe.... or maybe we meet at the local market? " was my simple reply.
The old man looked confused;" No, im pretty sure we meet before " he stated with a confidence that made me unsure of my own memory, and I said to myself;" Just... Just play along ".


-" My name is Ben, short for Benjamin " I said with a smile on my face, and put my hand out to greet. The old man looked at my hand, took it with a firm grip and shook it;" I know, and my name is still the same..G-U-N-A-R-R, short for n-ot-h-i-n-g... " He said with a grim smile and I just thought to myself;" Maybe he is just a little bit of a senile "

Everyday at lunch, at the same bench, we meet and had a little chat. We played chess and backgammon, and he told stories about his son and his wife. I do remember the first time I saw him and the pain he seemed to be in. Yet I never got the courage to ask him, cause maybe, he was dying. I always thought;" A mans pain, is the clothes he wear, remove them and he stands naked ". I was just glad to see a man with a smile on his face, telling stories, or more to it, his life story, he was indeed in his nineties.

Days became weeks, and weeks became months, and months became seasons and we became friends, our lunch at this particular bench in this park became somewhat of a daily routine and I enjoyed it. He read the morning news each day, but barely understood the stories in them, he wanted me to explain them. It took three days to explain how a man named Donald Trump won the presidential election with empty promises, and if that didn’t work, screaming and yelling seemed to do the trick, and all Gunarr replied with;" So thats what politics looks nowadays, when I grew up... "and Gunarr told me that one of the presidents was an actor named Ronald Reagan, I never knew. The same day me and the old man watched one of his old movies and the one that stuck to my mind was " Dark victory " or more one quote "I've Crammed EVERY MINUTE SO FULL of waste. And now there's so little time. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid!"

He was a really bad actor, but good enough to win the presidential election.

Then one day, the old man didn’t show up. I sat alone, well, it wasn’t a big deal, but it felt lonely. Everyday the same routine game comfort in a strange way, you had a simple goal in a direction you could follow;" Lunch at a bench in a park ".

Life is full of daily routines, but this was different, it was stories being shared, the daily routines seemed simpler when stories where shared, especially among friends. The next day the old man still didn’t appear, and I thought to myself;" Did I say something that was out of place? " and worst came to mind;" Maybe he is dead ?".

I felt the panic overtaking and the steps became something in between of running and walking. I followed him home once, or more to it, to his porch, when he wasn’t feeling well, his home was just a few blocks away. When I finally arrived I knocked three times, but I didn’t care. I opened the door instead and ran through the hallway, yelling in a desperate notion;" Gunarr! Gunarr! "and I found the old man sitting in the kitchen and his eyes looked empty as he turned towards me;" I lost my wife and my son a year ago.. Yesterday....... "
- " My eldest son... " His eyes were tired, the pain that i saw a year ago had returned once more and his words explained in a simple way the story he wanted me to hear.

- "His name was Ben, short for Benjamin. We used to sit on that bench in the park feeding the birds, when Ben was a child, but now I visit the graveyard instead.... My wife, I would let my mind shatter into a thousand pieces before saying goodbye.. My soul.. She died the minute after she heard you were dead.. I know its all in my head " his words were clouded in despair.

I wondered what I just heard;" What? " Was the only words I could say..

- " YOU DIED A YEAR AGO! " His scream with the tears falling down his cheek, could not be mistaken for anything else than a man whose soul was lost to sorrow.
- " Im losing my F# mind! Why are you still here!? " The old man screamed while still looking at me.


" I thought he had lost it completely, I didn’t know what to do. Who to call? " I backed up slowly to the door. Opened it and looked at the old man, and his face turned into a familiar one;" Dad? " was all I could say.

- " You live with me in my memories, I have to say farewell before I lose my mind. Say hello to your mom. " The old man wanted to live his last years in reality, without the pain of sorrow. He wanted to feel one last time what it felt to be alive.

I looked at the outside and stairs emerged from nowhere, up all the way to the sky. I turned around once more to the old man and said;" Goodbye, my friend "

The End

Hi tik,
Nice to see you again.

I think you forgot to link your entry in the CONTEST THREAD HERE?

I'll do that for you now.

kindest regards,
Gordi

Interesting twist at the end! Sad, but good story!

a reply to: Gordi The Drummer

Damnit, thanks

a reply to: tikbalang

I loved reading that

a reply to: tikbalang

Did not expect that ending! So good job on telling that story in such a short space!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

If you would rate the twist from 1-10 ?

a reply to: tikbalang

7.0 - 8.0 or so.

I thought it was going to be about the older guy coming back to say goodbye.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

would you have liked it better if it was an older guy? and (if) why?

a reply to: tikbalang

Nope. I like it the way it is!

Just after binge reading the other entries today there seems to be some common themes running through them. You kind of get an idea of where a story is headed.

There is nothing wrong with a pleasant surprise! Like reading the poem that was submitted. It is just not expected that is all.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Twilight zone!

Tikbalang - that was good. Like others, did not see the ending coming, so well done!

a reply to: tikbalang

Well done!


I enjoyed it muchly.