Earth, 2022
Bluefin city,
Thousands of strangers walking on the road, their destination; only they themself would know.
Among them, there was also an unremarkable middle aged man who was like the rest of them walking on the same road but his destination unknown.
The middle aged man was lost;
lost in life,
Everyday; wake up, go to work, come back, Do that until the rest of your life. That's life right there. Be happy when you are with your friends or families and feel lonely when they are gone. This was how the middle aged man was living his life.
The middle aged man’s name was Edmond Gray. A bachelor who was pretty slim, with dyed hair that was white and a face that would be pretty much forgotten if you don’t know him in person.
As today was saturday and Edmond didn’t have work to do, so he came to get some fresh air outside.
“Sigh, how can I forget, A city having fresh air; how laughable, '' said Edmond with the gesture of mocking himself; as he was returning the way he came from, he saw a shop that was selling cakes and remembering that it has been a long time since he has eaten cake; he decided to eat some.
Making his way towards the counter he ordered his favorite black forest pastries and after getting it; he sat outside the shop where many tables were put in an orderly manner.
While eating he happened to notice an old beggar that was looking his way. He felt bad and awkward while eating so hurriedly finished the pastries and ordered another one.
After making his way towards the old beggar, Edmond gave him the pastries.
The Old Beggar hurriedly opened it and started eating it. Edmond just stood there and smiled while thinking to himself “It does feel good to do something good.”
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The old beggar’s clothes were dirty, his hair messy and you can see his almost black teeth.
After the old beggar finished eating the cakes, Edmond also started to walk the way he came from, but at this moment he heard a voice from the old beggar.
“Boy, don’t you think living in this world is pretty boring.”
“Hmm” while frowning Edmond said “what can we do even if we are bored living, it's not like we can change anything even if we die.”
Hearing this the beggar answered with another question
“Humans are called social animals; do you know why??
“Is it because two hands cannot rival four fists?” Said the old man as he continued to answer this himself “Among the many reasons; Maybe it is one, but the main reason is because humans cannot stand loneliness, they need comfort, understanding, acknowledgement, friendship and many more, but among them there are still some people that are different from the rest. They are unsatisfied with being ordinary so they seek to do or be someone extraordinary, they think differently than what society expects them to think; that’s why society labels them as insane people.”
“Mainly they are a lonely bunch of souls that don't contend with living an ordinary life.”
Hearing this Edmond was stunned and he said “but what has that got to do with me in anything”
“Hehehe, feigning ignorance??” Said the old beggar as he continued “Deep down aren’t you also lonely, you have money, have family, friends everything that a beggar like me would like to have but still are you happy with that.”
Edmond was in a deep thought , every single thing the old beggar was saying was right, “He wasn’t happy with his life, boredom was the only thing that he was feeling right now. He didn’t have anything that made him happy or interested. He didn't even know why he was alive right now, but he also didn’t want to die, he always thought “who cares whether someone remembers me or not; once I am dead does it even matter, it’s not like he would know whether someone respects or remembers him once he is dead.
"So what's your point, saying all this" Edmond said with a plain voice.
"There's no point in this kid, just trying to wake you up and here this is a small gift for giving food to this old man." saying this the old beggar gave Edmond a pocket watch.
The moment Edmond saw the pocket watch he was dazed for some time; it's craftmanship was exquisite and beautiful. It was like the it had a existence of its own, something which has a lot of history in it, passed down since the ancients.
"Hey, this.....I can't accept it" while saying this he looked ahead and but was stunned as he didn't see anybody ahead, "where did he go." he tried looking around but couldn't find him so he could only sigh to himself and give up.
"What an weird experience this was." said Edmond as he starts to walk the way home.
...
At a nearby building the old beggar was watching Edmond's back while silently muttering to himself, "This is the only thing that I can do for you."
...
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