The Man

The man awoke at 6:00 AM just like any other Monday morning. He took his ten minute shower, put on his black shoes, black socks, gray pants, white collared shirt, ate his corn flakes brushed his teeth, and combed his beard. But today he stopped and looked in the mirror and ran his hand over his scalp, with a look of despair upon his face. Today was the man's 60th birthday. No one knew who the man was, where he had come from, where he lived, what he did, and why. With the busy life that every New Yorker lives no one bother to stop and ask these questions. The man was a ghost among the people.

The man placed his glasses upon the bridge of his nose, and immediately they began to droop below his eyes. Things were never the same since he left his life in Georgia along with the only people who knew the man. Actually it was more like everyday was the same for the man. He locked the door with the same key, walked down the same pathway, waited at the same bus stop, to the same park that he went to everyday. there he would sit on his bench, the same bench he sat on for the past 5 years, thinking, reflecting, and wondering to himself. The trees shook, the joggers ran, the bicycles whizzed by, the ducks quacked, and the children's laughter was heard. The man sat in the bench just like any other day. Except there was a boy sitting across from the man, swinging his legs, and looking towards the ground with despair. He stood and walked towards the boy. the boy looked up at the man and followed him as he sat on the other end of the bench. It was unusual of the man to pry into other peoples life since he seldom talked.

"What's your name boy" his voice was very raspy, the kid looked down at his feet and stayed silent. the man looked in another direction and sighed.

"Michael" the man looked at the kid with astonishment.

"A good name" the boy blushed at his remark and looked back at his swinging shoes
"what seems to drag you towards the floor boy?"

"i don't like it here" he said very softly.

"neither do I" the man said

the boy looked up at him puzzled

"why?"

"because i'm not home" the boy did not understand and just as he was about to ask him the boys mother grabs him by the ear

"where have you been, iv'e been looking for you for over an 20 minutes were late for your dentist appointment, and we still have to stop by grandmas"

The boy waves at the man and the man waves back with a smile.

The man sits for a little while and then unuaually stands up walks towards the subway entrance and finds the directions to the airport. He was headed back to where he belonged, to the people he still loved, to the land that he knew. Just then a man took a picture of him.



















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