There was a man... -short story
There was a man who was walking down the street in the middle of fall and had just resigned from a job. The sky was cloudy and gray; the sun had gone far that day, and he wasn't wearing any shoes. His feet hurt, but he had something to do. A feeling of weariness and that he was missing something important. Never mind that; he stopped by a familiar glass door— one he had walked through many years before. He stepped in with a sheet of paper that only contained scribbles and placed it in front of the lady who regarded him with a pitying look. The man didn't recognize her and simply spoke.
There was a man whose voice filled the small space, a voice that sounded far too old to him, "I'm leaving; this job is a strain, and I must have more time to enjoy life with my family, you know, so please, and have a wonderful day."
There was a man who walked out that door once again, and once again the woman called, and a voice with a defeated sigh came out of that phone. The man wasn't paying attention; he just walked away. He couldn't remember where to go, a simple mistake, but he felt joy to tell his 2 sons that he's here to play. He planned to find another job later, but not before he told his wife that he'd be with her more. And yet again, his face seemed bright; he had a hazy smile, and it was still cold, so he wanted to go home.
There was a man who walked for a while; he looked around many times, and all he saw was unfamiliar houses. He had walked this path before, so why couldn't he find his way home? After a small time of gazing upon cemented bricks, he sat on one of the many gray benches that were around. He sat here before, in this same spot, but he couldn't remember when. A shame, isn't it; he didn't know his way home. It's odd, isn't it, that he's been here before. Never mind that the man closed his eyes and took a breath.
There was a man whose mind hadn't finished wandering off when another fellow came by again. The man wasn't really listening as the fellow took him away; the man only followed. He wasn't sure why, but nethier was he in the right mind. The fellow led him to a house, one just down a few blocks. A woman opened the door, and truth to be told, it was his wife. The man remembered something to make him smile as he told her he left his job; she replied she knew, her voice filled with sorrow.
There was a man who went inside his home and spoke once again.
'Where are the kids? I can't wait to tell them the news; in fact, I want to take them to the park they've been asking for.' His voice was…rough again, not like a person in his late 20s should be. The woman only stared, her eyes filled with exhaustion as she remarked, "They're gone, dear… don't you remember, Erik is in college, and Aiden has a family already, please just come sit down." And so he did.
There was a man whose mind had gone lost long before, who was once too deep in his work, who had forgotten he had kids and drove them away. But that was many years ago, and no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't. The 'kids' weren't interested in seeing him again, and so the only way he could cope was by doing what he should have done long ago.
And so then, there was a man.