The roar of
the first buses began to break the stillness of the cold air. The city was unraveling
from its slumber. The streetlights faded one by one, as they did every morning.
Under one of these lamps, there sat a man.
It was hard
to tell whether his face had been jaded by the passing years or by their substance.
He was huddled under a battered trench coat; a shaggy grey mane adorned his
head. His eyes were closed but he was not asleep, he had probably been up for
hours. It was too cold this time of year, and the day before had done little to
give him the means of numbing his senses.
A few meters from where he lay the grating of the Bakery went up with a bang. He
opened his eyes and began to reshuffle the newspapers he kept tucked under his
jacket for warmth. They had been of little comfort last night, he thought.
Every movement was more strenuous then the last, but it was time to prepare for
work. The opening of the bakery meant that his day had begun.
Soon small
trickles of people were making their way to the shop in the hope of satisfying
their most important meal of the day. Out of all the passer by’s his eye fell
on a little boy, walking hand in hand with his mother. The brown headed child
was blissfully ignorant of all around him; he chuckled and grinned, all the
while pulling on his mother's dress. He watched as the child’s excitement
steadily rose with every step that took him nearer to this infantile shrine of
goodness. He watched as the mother handed him a pastry, and how the boy squealed
with delight. As the two left the bakery, the child’s gaze fell on the old man
and he smiled. However before the man could respond, the toddler had been lead
on by his mothers insistent step.
Hours
passed, the sun was at its peak in the blue sky. The chime of school bells rang out in frantic sprees, as if to warn of the chaos that would ensue. Children now
filled the street, laughing, playing, and taunting one another in the way that
only children do. As he glanced around hoping for a pitying look, his eyes
stumbled on a group of boys. All their voices rang out, yet over their clamor
one reined supreme. He appeared to be their leader, for when he spoke all
seemed to fall silent, and he appeared to be gleefully proud of it. As he
passed the old man he spared him a smirk, whispered something to his friends
and took off down the road, all the while his brown curls bobbing in the wind.
The sun
hung over the buildings to his left, as he noticed a couple sit on a bench not
far from where he lay. It was an image to melt the most frozen of hearts. She
was a sight to behold, slender, and beautiful with all the marks of youth. She
clung onto the neck of a young man, confident and proud, yet so subdued by the
magnificence that was in front of him, he seemed little more than a child. He
slowly got down on one knee as he held something in his hand. The old man
watched attentively, as the young woman let out a gasp and then kissed her
lover while gently running her fingers through his curly brown hair. The pair
then got up; eyes transfixed on one another and slowly began gliding down the
street, never once taking notice of the old man. He didn’t know why but something
in him burned as he watched them disappear into the city. Catching himself he
looked at his cup, it was still empty.
By the time the sun had begun to set his plight had not bettered. The wind was picking up,
but he was too tired to move. As he was deciding what to do, a man in his early forties walked by. He had no wedding band on his finger but held a suitcase. He
was muttering on his phone as he passed by. His shoes bore signs of overuse. He
gave the old man a scornful yet astonishingly fearful look and continued on his
way. Having taken a few paces he stopped, having pushed the brown strands of
hair out of his eyes, he turned around and walked back. A distinctive clink was
heard as the coin landed in the old man’s tin cup. “You never know, I might be
you someday” he said as he briskly walked away. Suddenly there was a loud
ringing in the old man’s ears; he felt a shove, his eyes opened. “You can’t
sleep here sir” a voice said.