Your life, your choices.

Your life, your choices (a very short tale)

Your Life, Your Choices

It seems like an eternity that I've sat up here watching the comings and goings of all those faces. Don't get me wrong though, I wouldn't have it any other way, I mean who else has the power to look into the lives of this populace? It's not merely just watching though, I mean I don't just watch, it's more observing and being conscious of all that goes on.

Well I try to take in as much as I can but even for me I find it hard to focus on everyone all of the time, some obviously go unnoticed from time to time. You'd think that I'd get to know all of the faces after watching for so long, wouldn't you? I used to think that too, but the faces on the whole seem to blur into one being, one race of many different creeds and colours.

There are the exceptions of course, the people that stand out for one reason or another, and there's plenty enough of them believe you and me. The stories I could tell. The things I see make me ashamed sometimes, but then everything can be forgiven and I'll see some of the most rewarding sights you'd ever hope to witness. It is truly strange how on one hand people can treat each other with such love, consideration and understanding and on the other be so much more brutal and unfeeling than I could have ever imagined. But that's the nature of the beast and there has to be that balance between good and evil to make the world go round, it just depresses me somewhat to the extent of the depravity that they extend.

I watched once, chilled, as four adult males followed an eighty seven year old woman from a post office. She was oblivious to them, thinking as she did of her granddaughter's visit that afternoon, a visit which would allow her to recapture some of her lost youth. The males followed not far behind; like a pack of hyenas, barely human. Each one egging the other on to perform the deed they were preparing to do, not a hint of morality shared between them. At last the time came as the frail woman walked from the main road into the short alley leading to her street. They hadn't decided who would initiate the attack, too busy squabbling between themselves, but when the time came they didn't hesitate and there wasn't any mercy.

The old lady didn't stand a chance, one second she was humming an old Bing Crosby song and thinking back to the days of the dance halls, and the next she'd been pulled to the ground, pain flaring in her hip. The men had pulled her handbag as they ran up, yanking her clean off her feet and forcing her to the tarmac below. It wasn't that she wouldn't let go, she'd heard enough stories of their type and had no intention of resisting. They could have her bag - she cared not for material possessions anymore, not since the death of her husband Alfred two years since. But her bag was over her left shoulder and her left hand was in her coat pocket, seeking refuge from the winter air. She'd landed hard on her left, trapping her hand in the pocket of her coat. She could hear them screaming at her to let go of the bag but before she could explain she felt more pain flair up in her side as they began to kick her, then she slipped into unconsciousness as a kick landed on her head. The frenzy continued as they kicked and pulled at her in an attempt to free the bag, then the knife came out and I waited for the final insult, but was spared as the bag strap was cut and the men ran off into the estate with their spoils.

How would they sleep that night I wondered absent-mindedly? Equally shocking as the young men's behaviour was that of the people who either saw the incident happen, or had appeared afterwards and seen the old woman lying beaten on the ground and just walked on by, the kind of behaviour I am seeing more and more. That is why I have started to wonder just how unbalanced this world has become. Maybe there isn't more evil, but just an increased apathy for righteous behaviour. After all, the people I watch all have their own minds, and with that have the ability to think for themselves and make their own decisions as to how they lead their lives.

Of course I see plenty of virtuous behaviour too, but sadly this kind of behaviour isn't rewarded or as well publicised as it should or used to be. It seems that the media will always overlook acts of goodness in favour of a turn of events with a sinister twist, if only to boost their ratings. It is however these sinister events that bring out the good in so many people and this is when I still find hope and solace in humanity. One such event that I watched involved an act of such evil defiance to everything good and right in this world, and in its commission many lives were taken, but so too were lives and bonds built between the people involved.

It had been a warm August evening and, to cut a potentially long story short, a home-made bomb had exploded in the High Street. As I said earlier I can't watch everyone all of the time, and not everywhere equally, so I'd missed the actual initial explosion. But what I witnessed in its aftermath was something no one would ever forget. I won't be graphic with the sights I saw, they are for me to deal with in my own way and not the point of the story I'm trying to portray. Yes there was death and sights of such horror as should never be seen by mortal eyes, but amidst the chaos the people came together. I watched as all walks of life reacted to the situation in front of them. The police and other emergency services worked frantically to bring things to order, all part of their jobs I hear you think, but they are still human with their own emotions and feelings to deal with, and what have most of them done to prepare themselves for such dreadfulness? It was however the rest of the people that pleasantly surprised me.

The old, the young, men and women all joined for one cause - to help others. I could see the fear in one young lady's eyes as she helped a man carry another woman from the debris, but still she acted with such resolve that I wished I too could have went to their assistance. There were even people who I knew from experience weren't exactly righteous individuals, and even when they were caught up in such circumstances found some veiled humanity within themselves, doing what they could to help and comfort the suffering. I know that there will be some recognition for the people who helped in this instance, and that there are various charity groups and government-ran schemes where people are awarded for kindness, but still I sit here omnipresent to some of you and try not to make judgements on what I see, as I try and make sense of the lives and lifestyles that are led.

By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Charlie and I've been working for the Borough Council closed circuit television camera scheme for the last seven years. Like I said, I see a lot of comings and goings and I try not to judge those I watch, but still I'm forced to wonder sometimes over the choices people make and how they opt to lead their lives. It is your life after all, and infinitely it's you who decides the path you take.