Short Stories

Kind, Part 2

The little girl looks at him curiously. "What do you mean, kind?" She asks him. The man smiles slightly, which looks odd on his usually forlorn face. "My mind has given me a kind of.. Cursed blessing." His voice is raspy, and he rubs his throat as if talking hurt him. At this, the girl edges a little farther down the swing, away from him. "What's that mean?" Noticing her fear, he looks down at his hands. "I believe it's... Selective hearing. I don't mean to do it, it just..." He paused. Curiosity gets the best of the girl and she scoots back down the swing towards the man so she could hear him more clearly.

"I don't think I can hear anything unkind. That's how it seems, anyways. Most people only talk to me to mock me, or if they've been dared to by their...." He pauses, trying to think of the word. "Friends. If their friends dare them to." The girl nods in understanding and a happy smile spreads across her face. "Nobody dared me to! Does that mean I'm kind?" She asked. The man looked at her. "Yes, I suppose positive curiosity towards people is a type of kindness." The girl's smile widens and she swings back and forth on the swing.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, until the little girl's father calls her inside. She hops off the swing and turns to the man. "You'll still be here tomorrow?" She asks, and he looks startled for a second then quickly nods. She beams at him, turns, and runs back into her house. The man rocks back and forth, thinking what has just happened. That was the longest conversation he's had in ages. A slow smile spreads across his face, and a new emotion covers his features: joy.

Over the years, the little girl and the man talk quite often, and he no longer looks as desolate as he used to. The little girl isn't quite so little, and she tells him her name is Anne. "So what's your name?" She asks him, and he opens his mouth a little then frowns. "I don't think I remember." He mumbles, then lapses into silence. She tries to keep asking him questions, but doesn't get any answers.

More time passes, and the girl called Anne grows old. Still she visits him, telling him about her day and asking about his. The aged and the ageless sit side by side. One day, she does not visit him. He walks around the town, scouring every single street trying to look for her. She is his only friend, and he does not want to lose her.

Eventually his frantic walk takes him to the church, where he sees a casket being carried down the walkway. His shoulders slump, and sadness crosses his features once more. He watches as his only friend is buried in the earth. The man stays motionless for several minutes, staring at the fresh dirt. He thinks about all their conversations, the days they spent sitting together. He tries to cry, but can only think of the good times they had together. He pauses and then nods slightly to her gravestone and walks away, with sadness on his face, but a little bit of hope stays in his eyes. For even though he just lost his only friend, she has proven to him that he can make new ones, and that there is kindness in his small town.

        Zero tears shed while writing the ending, definitely. Thoughts?