bioluminescence

the elder

The old man heaved an exhausted sigh as he finally found an empty seat in the crowded bus. He clutched his little brown pouch to his chest as he sat down next to a boy. His eyes were bordered with drooping skin and his back was ever so slightly bent from age. His shirt hung from his shoulders and he spoke with a lisp as a result of lost teeth. He would have liked the window seat but he doubted the young man would be willing to give it up. Besides, he had earphones plugged in. And when teenagers had earphones in, they were oblivious to the rest of the world. 

The boy's music was so loud that the old man could hear it even without his hearing aid. It brought back memories of his son. He always wore those cursed earphones when he went outside. It was risky in so many ways. He could go deaf. Or a car could hit him when he failed to hear the horn. But his son had never paid heed to the old man's concerns. He never understood the love and care he'd put in to bring the boy up and then he went and ruined himself as if he were nothing. The same son who had thrown the old man out of the house when he got too old to be useful. When he became a burden.

The old man rested his head against the grubby seat and closed his eyes in defeat. Another fruitless day of hunting for a job. He lived in a rather underdeveloped country. Retirement and age didn't really mean much here. You could see children as young as four years old and people as old as eighty years old working alongside. But still, the employers deemed him weak and older than they could handle. Just as his son had. 

We're busy here old man. We don't have time to deal with your nonsense. Now, show yourself out or we'll have to use force. 

Who let this man in? Take him away, he's in the way!

You're old and senile. What job can I offer you? Don't waste my time.

You don't know anything about how the world works these days. You are of no use to us. 

You're too old to be alive. Go find a place to beg. 

They threw insult after insult at him but he persisted. He needed a job. He needed the money. His wife's life depended on it. He'd go smiling to every next shop asking for an odd job and resort to begging for it in the end.

Give me one chance. He'd pleaded with his hands joined. I'll work hard. My wife is dying. Just please, I beg you. Give me a job. 

They didn't budge. No one. Not one man considered him worthy of a single chance. Because he was old and worthless. A know-nothing.  Whatever had been left of the old man's pride had been trampled on today. Every insult had felt like a stab to his chest but he'd tried to keep a smiling face as he went to the next shop. Because he had to. For the only person in this world who didn't think of him as a burden. 

He hadn't realised when, but he had started crying. His wrinkled hands shook in his lap as he pressed his lips together tightly, to avoid making any sound. A single tear raced down his face.

But the boy next to him had noticed. He'd taken off his earphones. 

The old man braced himself for whatever words he was about to hear. Whatever insults this young boy would throw at him. He seemed to be about his grandson's age. Back when his son had thrown him out of the house, he'd hoped for his grandson's support. But he had never said a word. The old man didn't know what hurt worse. To not hear a single word of protest from his grandson or to leave him forever. 

But the boy next to him did not say anything. Instead, he placed a packaged bottle of water in the old man's quivering hands. It was a simple act. And even if the boy did not know it, his gesture had touched the old man deeply, after a day of being treated like a lowly thing. He gripped the boy's hand in gratitude, his withered, soft hands trembling. 

"Are you okay?" the boy asked. 

And at that moment, this boy sitting next to him felt like the son he had somehow lost two years ago. He knew that as long as people like this boy existed, the world was not yet a rotten place. His words spoke of kindness and a promise that humanity still existed in mankind. He felt hopeful for tomorrow now, as opposed to just a few seconds ago. And all it had taken was a single humane act. 

The old man stared at the water and then shifted his gaze to the boy before his face lit up in the most beautiful smile. 

It was like when lightning hit and turned the dark night to day, 

bringing out all the colours in the world.