Living

Old Man

The man was as old as his voice sounded, seemingly about to die at any moment. Even with the strong wintery weather, Eden could see wrinkles printed on his face. He was holding his head down, looking at a few red flowers and didn't seem to notice that Eden had seated himself behind him. He was still singing the song that Eden wrote when he used to be a street performer. The song was called "Rock + Roll" and was about how much he wanted to escape the hardships he had to face, growing up without parents, not ever being adopted, being kicked out of the orphanage and being then, homeless. Eden asked "how do you know that song, old man?" the old man didn't seem to hear him and there was a moment of silence between them that, to Eden, seemed to last an eternity, he only heard the sound of the wind, blowing the snow before the old man decided to answer: "my wife used to sing it, she used to make us stop and listen to a street performer down by the subway station" he started smiling halfway through the sentence. Eden knew that the performer was him. He vaguely remembered a happy old couple who would often stop for over thirty minutes to watch him play, but they stopped coming after a few weeks. He thought of how the wife would have a kind smile, like she were watching her own son playing and she seemed to really enjoy the music, the husband would have his eyes and smile focused on his wife, who was singing along with Eden. Eden asked "used to?" the old man responded "she passed way three years ago, Cancer." Eden immediately retracted his attempt to converse, the old man must have noticed "why such a long face" he said like Eden was overreacting "she lived a happy life" The man had no trace of sadness in his voice. "How can you sound so content?" Eden asked again and the man responded " she died happily. I've fulfilled my job as her husband so I have nothing to be sad about" Eden laughed out loud; he couldn't understand this old man. The old man spoke again "you'll understand when you've faced hardship." Eden was becoming increasingly annoyed "who are you to assume that I haven't lived a life just as hard as yours!" he raised his voice. As soon as he regained his composure, he apologised, noticing how he was acting towards this widower. The man continued as if nothing harsh was spoken "once you've faced enough hardship, everything becomes clear to you, you're still young." After a slight pause, he continued "you sound like you have a lot on your mind, son, why don't you entertain an old man by sharing your story?"