On the 20th of November: Santiago Died

"On the 20th of November: Santiago Died" 

On the 20th of November, a man remembered to return to a tree he once knew, a tree that he had since been returning to throughout his life. As the man made his way to the said tree, he saw no one, not a single sign of anyone. Being alone wasn't new for the man for he had been living that way for the past few years. It seemed that everyone he once knew had abandoned him or had forgotten him. It was as if, for him, he was the last man on earth. Every day he would eat alone, sleep alone and live alone. He regretted his days, for he thought that a life in solitude is as worse as a life unlived. When the man reached the tree he once knew, he sat underneath it and watched the setting sun. He grabbed something out of his pocket and started to remember, that things, weren't always that way. 

........ 

On the day, before the 20th of November, 1894, Santiago woke up. The light, coming from the windows, shone upon his still heavy eyes. He pulled himself up and shook his head a little, as if trying to remove his drowsiness. He was sweaty. His plain white shirt was soaking wet. He must have been nervous throughout the night; perhaps it was because of his dream, or it could have been very hot last night inside the old dark stable. He stood up, and went straight to a pale of water that was just lying near his makeshift bed, and drowned his head on it. He looked into the mirror and saw his stressed filled eyes. He was tired and he knew it, but still he couldn't rest nor sleep well the past few days. He always had nightmares. He went back near his bed and went under it. He pulled out a large black box underneath. He slowly and cautiously opened it and peeped inside, ensuring that, what was in it, was still there. He carefully returned the black box underneath the bed and covered it with sheets. He looked around to make sure that no one saw where he placed it. He once again stood up and changed his clothes to a more, civilized one and went outside the abandoned stable. 

Santiago marched along the dirt road outside. The stable lay on a small grass filled hill located beyond the woods. On the other side of the trees there lay the town and, on the hill, near the stable, also laid a tree, an ordinary tree which had an unordinary visitor annually. 

.......... 

It was the 20th of November; it was raining hard that night. Santiago was running through the muddy hill, protecting something in his hands. The young man went straight to a tree and met someone underneath it. 

"Do you have it?" the man asked. 

"Yes sir." Santiago answered.

He handed the man the seed. The man turned his back away from him and did something strange to it. Then the man turned and threw the seed into the ground. The man stepped on it. And, as soon as the man removed his foot, the two were covered by an invisible force field that protected them from the rain. 

"How are you Santiago?" The man asked while fixing his black hat. 

"I'm fine, Van, as usual." Santiago answered. 

The man looked around and asked again "Did anyone saw you coming here?" 

"From what I know, none," He answered. "Don't worry I'm good at keeping secrets. No one's going to find out that I'd been meeting with you." He added in assurance. 

"Very well." The man replied. "So, how's life? How's your mother doing? Is she alright?" 

"I don't know." Santiago answered. "She and Pablo aren't doing fine lately." 

"How? Pablo is your 'step father' right?" 

"Yes he is. They're always fighting. Pablo lost his job as a janitor at the opera house."