Strangers

“ I have a story to tell you!” a voice says, you will lift up your head from your damp hands. An old man is smiling at you from the end of the bench, he sits politely as he clings to his walking stick. Your gut tells you to move, because this day has already been worse enough. However, your butt is glued to the bench with curiosity . You will wipe a final tear and sniffle a final sniff, then you will nod.

“ What’s the story?” You will ask, positioning yourself to get as comfy as you can. What AreYou Doing?!

You want to scream at yourself for talking to a stranger, because you definitely know better than this. Probably at the end of this story he will have a handful of candy and lure you into his van, then you will be driven away to never be seen again. However, Of course your dumb enough to think a frail lonely old man couldn’t do such a bad deed. So right now you're asking a stranger for a story instead of running for your life , Perfect Idea! The old man will smile and look off at the empty road in front of you both, then he’ll clear his throat and he will finally begin his story.

“ Once there was a man, he was about my age but a few months younger. His name was Agnes,” The old man will start, “ A year before this story began his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, Agnes paid for as much treatment as he could to save her.” The old man will pause, as if he forgot the story. However, he will continue with a shaky voice, “ But nothing worked, his wife passed away in the hospital while holding Agnes’s hand. None of her children came to be with her, just her and Agnes. This really made Agnes upset,” The old man will say in a shaky voice, he will grasp his walking cane tightly. You wait for him to continue, but you are both left alone in the dirty subway and on a bench with thousands of old gum stuck on the bottom. The silence will drag on enough until you finally stop the silence.

“ Are you ok, sir?” You will ask, scooching closer to him. His grip will loosen on the walking stick as he will exhale, he’ll open his eyes and look at you. “ Don’t Interrupt, I’m not finished.” The old man will demand with his still gentle voice, “ Agnes was very wealthy, even after the hospital bills he kept his fortune. However, when he was looking for the perfect coffin for his wife, when he went to pay he had no money left. When he looked in his bank account, all the money had been taken out by someone. Later he found that someone,” The old man will pause and look at you, making you have to ask a baby question.“ Who took out the money?” You will ask, rolling your eyes because the old hag probably can’t see your eyeroll. 

“ His own daughter took the money, she did it for her wedding. Agnes was never invited to the wedding. Agnes was forced to sell everything he owned, including his wife’s belongings that had been left with him. The only thing Agnes didn’t sell was his wife's wedding ring, it was all he had left with her. One day Agnes carried the ring in his pocket, he slipped and fell unfortunately. The ring rolled out of his pocket and fell into the sewage drain.” The old man look down, not a cheerful old man anymore. “ Agnes felt like nothing good would happen to him ever again, not as long as his wife wasn’t with him. However, when Agnes stood up after his fall he saw a rose. A rose was his wife's favorite flower, it was a sign from her that she was still with him even when her soul was not there. So Agnes got inspired to grow a rose bush in his garden, and everything felt better. Agnes and his daughter got family therapy, Agnes got the money back that was stolen from him, and he even bought a necklace that was a rose sealed in glass. He is even still alive to this day.” The old man will pause one more time, he will grasp a chain around his neck and smile. “ The end,” The old man will finally say, looking at you.

“ Why did you tell me this story?” You will ask, the old man will chuckle like you are dumb.

“ Because I thought you needed it,” The old man will reply, you notice your cheeks are still pink from crying. 

PSSHH screams the bus when it stops in front of you and the old mans bench, its next stop is where you need to go. So you and the old man will part ways. Before you step on the bus, a boiling question comes up from your throat.

“ What’s your name?” You will ask one final time, the old man will smile for the final time and grab a necklace around his neck to show you.

“ My name is Agnes, nice to meet you.” Agnes will reply, fully revealing the necklace around his neck. A necklace of a rose encased in glass the rose is still thriving as if it were still alive is revealed around his neck. 

Once you are seated on the bus, you will still see Agnes sitting on the bench from the window. He will stay seated until when the bus finally starts  moving, you slowly are pulled away as he finally notices you looking at him. He will wave at you, stand up slowly, and walk away from the bench at the bus stop. You will look at Agnes through the bus window as he walks away, wishing he could tell you more stories of his life.