The Broken Man
Every man has that moment, when all faith in humanity is gone. For one man in particular, this moment is his entire life. He's grown old, spending the majority of his life in solitude. Watched everything he worked for either be taken, lost or ignored by the world. All he has left is hope. somewhere out there is a woman he loves. Though she has a life of her own, she is the light that has kept him going for nearly two decades. So in this moment, when he was at the very bottom of his dark and otherwise empty life, he goes to see her.
Now he knows this woman as well as he knows himself and though it's been a very long time since the last time they have spoken, that hardly matters. He knows shes picking up extra shifts working a second job bar tending, so he's going to go see her and make her day, knowing that her smiling face will brighten his soul.
He arrives, walks up to the bar and takes an empty stool, it's a quiet night, hardly half a dozen people. but there she is, behind the bar on the far end of the room.
She notices him, walks over to greet him, asks him what he's drinking and then introduces herself. And this is where he breaks. years of friendship and she doesn't even recognize him...
Barely able to utter more than a few words at this point, he orders a drink. It's all he can manage. She pours it and walks away. Now he sits there, looking at the glass, the distilled brown liquid it holds. the ice melting slightly as the room temperature liquor slowly chills. He drinks, silently, only looking up a few times to see the quiet bar, filled with somber people, like him, drinking alone.
He finishes the drink, and she comes back over. She looks rather unimpressed as she hollowly asks why he looks so down. He replies "Sometimes its good to be nobody, unless you're sitting across from someone who means the entire world to you and that's all they see, nobody." And it's like she has to fight to not roll her eyes at him as she says "That's rough, i'll get you another drink." and that's all she does, she pours the drink and walks away. Not only does she not recognize him, she isn't even remotely swayed by his sardonic response.
At this point he's ready to be done. ready to walk out. but he stays, enjoys his drink as best he can, watching the dead bar and its disinterested souls go about the same long expired lives.
This time when his drink is gone, she doesn't come back to refill it. She stays across the bar, staring at her phone, either not noticing the world around her or ignoring it by choice. He just reaches for his wallet, taking out more than enough to pay for the two drinks and nearly one hundred times that to leave as a tip.
He heads for the door, no one noticing him leave until the door closes behind him. He walks to the curb and looks back for a moment, she had just walked over to pick up his glass and has found the pile of money, she glances towards the door and sees him through the window, she doesn't wave, does not chase after him to try and refuse such a large gratuity, she just turns and walks back across the bar, setting the empty glass in the sink along the way, back to her phone.
And with his heart shattered into dust, he slowly walks out into the parking lot, takes a deep breath as finds her car, pulls out a .45 and blows his brains out right across her windshield.
Now he knows this woman as well as he knows himself and though it's been a very long time since the last time they have spoken, that hardly matters. He knows shes picking up extra shifts working a second job bar tending, so he's going to go see her and make her day, knowing that her smiling face will brighten his soul.
He arrives, walks up to the bar and takes an empty stool, it's a quiet night, hardly half a dozen people. but there she is, behind the bar on the far end of the room.
She notices him, walks over to greet him, asks him what he's drinking and then introduces herself. And this is where he breaks. years of friendship and she doesn't even recognize him...
Barely able to utter more than a few words at this point, he orders a drink. It's all he can manage. She pours it and walks away. Now he sits there, looking at the glass, the distilled brown liquid it holds. the ice melting slightly as the room temperature liquor slowly chills. He drinks, silently, only looking up a few times to see the quiet bar, filled with somber people, like him, drinking alone.
He finishes the drink, and she comes back over. She looks rather unimpressed as she hollowly asks why he looks so down. He replies "Sometimes its good to be nobody, unless you're sitting across from someone who means the entire world to you and that's all they see, nobody." And it's like she has to fight to not roll her eyes at him as she says "That's rough, i'll get you another drink." and that's all she does, she pours the drink and walks away. Not only does she not recognize him, she isn't even remotely swayed by his sardonic response.
At this point he's ready to be done. ready to walk out. but he stays, enjoys his drink as best he can, watching the dead bar and its disinterested souls go about the same long expired lives.
This time when his drink is gone, she doesn't come back to refill it. She stays across the bar, staring at her phone, either not noticing the world around her or ignoring it by choice. He just reaches for his wallet, taking out more than enough to pay for the two drinks and nearly one hundred times that to leave as a tip.
He heads for the door, no one noticing him leave until the door closes behind him. He walks to the curb and looks back for a moment, she had just walked over to pick up his glass and has found the pile of money, she glances towards the door and sees him through the window, she doesn't wave, does not chase after him to try and refuse such a large gratuity, she just turns and walks back across the bar, setting the empty glass in the sink along the way, back to her phone.
And with his heart shattered into dust, he slowly walks out into the parking lot, takes a deep breath as finds her car, pulls out a .45 and blows his brains out right across her windshield.