Live From Life

Female news presenter: “This just in: Recent reports show that the number of single people in the world is now at a staggering zero. Reports show that even all the animals seem to have teamed up in pairs. So, for the first time in history, every living creature on the planet has found a partner.

Let’s go to our reporter in the field, Arturo.”

Male reporter: “I am standing here at city hall where the last scheduled marriage has just taken place.

Surrounded by friends and family, this couple said yes to each other on a truly special day. Because today, everyone in the world is no longer alone. Today, we are all like these two people – In love,”

Female news presenter: “Well, congratulations to the happy couple. And congratulations to all of us.”

Marcel opened his eyes.

With a slow movement, he reached out his hand and turned off the alarm clock. 

After a quick shower, he ate a bowl of cereal over the sink before he grabbed his jacket and briefcase and left for work. 

While Marcel was sitting in his car waiting for the traffic to move forward, he looked out at all the couples going about their day. He looked at the couples who were walking on the sidewalk. He looked at the couples who were sitting at a street cafe. Even in the cars around him, Marcel could see how couples sneaked a kiss while the traffic was standing still.

Marcel sighed and turned his eyes forward, after which he gently pressed the speed pedal to keep up with the traffic.

At work, Marcel stayed at his desk for most of the day. But although he kept to himself, he could not help but overhear his colleagues talking with their partners on the phone. He could hear them making plans and talking about their lives and saying things like “I love you.”

After work, Marcel went grocery-shopping. As he walked down the isles in the supermarket, he kept passing one couple after another. Even in the checkout line, Marcel was surrounded by people in love.

When Marcel came home, he went into the kitchen and emptied his grocery bags. Afterwards, he went into his living room and checked his answering machine. But there were no messages.

A quick dinner for one and a couple of hours of surfing on the internet concluded Marcel’s day and he went to bed.

The next morning, Marcel did his usual morning routine before he left for work. But as he exited his apartment building, he was suddenly met by a swarm of reporters who were waiting for him on the sidewalk.

“Excuse me sir, how does it feel to be the last single in the world?” one of the reporters asked and held up a microphone in front of Marcel’s face.

“No comments!” Marcel replied before he passed the reporters and continued to his car.

Quickly, Marcel got into his car and drove off to work.

Female news presenter: “Startling new information has come to light after the recent news about the single population being zero for the first time ever. It seems that everyone has found their soulmate — except one.

Let’s go to our reporter in the field, Arturo.”

Male reporter: “I am standing in front of an apartment building where the only one who hasn’t found love yet is believed to reside. Apparently, he is a man who lives alone, and…Oh, here he comes now… Excuse me sir, how does it feel to be the last single in the world?”

Marcel: “No comments!”

Male reporter: “Well, he sure left in a hurry. And he didn’t seem too happy. But that’s understandable considering that he can’t be too happy about being alone.”

Female news presenter: “Thank you, Arturo. Hopefully, we’ll get a comment from him later.”

Marcel was sitting at his work desk with his head glued to the computer screen when one of his colleagues came walking by.

“Hey, Marcel, they’re talking about you on the news again,” the colleague said as he passed Marcel.

“Hmm,” Marcel grunted while he kept his eyes on the screen.

After work Marcel drove home.

In an effort to avoid the reporters who were waiting for him in front of his building, Marcel parked his car in an alley, after which he crawled up to his apartment through the fire escape.

On his way through the apartment, he quickly checked his answering machine.

”Hi, Marcel, this is Arturo. I’m a news reporter from…”

Marcel pushed the delete button and walked into the kitchen where he started making dinner.

The next morning, Marcel left for work through the fire escape.

At work, he stayed at his desk. But as lunchtime arrived, he decided to go out and get something at a street vendor.

With a couple of hot dogs in his hand, Marcel sat down on a bench in a nearby park. While eating his lunch, he looked around at all the people in the park. He looked at the couples who were lying on the grass. He looked at the couples who were walking hand in hand. He looked at the couples with dogs who even had the dogs in couples. 

Marcel turned his eyes to the trees where he immediately noticed two pigeons sitting on a branch while grooming each other. 

Marcel sighed and threw the rest of his second hot dog in the trash, after which he headed back to work.

At the end of the work day Marcel needed a drink. So, on his way home, he stopped at his local pub where he sat down at the bar and ordered a beer.

While Marcel was drinking his beer, a man suddenly walked into the pub. The man walked directly up to the bar where he placed himself on a bar stool right next to Marcel.

“Hi, Marcel,” the man said.

Marcel turned his head and looked at the man.

“You’re that reporter!” Marcel said and immediately looked away.

“Name’s Arturo,” the man said and put out his hand to give a handshake.

“Whatever,” Marcel replied and took a sip of his beer.

While Arturo ordered a beer from the bartender, he noticed that Marcel was staring at an affectionate couple sitting at the end of the bar.

“How is it like to see everyone in love?” Arturo asked after the bartender had brought him a beer.

“Like every day is Valentine’s day,” Marcel answered, looking slightly depressed.

Arturo took a sip of his beer and waited a couple of seconds before he asked, “How come you’re single?” 

“I don’t know,” Marcel answered and looked down at the bar counter.

“When were your last relationship?” Arturo asked.

“About five years ago,” Marcel answered.

Arturo took a sip of his beer before he asked, “Were you in love?”

“Very much,” Marcel answered, still looking at the counter.

“What happened?” Arturo asked.

“She left me,” Marcel answered.

“So, maybe you’re just afraid of getting hurt again,” Arturo said.

“Maybe,” Marcel replied and took a sip of his beer before he continued, “But it doesn’t matter now. There’s no one left for me.”

“We don’t know that for sure. Let me help you find love again,” Arturo said and looked at Marcel with a serious face.

“Why? So you can put me on TV?” Marcel replied and looked at Arturo.

“Hey, I help you find a woman and you give us an interview. It’s a win-win,” Arturo said, still looking at Marcel.

Marcel took a deep breath and turned his eyes back at the bar counter.

“Alright,” he finally said.

Female news presenter: “So Marcel, now that we’ve learned a little about who you are, tell us, what are you looking for in a woman?”

Marcel: “Well, someone who enjoys the same things in life as me. I guess, someone like me. Someone who gets me.”

Female news presenter: “And we want to help you find someone like that. So, if there’s anybody out there who knows a single woman, please call the number on the screen.”

Marcel was on his way to leave the TV station when Arturo suddenly came running up to him.

“Hey, Marcel, we got a call. Looks like we found a single woman,” Arturo said with a smile.

“Already?” Marcel answered with a surprised look on his face.

“I got the address. Let’s go!” Arturo said and gave Marcel a quick pat on the shoulders.

Marcel and Arturo were standing next to each other in a hospital room, both staring at an unconscious woman lying in a hospital bed.

“She’s not quite what I expected,” Marcel said and turned his attention to Arturo.

“What do you mean?” Arturo asked and looked at Marcel.

“Well, first of all, she’s in a coma,” Marcel answered.

“She might wake up,” Arturo quickly replied.

“That’s another thing,” Marcel said and looked at the woman while he continued, “When she wakes up, she might not be interested in me.”

Arturo gave the woman a quick glance before he replied, “I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Chances of her waking up are slim.”

Marcel looked at Arturo and shook his head resignedly before he left the hospital room.

That evening Marcel decided to go out and have dinner at a nice restaurant.

After Arturo’s failed attempt to set him up with a woman, Marcel desperately needed something to cheer him up. That something was food.

While Marcel sat at a table and waited for his food, he looked around at all the happy couples sitting in the restaurant.

Suddenly, the woman at the next table excused herself and went to the bathroom.

As the woman walked away, Marcel briefly made eye contact with her date who was sitting only a couple of feet from Marcel. The second their eyes met, the man leaned a bit towards Marcel and asked, ”Dining alone?” 

”Yes,” Marcel answered.

“Your wife had other plans,” the man said while nodding.

“No,” Marcel answered.

“Your husband?” the man asked.

“No!” Marcel quickly answered and lowered his eyebrows.

“Well, it’s gotta be either one,” the man said.

“I’m single,” Marcel answered in a low voice, so that he was sure that none of the other guests could hear him.

”Oh yeah, that’s where I’ve seen you! You’re that guy who hasn’t found love yet!” the man exclaimed with a loud voice and continued, “That’s gotta suck, huh?”

Marcel stared down at the table with an annoyed look on his face.

“Unbelievable!” he whispered to himself.

Later that evening Marcel was back home at his apartment.

With his computer in front of him, he logged into his Facebook account and saw, to his surprise, that he had received hundreds of messages. The messages were from strangers around the world, telling Marcel everything from “Hang in there, you’ll find love,” to “You must feel like the biggest loser in the world!”

Marcel read them all before he finally went to bed.

Saturday morning, Marcel woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. It was Arturo.

“We’ve found someone!” Arturo said with excitement in his voice.

After a quick shower, Marcel drove down to the TV station where he found Arturo hovering in the hallway.

“Her partner was run over by a car,” Arturo said before he opened the door to his office.

Marcel wondered for a second before he followed him through the door.

“Here she is!” Arturo said and pointed to the blond Golden Retriever sitting on the floor in the middle of the office.

“It’s a dog!” Marcel said and looked at Arturo with a confused look on his face.

“Yeah!” Arturo replied with a smile.

“A dog!” Marcel repeated, still looking confused.

“Yes, but it’s a FEMALE dog!” Arturo replied.

Marcel looked at Arturo with a more serious face.

“IT’S A DOG!” Marcel repeated in a raised voice. 

Arturo did not know what else to say, so he just shrugged his shoulders while staring silently at Marcel.

Resignedly, Marcel sat down on the nearest chair and buried his head in his hands.

“This is hopeless!” Marcel said to himself in a low voice.

With a slow movement, the dog got up and walked over to Marcel where it lay down at his feet. 

“Hey, she likes you!” Arturo said with a smile. 

Marcel did not respond.

Later that day, Marcel was back home watching television.

With the remote control in his hand and the blond Golden Retriever lying next to him, he was sitting on the couch. As he flipped through the channels, he suddenly landed on the news where they were showing a clip of Marcel walking the dog.

Female news presenter: “As seen on this video filmed earlier today, it looks like Marcel has finally found a companion — in the form of a dog.”

Marcel turned his head away from the television and looked at the sleeping dog. With a frustrated groan, Marcel turned off the television and got up from the couch, after which he left his apartment, along with the Golden Retriever.

Marcel was sitting on a chair with the dog lying by his feet. Next to Marcel, the woman in a coma was lying in the hospital bed.

“I never should have agreed to let Arturo help me,” Marcel said while looking at the unconscious woman. After a moment he continued, “Now they’re even making fun of me on the news.”

For a while Marcel sat in silence and stared into space.

”I’ve just been feeling so lonely,” he finally said and concluded, “Maybe I should just give up.”

In the evening Marcel returned to his apartment.

With his computer in front of him, he was reading messages from strangers on Facebook. 

Suddenly, he got a new message.

Louise: Hi

Marcel quickly clicked into the woman’s profile. When he saw that she was in a relationship, he made a small sigh before he started writing.

Marcel: Hi

Louise: I hope it’s okay that I’m writing to you 

Marcel: No problem, what’s up?

Louise: Great… I have a girlfriend who is single 

Marcel: Really?

Louise: Yes

Marcel: Who is she? Can I meet her?

Louise: She is a bit shy… She asked if you could meet with me instead?

Marcel: Alright, I guess we could do that

Louise: When and where?

Marcel: On the promenade in an hour?

Louise: Alright, see you there

Marcel: Ok

Marcel recognized Louise from her Facebook picture right away.

“Hi, I’m Marcel,” he said as he walked up to her and put out his hand.

“I’m Louise,” she replied and shook Marcel’s hand.

“Why don’t we take a walk and you can tell me all about your friend?” Marcel asked.

“Okay,” Louise answered with a smile, after which they started to stroll down the promenade along the beach.

Everything Louise told about her friend sounded great, and Marcel could not help but get a bit excited. 

After an hour of walking on the promenade, Louise was finally running out of things to tell about her friend.

“Well, she sounds perfect!” Marcel said after a couple of minutes of silence.

“You think so?” Louise asked and looked at Marcel.

“Yes!” Marcel answered and looked at Louise while he continued, “I just hope she’s as beautiful and charming as you.”

Louise smiled at his compliment.

“So, when do I get to meet her?” Marcel asked and walked over to the railing which separated the beach and the sidewalk.

Louise walked over and stood beside him.

“You already have,” she said while gazing at the sunset.

“What?” Marcel exclaimed and looked at Louise with surprise, after which he continued, “But on Facebook it says you’re in a relationship.”

Louise turned her eyes away from the sunset and looked at Marcel.

“I changed that after I saw how much attention you got because you’re single. I didn’t want that to happen to me,” she replied.

“But why didn’t you just tell me that on Facebook?” Marcel asked.

“Well, when I saw you on TV, I thought you seemed very nice,” Louise answered and turned her eyes back to the sunset before she continued, “But I didn’t know how you would feel about me. And I just don’t want to be rejected again.”

Marcel stared at Louise.

“You are afraid of getting hurt?” he asked.

Louise looked at Marcel and nodded quietly. 

“I understand,” Marcel answered and nodded, too.

They both smiled at each other for a short moment before they stepped away from the railing and continued their walk down the promenade.