THE SOLITARY MAN

THE SOLITARY MAN

It was sunset. Roy and Tommy were in their living room, standing near the window. They were observing the house opposite theirs.

It was a small house with a pitched roof covered with grey coloured shingles and decorative wrought iron frames at the front. The windows had shaded glass panes. The main door was made of carved dark brown wood. Close to the entrance was a trellis, which was covered with pale green ivy and purple flowers. There was no fence in the yard.

This house had been vacant for a long time. Two weeks ago, it had a new occupant. It was an elderly man, with an awkward gait. He walked lamely with the help of a walking stick. He was rather short in stature. No one had ever seen his face. He hardly came out of his house and whenever he did, he always wore a scarf and hat, which concealed his features. It seemed that his face was marked with scars and his eyesight was defective. He wore thick glasses. The skin at his forehead and chin was wrinkled and his fingers were dry and rough.

He had not spoken to anyone in the neighbourhood, during the two weeks that he  lived in the area. He was withdrawn and did not even reply whenever someone greeted him. It was only at sunset that he put on his felt hat and his scarf to go for his daily walk. He usually moved hurriedly as if he wanted to avoid any face to face meeting with other people.

This old man intrigued everyone in the neighbourhood. The topic fuelled everyone’s conversation, with frivolous and farfetched interpretations and theories. It became the central theme of gossip among the housewives. While one lady believed that the old man was a dangerous criminal, another was convinced that he was a sadist with sinister motives. One woman thought that he was a mentally sick person. They all wondered why he lived alone, in hiding and did not talk to anyone. They all concurred that a serious attempt should be made to force him to leave the house.

On the other hand, the male community in the area was not bothered about the presence of this single, solitary old man. One of them reminded his wife that everyone is free to live as he wants. He reprimanded her,” Don’t meddle with people’s lives. Let him do what he wants and live as he wants,  as long as he is not disturbing anyone of us.”   Another one said,” Well it is better to have a quiet and solitary neighbour than a boisterous and unruly young couple, who would have been a disturbance to all of us.”

The younger generations, specially the adolescents were curious. They were puzzled by the way of life of this man, who resembled a character from a mystery novel. Their imagination went haywire with all sorts of crazy assumptions and guesses. They wanted by all means to uncover the secrets of this hermit.

At college meetings, young students got engaged in heated discussions about the mysterious neighbour. According to Maria, he was a man with some secret magical powers. Ryan believed that the man was performing hazardous scientific research in his house. Simon’s imagination was more fanciful. He said that the man could be an alien from outer space. Sheela remarked that the man could be a terrorist planning terror attack. Suzy was more down to earth. She said that instead of being suspicious and doubtful, they should also consider that the man might be suffering from some disease and needed help. 

Roy and Tommy were determined to expose the secrets of this man. 

“Where does he go every night?” said Roy. “What a strange man. He does not speak to anyone. He never smiles.”

“He has placed so many sign boards in front of his house. Did you see that? No Entry, No Trespassing, No Parking sign boards. Is there something he is hiding in his house?” said Tommy.

Roy said “Last week, Mrs Margaret went to see him. She wanted to welcome him as a new neighbour. She even brought him a bag of fruits that she picked from her garden. He did not open the door. ”

Tommy added, “The other day, the little girl Jenny was riding her bicycle as usual. She happened to come in front of his house. He shouted from the window, “Keep away. No kids allowed here”

Roy said, “ How weird is this man. He does not want to meet anyone. He remains secluded and does not talk to anyone. I bet he is a fugitive, running away from the police.”

“ Maybe he is a thief with a  treasure hidden in his house,” Tommy said.

Roy and Tommy decided to keep a watch on their enigmatic neighbour. This is the only way they thought would help them to discover the truth. They kept an eye on his house at sunset, when he usually goes out.

“Can you see anything?” asked Roy.

“Yes, he is opening the door. He is wearing his hat and  holding his walking stick. He is looking around furtively, “said Tommy.

“Let’s follow him,” Roy said.

They went out and walked behind him keeping a safe distance. After walking some 500 meters, the man stopped and looked around. He noticed the two boys behind him. Without any remark, he turned around and took the direction of his house.

“Oh no, “said Roy, “He is too sharp. He has seen us and is going back.” The boys returned home in utter disappointment.

The boys decided that they would enter into his house and try to find a clue. At sunset, on the next day, they waited for the man to go for his walk. Then they went to his house. The back door was not locked. They entered inside. The kitchen was spotless. The cooking pots were placed in an orderly manner on the shelf. The cutlery was bright and shining.

The living room had a set of sofas and a television on a stand. Everything was well-ordered and tidy. The boys noticed some papers on the table. They seized them.

Roy said, “These are hand written letters. Let us read them.” The letter was written by the old man.

“My dear son, Its five years that we last saw each other. We said good bye to each other without knowing whether we will ever meet again. I knew that you had to comply to orders from your superiors and proceed on duty. I did the same when I was your age. I know that you could not share the details of your secret mission with me. I did the same when I was on similar duty like you. I do not know where you are, when you will be back and whether I shall ever see you again.

I find solace in  memories of the joyful moments that you shared with me. On your birth, I was the happiest man of the world.  After your mother passed away, we learnt to overcome our grief and to cope with life. Though you were still a small kid, you gave me comfort and your little hands holding  mine gave me the courage to move ahead.  

Then came the day of the perilous mission that I undertook and the disastrous  blast. I lost one leg, one eye and  was taken for dead. I survived thanks to you, your support. I am alive today, with a mutilated face  that make me look so hideous, that I am scared of showing it. I have even to  push back kids from my house, though I love kids a lot. They would be terrified when they see my face.

My dear son, every day I walk to the train station and wait for you. I cannot go out during the day. So I go at sunset, to avoid exposing my horrible features to people. I sit alone and wait for hours and come back after everyone is asleep.

Do you know that I had to leave our house as I could see the fear in the expressions of people whenever they saw me. This is why I have come to live in a new house and  new neighbourhood, where people do not know me. I stay away from everyone and avoid their eyes. But  people living here believe that my behaviour is weird and they even suspect that I may be an evil person with creepy motives.

On the day that you come back, they will learn that I am a loving father and a good human being. I am the proud father of a brave and heroic son.