Chapter 1: A man I met in a bar.
11.29 PM, I looked at my watch. I was taking shelter underneath a small bus stop. It was stormy that night. I did not expect any downfall so I was wearing a light pair of clothes. I cursed in silence as my footwear was slowly but surely getting soaked. It was uncomfortable wearing wet shoes.
I scanned the area looking for a place to rest, preferably to drink and take my mind off things. I don't want to stay underneath the cover of a small 2m x 4m roof. I looked to the right and the left. Some shops are closed, which are to be expected as most shops are closed for business at 10 PM. However, I spotted a bar 50 meters from my location. It was thriving with patrons, so I gathered my energy to make a run for it.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
After a short run, I managed to reach the front door of the bar. Indeed, it was thriving, with tables being filled with patrons inside the small bar, I couldn't see any empty ones. Slowly, I opened the front glass door.
Ding!
The sound of a shopkeepers' bell managed to catch the bartender's attention. The bartender, who sports a simple red t-shirt took a glance at me.
"Soaked eh? Here, take this towel. It's free don't worry," he proceeded to throw a small, folded towel towards me.
I dried myself off just enough to feel comfortable enough to sit. I looked for an empty seat and found one located at the corner of the bar. It was quite far from everyone but it was alright for me as I am not fond to socialize with others.
"What would you like to drink?" the bartender asked.
"Soda would be enough,"
"Aight, one sec," he walked to the refrigerator and took a can of soda and proceeded to put it on the table.
"Thanks, how much?"
"It's free, soda is inexpensive after all. But, a few tips might work I guess," he smiled.
Feeling generous, I put RM 10 on the table and proceeded to sit at the empty seat.
.
.
.
I sipped a couple of drinks before continue browsing social media while silently cursing the turns of events that had occurred to me. I was taking a late-night stroll to take off my mind away from work. I live in a condominium not far from here, around 3 km from this bar, I suppose. Before heading out, I did take a look at the weather forecast for that night, it was 'clear'. So that's why I wore light clothes. However, I did not expect to experience a downfall while I was sitting down at a bench in a park near the area.
Sigh...
And so, here I was, chilling in a bar while waiting for the downpour to ease a bit. It has been around 45 minutes since I entered here, and so my clothes are drier now.
However, that was also when I realized...
There was a man who sat beside me, with his face resting on the table while being covered by his arms. He was wearing a pretty strange attire; a white long-sleeved t-shirt with soft armour paddings on his shoulders? A pair of black combat pants and a pair of blue sneakers. On a second look, his left thigh was bandaged, with a red spot the size of my fist. Did he get into a fight somewhere? Then, I noticed something.
His body was moving in a way that would seem like he is.. sobbing. A silent sob that is. I did not want to disturb him, so I left him be and proceeded to continue sipping my soda and browsing the net.
.
.
10 minutes later, I ordered another can of soda and looked back at the man beside me. He was still in the same pose, however, it would seem that his sobbing might has relaxed a bit as his body was not moving as quickly as before.
Worried, I proceeded to nudge his arm to check upon him.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.
Seconds later, he slowly raised his face and look at me. This man was not okay, alright.
His face was young, probably he was in his 20s. However, he looked tired. Like just has witnessed dozens of war crimes and visited into hell and back tired. Not only that, he looked sad. Like he fell into great depths of despair that he would never recover kind of sad.
"Yeah, I'm okay... I guess," he replied.
That was an obvious lie.
"Would you like to tell me about it? It might help you alleviate any pain or sadness."
"....."
He fell silent. His eyes looked as if he was thinking about something. But his eyelids looked heavy so it might be my imagination.
"Hahah.. as if you might understand anything," he smiled reluctantly. Hinting that he doesn't want to talk about it.
"I know, but-" I paused. I don't know if my actions will help him, or will it just make him feel worse. But I am curious to know about his woes.
The man let out a sigh before replying. "Alright, alright.. I'll tell ya. There's no use in keeping it to myself anyway. I'm tired of this, I really am."
And so, he proceeded to tell me his story and the tale of his woes.