Wednesday, December 5, 2007

This Watch

And now for something completely different. This is my first attempt at writing a short story. Hope you enjoy it.



As the tall lanky man approached she carefully prepared her brush off. "I just simply won't make eye contact" she thought, "That's it, if I don't look at him then he'll just pass on by."

Too late, he'd already spotted her. "Ma'am before you say no would you consider saying yes?"

Somehow this was not the typical 'Can you spare some change?' she'd grown accustomed to hearing on this particular stretch of sidewalk.

"Yes to what?" she found herself saying.

"To helping me with this watch" he replied.

He reached into his tattered denim jacket and pulled out a vintage time piece. Even from a distance of a few feet she could tell this was no ordinary pocket watch. From its hand crafted gold exterior to the mother of pearl face, no amount of detail was overlooked. Upon closer inspection she found beautiful precision cut diamonds highlighting the three, six, nine and twelve o'clock markers.

It glistened as if it had just been taken out of a fifth avenue jewelers case. Quite the contrast to the unshaven vagabond standing in front of her.

"Are you sure this is your watch? I don't mean to insult, but you couldn't possibly afford something of this caliber."

"You're absolutely right ma'am, I could never dream of buying something this nice anymore and you're also right about it not being mine."

'Ah ha' she thought, 'just as I suspected, it's stolen.'

"Um, where did you get it then?"

Seeing her raised eyebrows he quickly said, "I know what you're thinking and I can assure you it's not stolen."

"I, uh, well that's not what I, well, where did you get it?" she stammered.

"My grandfather originally owned it" he began, "then he passed it on to my father who in turn gave it to me. I held onto it for some twenty-nine years before my son was at the age where he would become its next guardian."

"Where's your son now?" the woman asked "Why doesn't he still have it?"

"If you must know, about fourteen years ago we were driving home from a fishing trip when a driver missed a stop sign and hit our car on the side where my boy was sitting."

She could see the moisture building behind his eyes as he unfolded the story of his loss.

"Surprisingly, I was barely scratched. Brian wasn't as lucky though. I looked over and could tell right away it wasn't good. His legs were pinned under the crumpled dashboard and a mixture of blood and glass littered the seat around him. I sat there holding his hand for what I hoped would be a lifetime, but it seemed to pass in just a few minutes."

"We shared a couple of quick stories and told each other how much we loved one another. All the while we both cried, not from the pain of our injuries, but from the impending separation we would soon face."

"Just before he slipped away he reached into his pocket and pulled out this watch I had given to him only a couple of short months earlier. 'Dad' he whispered, 'I want you to keep this watch and when you look at it you can remember all the good times we had'."

"Then he was gone."

By this time the two people who were just strangers on the street a moment ago now held each others hand as the tears flowed down their cheeks.

"The grief was too much for my wife" he went on, "and she left our home, or what remained of it a few months later. I still blame myself for what took place that day. You see, it was my idea for Brian to skip school and go fishing with me. Had I have gone by myself, none of this would have ever happened. Then I Guess after a while I didn't see much point in staying in that big ole' empty house by myself anymore so I just left. It's been quite a few years I've been out here now but don't worry about me, I'll make it OK. There's just one thing I need."

"That's what brings me to why I stopped you in the first place. You see, this watch has been acting up lately. It's been loosing a couple of minutes each day. I've already lost too much time with my son and I'm afraid if it stops my memories of him might stop with it. So, if you would ma'am, could you spare some change so I can get it working right again?"

Carolyn didn't make it to work on time that day, but she and her new friend did make it to the jewelers where for thirty-nine dollars she got what hundreds or even thousands couldn't have come close to purchasing, hope for a tired old man.

She walked that same route to work each day for several more years but never saw the man whose story changed her that cold Autumn day. She did however, see many more men and women who fit the same physical description, (cold, tired and hungry) of that lonely traveler. Now as she passed by each of them, she no longer looked the other way. She instead, looked into their eyes and wondered what untold story they held onto that had brought them to this lonely place.

We may never know what brings people to such low places in their life, but we can be assured that our wealth will only truly be measured by how much we invest in others.

18 comments:

Odat said...

Wow...that was a beautiful story...very inpiring...
I used to buy coffee for a guy who lived under the overpass of the West Side Highway here in NY...He claims he was a college professor once...and he seemed very smart...and had some hard times and now prefers to live without any burdons....One never knows....
Peace

Schmoop said...

Bra-fucking-Vo!! Fantastic Jeff. Cheers!!

Mel said...

(((((((( Jeff )))))))))))))

..k.....that one's a keeper.



...and so are you.
Thank you.

RW said...

That was a great read Jeff & it was "AWESOME" Have a good day!!

Sandee said...

Very nice story Jeff. Rare too. I've walked those streets and mostly it's a bunch of alcoholics you see. I wish your angle was more the case. Have a great day. :)

Deb said...

And why did I read this while I'm PSMing???? Total tear works over here! It's amazing how so many of us can relate to a complete stranger...yet we're so scared to face them eye-to-eye sometimes.

This was written beautifully... I personally feel it should be apart of some movie.

Excellent, Jeff!

katherine. said...

wow Jeff...very well done.

Anndi said...

Just lovely...

SMOOCH

Jeff B said...

Odat- Everyone has a story of how they got to where they are today. I'm as guilty as most of not taking the time to learn what some of them are.

Matt- Thanks for the encouragement.

Mel- Ya got me all warm and fuzzy. Thanks doll.

Roger- Thanks, glad you liked it.

Sandee- The alcohol and drug abuse among the homeless is sad indeed. What starts as a means of escape quickly takes hold and compounds the problem.

Deb- I'll try to put a 'tissue required' disclaimer out next time. And if you can get Hollywood to pick it up I'll cut you in on a percentage.

Katherine- Thank you my friend.

Anndi- A smooch! Now I'm blushing.

roentare said...

The story resonates with me. You write from your own heart

Annie said...

That is a heart touching story, well told, Jeff.

Leann said...

awesome story.you need to put it out there for more people to read.get it in book form.
stop over on my blog the Lord gave me a story line today to share with my readers to.its a christmas gift to all my readers.
God bless you.

Jeff B said...

Travis- Thank you and I hope you managed to stay high and dry up there with all the rain.

Roentarre- My pleasure to share with you.

Annie- Thanks, I actually had tears in my eyes as I wrote most of it.

Leann- I appreciate the kind words.

I just read your post, WOW! What a great story. I hope many more will take a look at it and consider its meaning.

Latharia said...

What matt-man said!!! :D

Real Live Lesbian said...

Beautifully told!

Jules~ said...

Jeff, that was a wonderfully inspired story! Thank you so much for sharing.

Jeff B said...

Latharia- They may be a few words but they're potent ones, thanks.

Real LL- Thanks for the encouragement

Jules- It just somehow seemed appropriate for this time of year.

Kerri Farley said...

Wow....this is amazing!

My first visit to your blog....My hubby and I are still laughing over your Merry Ebonics Christmas :)