Edward Towns

Stranger Fiction #2

He sits like an old man in a tower on Cherry and 14th street. His mind is filled with vibrant color, memories of beautiful women and gorgeous song. The story of his life is great, the message of his passage precious.

But he never wrote it down.

His age has robbed him of speech and hands that will hold still. His hands tremble like an ancient tree branch, his body hangs like a old rag in his mothers sink. The joys of his life, the colors of his travels, are forever trapped behind the eyes of Edward Towns. Like an old man, he stares into the world that no longer sees him.

There are days when someone will stoop in front of his gaze and say, “Sir, the bus don’t come by ‘ere no ‘mo”. Edward will smile, and nod. He knows the bus doesn’t run anymore. He was there the day it stopped.

All those memories, all those lessons learned, and the great lie, are trapped in the wonderful mind of Edward Towns; because he never wrote them down. That secret the world has kept for so long will return to it, once his eyes close and never open again.