The Stranger

 

It wasn’t the most exciting party,

just thirteen of us there,

soft music in the background

but nobody was listening.

I knew a few of the people,

most of them were strangers

all tied up in little knots of conversation

that I was excluded from.

I had just made up my mind to leave,

was about to find the host

and make my apologies,

when the stranger entered.

We all looked up

as he walked through the door,

I noticed that nobody seemed to know him,

there was no look of recognition

on anyone’s face,

but nobody questioned his presence.

He walked over to the couch,

where I was the sole resident,

took a coke from the cooler,

then took a seat.

Everyone else returned to their conversations,

as if they had not be interrupted,

I sat there, suddenly more uncomfortable.

Unsure of why I felt this way

I tried to force myself to rise,

but before I could turn thought to action

the stranger leaned towards me and spoke.

“Wait.”

That was it, just one word,

barely audible

but somehow I felt compelled to obey.

I waited, but no more did he say,

he sat back and stared at the wall,

and the little knots of conversation

continued unimpressed.

My mouth suddenly dry

I went to reach for a drink

only to find a can being held out to me

by the stranger.

I took it, mumbled thanks,

he smiled, and spoke again.

“Don’t fear me.”

My mind wanted to laugh,

what a silly thing to say,

but my heart felt icy finger grip it.

Despite his reassuring words

I trembled inside,

for whatever reason

he made my blood run cold.

Who was this stranger?

Why did nobody greet him

if he were invited to the party,

and if he were not,

why did nobody protest?

All around me, the party continued,

the music played

and the conversations continued,

but I felt alone with the stranger.

Trying to regain control of myself

I attempted to engage the stranger

in conversation,

but my efforts went unanswered.

He had spoken to me,

handed me a drink,

but now I was beneath his notice.

Anger flared up in me,

it was bad enough

that everyone else at the party was ignoring me,

including my friends that insisted I come,

but now this strange guy

that was as outside of the party as I.

I stood to leave,

I’d had enough of being uncomfortable,

but I felt a hand restrain me.

I looked down at this stranger,

ready to say something cold and devastating.

But I couldn’t speak.

I was stunned to see the sorrow in his eyes,

the strain on his haunted face,

suddenly I wanted to reach out to him,

to tell him things would get better.

He spoke again,

“You’re not ready.”

and I could hear the sadness in his voice.

I sat beside him, looked him in the eyes.

“What am I not ready for?”

He paused, for a moment

I thought he was going to refuse to answer.

“The truth.”

He mumbled his answer,

I almost didn’t hear it.

Suddenly my fear and disquiet were forgotten,

all thoughts of this miserable party

faded into mist.

I seized his arm, but he didn’t react.

“What is the truth?”

I asked him,

and I was surprised

to hear the longing in my voice.

I needed to know his answer

more than anything else.

He looked at me,

there were tears in his eyes,

and when he spoke

his voice cracked.

“The truth is…”

He paused, see to firm his resolve,

then continued as if defeated.

“The truth is just this,

every creature on the earth

dies alone.”

With that,

he squeezed my hand in parting

and left,

nobody even looked up as he exited.

I sat there for a moment,

confused,

what had he meant by that?

Without even realizing it

I had moved off the couch,

I approached one of the groups

and joined in the conversation.

This time I was accepted.

Hours later,

with a whole new outlook,

I left to make my way home.

As I left the apartment building

I saw something lying on the sidewalk,

in the darkness

under a burn out streetlight.

At first I thought it was a bag of garbage,

but as I got closer

I saw what it really was,

It was the stranger,

true to his words,

he had died alone.

Author's Note

Please be brutally honest.