One Last Time

An elderly man walks along a familiar path and reminisces about years long past.

 

The withered old man hobbled meekly along the edge of the dilapidated pier he once knew as a child. His brittle legs trembled and writhed with the ache of harsh decades long past, his flimsy cane offered little support and the burden of his frail body threatened to overcome him. Feeling himself begin to buckle, he slowly brought himself to the ground. He looked over the side of the pier, gazing on to the waters which had long ago filled his youth with joy and carefreeness. He realized the irony of how the years darkened and muddled the water and yet only now presented any clarity to him. They were both forgotten relics of ages past, and the only company they’d seen in what felt like an eternity was each other.

                “One last time,” he muttered through raspy breaths as he sighed deeply. He struggled up onto his cane and began to shuffle once more along the pier, taking in the sights and memories of his ancient companion until finally coming upon a weathered stairway down to the water. He nervously clambered down the steps, careful not to let himself succumb to the frailty of his own wilted body until he was in the water.

                He felt the cool water envelop his tired form and wash away the struggles he endured for so many years. He drifted away from the pier and out to open water, another castaway thing on an endless sea of unattainable dreams and wasted years. He knew he wouldn’t have the strength to make his way back to land and yet he would not struggle against the inevitable fate the water presented. Instead he let the tides pull him under in one final embrace, and for the first time he could remember, he felt relieved.