Unlucky Man

A young man is depressed and pondering life on the edge of a cliff when a woman notices him. He always seemed unlucky before but . . .

There, over on the edge of a cliff stands a man. A young man with so much sorrow and misery that he contemplates death. In his mind, jumping off the cliff into the into the cold winter water, is the only way out. He stands, pondering; afraid to jump but driven by sadness. Walking nearby, a younger woman notices him and finds his actions suspicious. Approaching him, she asks what he sees.

“I see a lack of colours, just grey upon grey.”

“Sorry, I hadn’t known you were colour-blind. I didn’t mean to offend"

“Nah, I’m not colour-blind.”

“I understand now. Why do you see nothing but grey?”

“I lost everyone. Not by death, but by distance. Nah, not physical. I suppose loneliness owns me. My wife- oh, how I trouble her. She works so hard and often. How easily she would get by without me. I cause sorrow in everyone’s life- but ugh! How I lack luck when trying to do things to make it better. Everything goes opposite, goes completely wrong. Purpose in life is something I just don’t have.”

“Sir . . . do you know your wife loves you?”

“Well yeah, but I cause her too much stress and pain. The woman is always gone at work. Perhaps if I didn’t exist-"

“No, your wife would be in more pain if you go, don’t you know? She doesn’t think you’re trouble at all if she doesn’t say that you’re trouble. Have you tried working to help?”

“She won’t let me, due to injuries in my back.”

“She loves you so much that she’s willing to do all the work to keep you healthy. I suggest that you return the favour and be healthy. She’ll be happier that you are safe and well. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah”, the man pauses a moment in thought, “thank you, I’ll return home now. Thank you so much.”

                The woman herself, begins to walk back home. Not far away, a flock of birds take flight, migrating south for winter. Instead of flying high into the sky, they stay low to the ground. Unfortunately, one bird flies straight into the man’s face. He stumbles backwards and steps on a rock, reluctantly falling off the cliff. The woman glances behind her and the man is gone.