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Sunday, November 27, 2016

"The Bench Man" by Katherine A




            It began on an October weekday. I was feeling especially overwhelmed from my office job, so, on my way home from work, I took a shortcut through a local park. It was a popular place, famous for its fresh air, wide array of plant life, and peaceful atmosphere. As it was autumn, the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn red and fall, sparsely blanketing the ground with dried plant matter that crunched loudly when stepped on. In my opinion, this, as well as the sunny and pleasant weather, made it an even more beautiful, serene location and encouraged my desire to take the new route.
            Upon strolling through the park along the main path, I noticed a man sitting on one of the benches. This wasn't strange in itself; however, unlike the others, he was alone, smiling broadly and greeting passerby cheerfully. His appearance was that of any normal man's; what captured my attention was the pink flower he had in his hands. The bushes surrounding him didn't bear that particular type of plant, so he, peculiarly, must have brought it with him.
            I avoided eye contact as I walked by, but he spoke up in an exuberant voice, "Good evening!"
            I, intent on getting home quickly to spend some time relaxing, replied with a terse, "Evening," and kept walking.
            He, however, continued. "How are you doing today?"
            As we lived in a large, bustling city where strangers almost always kept to themselves, I found this to be unusual. Curious now, I stopped momentarily, turned to face him, and said, "I'm good. And yourself?"
            His strange grin grew wider. "I'm doing great! Where are you coming from, if you don't mind me asking?"
            I stared at him in awe. He continued gazing up at me, and I couldn't help but reply to him; his childlike excitement over such a trivial conversation was contagious. While his inviting demeanor beckoned me to sit beside him and engage further in conversation, I greatly yearned for a hot cup of coffee and a novel, so I politely ended the conversation and continued on my way.

            I maintained my new routine, heading through the park after each work day; the man, however, was never there. For two weeks, I kept my eyes peeled for him. I had just about given up on making a new friend when, one day, there he was on the same bench from before. He waved at me, and I made my way over, meeting him with a smile and a "Hello again." After exchanging our greetings, I joked that I had been waiting for him to show up again as we had never finished our conversation from before. He seemed pleased to hear this; in fact, he did continue our exchange with even more enthusiasm than before. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the bench beside him, chattering away about nothing of significance.

            I called him the Bench Man as we never actually exchanged names; it simply didn't feel necessary. We were just two strangers who sat and conversed with one another, though more often than not I lead the conversation and he listened, nodded politely, and occasionally commented on an interesting statement or provided me with much-appreciated guidance.
            I considered him a close friend of mine as he was a source of constant support, helpful advice, and smiles in a time where I struggled daily over fairly trivial personal and work matters. However, while I constantly lamented on the iniquities of my boss, he rarely spoke of himself and his problems despite my attempts to convince him to do so. In addition, while his lips constantly smiled at me, his eyes depicted another story. They had a glassy, glazed look; in fact, when I think back to it, the best word to describe them would be empty. Devoid of emotion, they chilled me to the bone, and I avoided their haunting gaze as much as possible. I found these things, and him, to be bizarre, even unsettling, though I enjoyed his rather benevolent personality and soothing company too much for this to drastically interfere with my opinion of and visits with him.

            One day, the Bench Man was acting strangely. I asked him if he was feeling okay, and he just nodded with a small grin and motioned for me to continue my description of the mountainous pile of paperwork waiting for me on Monday.
            I did so but watched him stealthily out of the corners of my eyes. He had no coat despite the sudden chilly breeze and clouds that loomed overhead. His usually upright position was now somewhat slumped over, and he inconspicuously fiddled with a sweet pea in a restless manner. Something was wrong, but I couldn't identify the source nor did he seem willing to speak of it when I asked. Unwilling to anger him, I regrettably let the matter slide.
            "I think I should leave now," he finally spoke up after a moment of uneasy silence. I checked my phone for the time and saw that it was later than I usually kept him.
            "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take up this much of your Friday night."
            "Don't worry about it."
            With a smile not unlike a grimace, he handed me the flower, thanked me for my time, and walked down the path, almost floating above the blanket of leaves.
            I never saw him again.

14 comments:

  1. I really love your story Katherine. It's so detailed and intricate, as if each little detail was hiding something evident for the reader to understand. There was so much left to the reader to guess and take the way they believed things happened, and I thought that was amazing; how you developed the story, while switching the roles the two characters had in the story. Your piece was very interesting and it pulled me into every little detail. I love your wording, your plot, and your description of each character, developing the story amazingly with every detail. It's amazing

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  2. This is a great story Katherine. I really loved how detailed it was and the enormous amount of imagery that was present. It made it extremely enjoyable to read. I also really liked how you ended it. It reminds me of life and how some things don't have a happy or sad ending, they just stop. Thank you for writing this piece.

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  3. I really would have liked you to continue this piece because it's just so good!! The whole piece is so well written with vivid imagery and an interesting/well thought out plot and I can say that this is the first blog I got lost into. It leaves me wanting to know more about this man and what happens next to the main character. I really think you should continue this and make something out of it!! Great Job.

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  4. I really want to know what happens next! It was so so good and it was so delicate and sincere. It seemed very mysterious throughout the piece, I just wonder who is this man and what was his purpose. . I was very impressed by your writing style and it honestly left me wanting more! VERY GOOD JOB!

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  5. This story was so great and detailed! The use of imagery was really amazing and I was able to picture the setting in my head very well. I did not want to stop reading it and I definitely did not want the story to end. I’m still super curious to find out who the bench man was and why he had that pink flower. It was also really amazing how you described the contrast between his friendly, smiling demeanor and his emotionless eyes. Great Job!

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  6. This was extremely well-written and really requires the reader to draw their own conclusions on who the man was and what his true significance was. It also perfectly demonstrates just how desperate people are to get their stories heard, regardless of whether the audience is a close friend or some stranger in a park. It also begs the question of what role certain people play in the discourse of our lives, especially when their value is not immediately recognized. All in all, the simplicity of the piece in equilibrium with its thought-provoking nature made for a very wonderful read.

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  7. The imagery you used to set up the story really put the audience into the story and the extensive details give a realistic vibe on the story. The well written description throughout the story also continues to engage the reader. More specifically to your story, I love the mysterious aspect of your writing. As the audience, we are never given information on who the man on the bench is but only know that he has glossy eyes and listen to strangers in a park. The way you ended the story, with the audience full of questions about the man, the flower, and so on, you leave the readers wanting more so good job.

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  8. This story gave great detailed imagery and it allowed me to easily imagine the situation. It did seem strange that the Bench Man, who you have given a paradoxical trait of a kind smile and emotionless eyes, wanted to start a conversation with you. However, what was more strange than that was the fact that he stopped communicating and that he had to say good bye, putting you back into square one of your typical day of going home from work. Adding an element of foreshadowing that leaves the readers wondering what had happened to the Bench Man.

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  9. I really enjoyed this story. The relationship between these two characters was mysterious but it was quite amusing. The man did not ever talk about him but let the woman talk about herself. It was overall great using two complete strangers to show how today people are thirsty for someone to be there and hear what they have to say. Also great job on how you kept the man's identity hidden.

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  10. I really enjoyed this story. The imagery that was in the piece was quite vivid and it allows for readers to easily create the world and events you described. I love the concept of the man who smile but seems broken inside as well as the mystery that he carries with him. The ending left me wanting to know more. Good job!

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  11. I hope you continue this story, Katherine! Not only was the content of the story so intriguing, but your writing style is so eloquent that I feel like I'm reading a published story. By the way you write, I can tell that you read a lot of books because of your verbiage and your complex sentence structure. Not only that, but the mystery of the cliff hanger you left the story in left me wanting more to read. Your descriptive language was another characteristic I truly admired about this piece because it captures the nuances of how people think, or in this case the negligence of how others think as well. This was a superb piece and I enjoyed reading it so much!

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  12. The details and descriptions were extremely well thought out, I feel as if you intended for the mysterious character to be a symbol of seasons, something that just comes and goes. I can see that in life regarding people as people will come and go from our lives whether it's good or bad. At the same time I think it's kind of sad that people in today's time never have the time for one another and find a stranger with goodwill as being something strange or even hostile.

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  13. This story was incredibly well written. The way the characters a re described and how they act are so realistic, it felt less like a piece of writing and more of a memory someone is bringing up. They way the Bench Man is portrayed as both a positive and eerie presence is so interesting and compelling, and his final moments were so intriguing I was left wanting more.

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  14. A very interesting piece. We always have that one strange occurrence in our life that is strange and is a one-time thing, and your piece drudges up those kinds of memories. Good job.

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