Stranger on the bench.

An encounter with a stranger that helped a woman in finding inner peace.

On a perfectly normal day when everyone seemed busy in their own world, a woman was sitting alone on a bench under the tree with her hands holding her waist tightly and a file rested on the bench just next to her. 

She sat there doing nothing and no one even came to accompany her.

An old man saw her but ignored her at first glance but when an hour passed and she didn't move an inch from her place he felt little suspicious.

He decided to go to the lady after rejecting his own proposal twice in his head. He went near her and said, "Excuse me miss, Are you alright.? " but she didn't respond.

He asked her again but the woman seemed so lost in her thoughts. The old man placed his hand on her shoulder which broke her silence. She looked at the man and nodded, "I am fine."

Its been long enough and you didn't move from your place. Don't you want to go home?, man enquired.

Woman shifts her position uncomfortably, "I... aaahhhh.... I was thinking... I guess, am done here..."

The old man noticed grief in her eyes and shaking voice.

He took a deep breath and sat next to her. 

He pretended to be tired.

You know back in 1972 this bench was made of wood. Now things have changed a lot around but the beauty is as enchanting ever. My wife loved this spot. She sat for hours to witness the sunsets. She always said, "Sunset is one of the most magical moment." 

The woman stood up trying to ignore the old man, "I should get going", she said.

The old man continued, "Do you know this bench is your special one. "

Girl stood there looking depressed trying to figure out what the old man wanted, "This bench?" she asks.

“Ahmmm..." said the old man with a smile. The woman started to walk away.

"Now its part of your life too." old man said bit loudly.

The woman left...

Next day...

The woman was sitting on the same bench of the park and the old man comes and sits quietly. 

So you are back... said the old man.

The woman gave a smile and apologized for her rude exit a day before.

"You said this bench is part of my life now? What do you mean by that... This is just a bench... What so special???"  asked the woman curiously.

Old man laughs, "Oh yes! Seems ordinary... but that doesn't mean it's not special."

He continued but the woman seemed to get more and more confused...

You see this bench just like all other is part of many lives. People come in the park, sit and have chats and sometimes sit quietly talking to themselves... It knows the deepest secrets, the wildest dreams, the inner desires even the silent wispers of the visitors. It has witnessed more sunrises and sunsets than anyone else...

"The bench? " ask the woman with a ridiculed laugh.

Old man nodded and supported his idea positively...

I was a boy when I started coming here with my parents, we use to sit here my parents would talk and watch me play. When my parents relationship falled apart, I use to come here and sit for hours to cope up with the idea of life without a father... When I was in college I loved a girl whom I wanted to marry... I use to write poems for her... That relationship never saw sunlight but I don't regret it as I got married to a beautiful soul. This was our favorite spot. We used to sit on this very bench and I used to narrate my childhood stories and we talked about our lives and our future. This place helped us in finding inner peace. The day we got to know that we can never have a baby, she cried for hours... We sat here whole night and we were here till sunrise, I remember she said, "There's always hope"... 

After few years she went too far in her broken thoughts, that she forgot to notice the people who truly loved her. Slowly her depressed thoughts took toll on her health and she stopped coming here...The day she died I was here and asked the same question I did for many years... Didn't I matter??? The one who has loved her more than anything in the world. She was gone leaving me behind, all alone. Without her my near-perfect world came crashing down. I went numb with grief and stress. Everyone told me it’ll get better with time. But my stress has only increased with each day. I am simply waiting for my end with no dreams, desires and my beloved." the old man went silent...

The woman realized that she wasn't alone who was heart broken... She asks politely, " How is this bench special for me? ".

The old man smiles and says... Its because of your choice...you choose it among all the other benches... There must be something special that you decided to visit again... 

The woman didn't seem impressed with the reply and started loosing interest in the conversation.

The old man continued, This bench has given you an opportunity to share what you try to hide from rest of the world... The grief that's quite visible in your eyes...

The word grief caught woman's attention and she looked in the eyes of old man.

You know what's best part of talking to strangers... No fear of getting judged... Even if they do, what does it matter... Strangers aren't part of life until we allow them to be... Life is what it is and won't it be better if there is someone with whom you can share your emotions without any fear... Right...

Few years later the woman came to the same spot and narrated the incident to her husband about how she met an old man who gave a new direction to her life through the bench... but her husband didn't understand a word...

The woman explains, This bench or that... they all are same but our choice make things special. Choices we make in our life makes us happy and some unexpected events turn to unhappiness. Bench here is an emotion that you choose to hold on to... 

When you are in joyous mood you'll experience the best things like the birds chirping, the sound of water and wind, the leaves falling, squirrels playing, people having fun... You see happiness all around... When you are tensed you see people running, wind starts disturbing you, you start seeing things like you want them to be... Like when you are depressed everything stands still.

Every time it gives you an opportunity to analyze your life be it happy, sad, tensed, depressed... It gives you time to understand your inner emotions.

The life story of the old man shows the uprise and downfalls so does the sunrise and sunsets but the thing is Life is what it is... There will be uprise and downfall but there's always be a sunrise after every sunset... One thing I learned from his life story was to never loose hope... Hope in yourself and people around you... Love is something that's matters most. To love and be loved.

Do you know who that old man was???

I didn't when I met him but now... 

Yes... I do... He is a regular visitor so I came to know that he lived few blocks away with his wife and he also had a son and a grand daughter who too lived somewhere nearby...

You mean he made all that story up... So he was a lier and there is nothing special about the bench.

Yes he lied, but for me he is not a liar but a Lair- A stranger on the bench.

The bench did nothing but a stranger on the bench did something that many others failed to do for me... The stranger on the bench gave me a space where I hid from all the negative emotions... Be it the bench or his mind and heart... 

The report that I was carrying that day which I guess he read before taking to me was my pregnancy report in which I had a photograph of both of us happily showing our baby's first ultrasound...

The man hugged her wife and both sat there to enjoy the sunset and the bench was now part their life...