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The old man at the harbour
It is always a busy day at the harbor.
Ships being loaded with cargos and passengers, fishermen getting their daily bread along with people who sell and buy essentials by the side. Everybody goes about their activities at the harbor with a lot of chitter and chatter, so you can say the harbor is always in a hustle and a bustle!
But among this hustle and bustle, there is an old man who is a little bent because of the many years he has lived. The old man lives in a shanty near the harbor, not too far from the shore. He mends net for the fishermen for a very meagre wage.
A harsh life this old man leads but despite it all, the old man carries a wide smile on his face and with that smile, he gives out pleasantries to any body near.
But, the people at the harbor pay him no attention, after all there is a lot that needs to be done, no time to exchange unnecessary pleasantries.
Still, despite all this, the old man keeps on smiling and giving out pleasantries. At times he sits on the boat with the fishermen whilst mending their nets and tries to make up a conversation with his ever wide smile and as usual, the fishermen pay him no heed, maybe a nonchalant nod but nothing more.
This went on and on for quite some time and people got used to the smiling old man at the harbor.
Until one day, one of the fishermen decided to come early before dawn to see if he could get lucky before the others came, then he saw something at drift near the shore, he looked closer but couldn’t make anything out of it, so he decided to come close.
When he got close and realized what it was, he screamed.
He couldn’t believe his own eyes because what lay half afloat near the shore was the lifeless body of the old smiling man!
What a horrid sight it was! The man skin was as white as snow and his face that was always warm and never without a smile, was filled with anguish and pain.
The fisherman knelt down and dragged the corpse to shore, with tears in his eyes, he rocked the corpse back and forth, “Whoever did this to him must pay!” Growled the fisher man.
And so did everyone at the harbor think when they heard what happened, they were furious! You would hear comments like,
“Who could have done this to such a sweet man?” The lady that sold bread wept.
“He could never even hurt a fly! The person that did this would certainly be found and brought to Justice!” An angry sailor said.
For they all knew this was no accident.
The days went on and the old man was buried admist tears and soon, the horrible incident was nearly forgotten.
Until one day, some of the fishermen in last respects to the old man, came to his old shanty to make sure it was in order and lock it up, the door was wide open when they got there and on getting in, there was a small wooden table and chair in the middle of the small shanty and on it was a book that was wide open.
When they got closer and saw what the content of the book was, they couldn’t control their tears for it read,
“finally I decide to take my own life, for nobody cares if I live or die. For so many years I have been on this harbor, hoping that someone will send a smile down my way but it never came to be. The sadness grows day by day and the voices in my head keeps screaming, end it all! Just end it all! You’re useless anyway! Nobody has ever loved you and nobody will! But I kept saying to myself that if someone can only smile at me, then I won’t end my own life, but atlas it never happened.”
The fishermen wept uncontrollably because it was them who were responsible for the old man’s death, them and everyone at the harbor.
A smile, a single act of kindness, a single hello, a helping hand to a helpless stranger, a single word of encouragement and the list goes on, seems so small but the impact it has on people’s lives is greater than you could ever imagine.
Be kind to everyone you meet for you might just be saving a life.
© Erinma
#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #suicide #kindness
Ships being loaded with cargos and passengers, fishermen getting their daily bread along with people who sell and buy essentials by the side. Everybody goes about their activities at the harbor with a lot of chitter and chatter, so you can say the harbor is always in a hustle and a bustle!
But among this hustle and bustle, there is an old man who is a little bent because of the many years he has lived. The old man lives in a shanty near the harbor, not too far from the shore. He mends net for the fishermen for a very meagre wage.
A harsh life this old man leads but despite it all, the old man carries a wide smile on his face and with that smile, he gives out pleasantries to any body near.
But, the people at the harbor pay him no attention, after all there is a lot that needs to be done, no time to exchange unnecessary pleasantries.
Still, despite all this, the old man keeps on smiling and giving out pleasantries. At times he sits on the boat with the fishermen whilst mending their nets and tries to make up a conversation with his ever wide smile and as usual, the fishermen pay him no heed, maybe a nonchalant nod but nothing more.
This went on and on for quite some time and people got used to the smiling old man at the harbor.
Until one day, one of the fishermen decided to come early before dawn to see if he could get lucky before the others came, then he saw something at drift near the shore, he looked closer but couldn’t make anything out of it, so he decided to come close.
When he got close and realized what it was, he screamed.
He couldn’t believe his own eyes because what lay half afloat near the shore was the lifeless body of the old smiling man!
What a horrid sight it was! The man skin was as white as snow and his face that was always warm and never without a smile, was filled with anguish and pain.
The fisherman knelt down and dragged the corpse to shore, with tears in his eyes, he rocked the corpse back and forth, “Whoever did this to him must pay!” Growled the fisher man.
And so did everyone at the harbor think when they heard what happened, they were furious! You would hear comments like,
“Who could have done this to such a sweet man?” The lady that sold bread wept.
“He could never even hurt a fly! The person that did this would certainly be found and brought to Justice!” An angry sailor said.
For they all knew this was no accident.
The days went on and the old man was buried admist tears and soon, the horrible incident was nearly forgotten.
Until one day, some of the fishermen in last respects to the old man, came to his old shanty to make sure it was in order and lock it up, the door was wide open when they got there and on getting in, there was a small wooden table and chair in the middle of the small shanty and on it was a book that was wide open.
When they got closer and saw what the content of the book was, they couldn’t control their tears for it read,
“finally I decide to take my own life, for nobody cares if I live or die. For so many years I have been on this harbor, hoping that someone will send a smile down my way but it never came to be. The sadness grows day by day and the voices in my head keeps screaming, end it all! Just end it all! You’re useless anyway! Nobody has ever loved you and nobody will! But I kept saying to myself that if someone can only smile at me, then I won’t end my own life, but atlas it never happened.”
The fishermen wept uncontrollably because it was them who were responsible for the old man’s death, them and everyone at the harbor.
A smile, a single act of kindness, a single hello, a helping hand to a helpless stranger, a single word of encouragement and the list goes on, seems so small but the impact it has on people’s lives is greater than you could ever imagine.
Be kind to everyone you meet for you might just be saving a life.
© Erinma
#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #suicide #kindness
