the man on the bench

When wandering through the night alone, you come across a man on a bench, paint peeling off in little grey shreds. The man says, come, sit with me.

You say, "I'm contagious."  

 He says, you can't give it to me.    

You say, "It could kill you."

He says, you can't give it to me.

The man on the bench says, why are you carrying a sack of garbage?

You say, "I figured someone has to pick it up eventually."

A bird appears from the edge of the streetlamp-light, one leg bent in a horrible, unnatural way. The bird hops towards you. The man says, hit it with a big rock.

You say, "I can't do that.

He smiles and says, then bring it into the woods.

You pick up the little wounded bird and carry her into the woods. The man on the bench says, do you know what bird that was?

You say, "A sparrow."

He smiles.

A bird flaps its wings from somewhere in the woods and passes near over your head. Two boys emerge from further down the path, both dressed in black shirts and grey pants. The man on the bench says, those two boys have been following you for some time now.

You say, "They're harmless."

He says, am I harmless?

You say, "I think so."

He says, how do you know I won't kill you?

You say, "You won't.

He says, what makes you sure?

You say,

"You won't."

You hold his gaze as he takes out a cigarette and lights it with a match.

He smiles.

The man on the bench points towards the scar on the corner of your mouth and says, how'd that get there?

You say, "Rocking horse."

He says, I can fix it if you'd like.

You say, "I like it just fine, thank you."

He shrugs and ashes his cigarette by tapping it against the bench armrest. The men on the bench says, you an artist?

You shrug and say, "I guess."

He says, what do you do?

You say, "That's what I'm here to find out."

He smiles.

He says, why don't you sit down?

You say, "I don't want to kill you."

He says, you can't.

You say, "How do you know?"

He says, trust me.

You sit on the bench across from the man. The crickets scream off In the distance, and the man lets out a low hum that matches them. You close your eyes and do the same. The man's hum grows fainter and fainter, and when you open your eyes, he's gone.

You pick up the filter from his cigarette and continue along your way.