Tragedy At Club Starlight

As I sat on that park bench

My breath quickened

My leg quivered

my grip tightened upon my briefcase

Which was full of pieces of paper that had been deemed important

Which were full of letters and numbers arranged in a way that informs the the important people in charge of me

What my value to them is

Numbers seem to be the root of most problems

However I think the most stressful number is the one we see on the clock

You see the clock is like an organism

Formed together in precise detail

With complex mechanisms that work together in perfect harmony

The cogs and gears in the clock I had worked a year of my life away to strap to my wrist informed me that I was going to be severely late for this meeting or conference or whatever fate deciding encounter I was scheduled to attend

This is when beside me sat a man

A man who differed from me in nearly every aspect 

However the most apparent difference between me and this creature

Was he seemed to have not a single material possession to his name

He wore a suit much like mine

However it was worn and rugged

His hair was long and unkempt

But he had a light in his eye that I had only ever seen within the eyes of my mother’s father

The light that conveys wisdom

He looked me up and down

Then our gazes met

And he spoke “your leg’s shaking”

To which I responded with much thought:“no shit”

We began to talk and I informed him that today was the meeting that determined my entire future

To which he stopped me and said

“Tomorrow, you focus so much on tomorrow, something you cannot guarantee”

I asked the man what he meant

He responded with what haunts me to this day

“Tomorrow is no promise, so we must live for today, but if tomorrow should arrive, and should it arrive without me, remember that I loved, for in the end, a good memory is about all we can hope to be, great men may even leave a legacy, but a memory would be just fine for me, and if anything, I’d like it to be one of love”

At first I looked to the ground with a raised brow of confusion and conflict

But then when my gaze once more met his

I understood

And suddenly

My breath evened out

My leg slowed to a halt 

And my grip loosened

However it loosened so much

I lost my grip on my briefcase

And it was a windy morning I remember

So not a single document was salvaged

All lost, now property of the breeze

For a moment I stood in shock

But as I looked to my newly-made friend

He was laughing

And he had that sort of hearty contagious laugh

And I couldn’t help but join him

I laughed so hard that my eyes welled up with tears

Temporarily blinded by my own joy

I lost sight of the man

But his face I never forgot

There was no need to arrive at my place of employment and labor

For I had already received word that my severance package had been carefully delivered directly to my bank account 

So as any person who had just received a large sum of paper with dead men’s faces on it would do

I went to club starlight

Fate must’ve decided to throw me a bone because the moment I stepped in through those doors

The melody that rests in my soul the most began to ring out through the venue’s speakers

I took a seat and began to drink away my confusion

And as is the case for all my full proof plans

It worked

I spent the night and my money on cheap liquor and the jukebox

I fell in love with a dancer in a private performance

That’s a story perhaps for another time

As the night drew nearer to it’s blacked out conclusion I took a seat at the bar and saw in the barstool next to mine

A familiar face 

The man who made me laugh

It was a delight to see him again

Inebriated or not

I was glad to see a face I knew

That joy quickly turned to terror as I received word that a nuclear warhead was headed roughly 5 miles north of us

As chaos ensued many people had the idea to hide in the walk in refrigerator in the kitchen

I had agreed to this plan 

And attempted to persuade my new friend, as well as Ivy (my new found love) to join me

Not wanting to die

Ivy practically launched herself towards the safe haven

The laughing man however 

Stood steadfast in his seat

Empty glass in hand

Singing to the song still playing on the PA

While the lights still ran their scheduled course

I asked him why he wouldn’t come

He told me

“Leaves more room for someone else in the fridge, not to mention, the song’s not over”

I looked him in the eyes as he spoke to me one final time

“That tomorrow has come, would you keep me a memory”

It was at that moment I had no choice but to get in that damn fridge

But he simply smiled, sipped on an empty glass, and sang along

Inside shelter I heard the impact

But as far as I could tell

He never ceased singing

Not until he was no more than bones