Rolling Coasting on your blues

I was walking down the street, in a forest of legs shuffling back and forth. The blissful morning was unfolding like a fog, covering every corner of this sea of humanity. I walked for a long time, humming the same old tune as I have done in the past twenty years.

It was a typical day. I followed the same route, circling around the pavement. I lifted my eyes and saw the beginning of a new day, a new dawn and a new life. Everything was divine before my eyes, falling right at the perfect place. The pines stood tall along the path and daffodils beneath those giant boughs sprang forth in yellow showers. My nose picked up the fragrance of flowers drifting through the breeze; I felt the warmth of the sun. I flung my sight down the lane towards the beautiful end of the street only to find a beggar – a dirty old beggar sitting on the five foot way.

I moved forward, heading towards the old man. I was curious about him. A sense of compassion stirred my heart. I thought to myself, how unfortunate it was, to live a life such as this – ragged man in ragged clothes with an outstretched arm holding a cracked bowl. I was ready to see a pathetic face shown by the poor man.

“Good morning sir!” A voice thundered as I walked to the man. I was astounded to hear the old beggar greeting me. I saw a big smile on his face and I could see that he was truly happy. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was not what I thought at all, absolutely beyond expectations. Recovering from my surprise, I looked at the man, stunned for a moment and answered, “Good.... morning. Sir, you look very happy.”

“Yeah? Can’t an old beggar like me be happy? That is all I got, no family, too old to work, living alone like an isle and the only thing I have now is a smile, take it away from me and I’ll be as good as dead.” The beggar replied with a grin on his face. Now the last thing I ever bargained for was a philosopher.

“If life was really that tragic, why then do you still wear a smile on your face?” I asked.
“What is past is past, when there’s no reason to be sad, there’s every reason to be happy. Please sir, don’t ask too many questions, life is too short to answer them all.” Looking once again at the man, I took out some money, held it to him and slowly walked away.

The next morning, I headed for the same direction to the same street only to find that the man was no longer on the five foot way. However, I could still hear his voice ringing in my ears. “Don’t ask too many questions, life is too short to answer them all.”

Andrew Ho


An excerpt from a class-published story book 'Nostalgia', TQ to those that had helped us in making the book a sucess in one way or another.