ben loved his life. there were ten more days left before he turned fifty. and he looked his age. his spirit however was much younger. his was a pleasant face that was devoid of any worry. he would always walk to work which was two blocks from where he lived. he would chomp on a hotdog and read the washington post as he clomped his way to work. he had a date with ann this evening and he was deciding between roses and lilies as also the movie they should go watch. he paused as he crossed st louis church and dialled ann's number. after exchanging pleasantries he explained he wont be able to make it as there was a friend from LA who was flying down and he had to go pick her up from the airport. she understood and said some other time. he didnt promise to call later.
nine more days. he cleaned up the house and wondered whether he should throw a party. he realised that would be too much of a headache and shrugged off the idea. he called his sister in canada and checked on the kids. she seemed to be in a hurry to get into a conference call and so he hung up. he decided to meet some old pals for a game of basketball in the evening.
it was weekend and just as well. his joints ached from the game the previous evening. he decided to go through his old collection of comics. garfield still had him in splits. he had bills to pay which he did. he took laila - his neighbour's mastiff- along. betty wanted him to pick up some eggs for her on the way back which he happily did. he stayed back for a cup of tea and indulged her in some harmless gossip.
a week more to go for his birthday. he suddenly realised he had always wanted to go on a trek before he turned fifty. he called ann and asked her if she would be game. ann had an important conference to attend during the week. he decided to call gloria instead. she would talk his ears off but what the heck. after fifteen minutes of complaining about him not calling sooner she agreed to join him and also chalked out the trip. he knew he wouldnt regret calling her. he packed his backpack and met her in the evening and off they left on a three-day trip. he left a voice mail on lydia's phone that he would see her at work on thursday.
lydia teased ben about looking drained which he met with a chuckle. gloria didnt look a day older than thirty and she was a wild cat in bed. he was glad he went on that trip for more reasons than one. he spent the day grinning at everybody he ran into.
time flew fast. tomorrow is the d-day. he bought expensive gifts for everybody in the office. he even picked up something for john the hotdog guy. he went through the neatly arranged documents in his computer and cleared his desk for the first time. he wanted tomorrow to be special. he has always wondered what the milestone would feel like. he was relieved he didnt feel depressed about getting old. his decision sixteen years back helped him live life on his own terms. surprisingly enough it helped him pull through the toughest times as also not yield to easy temptations. he again wondered about the party and dropped it as he wanted to avoid drama of any kind. he went on a long walk taking in everything his vision could hold. he didnt sleep that night.
fifty. he reflected back on the journey so far. as far as he could recollect he did not intentionally hurt anyone. he tried never to get involved with anyone in recent years for fear of attachment. he had learnt the hard way that broken hearts hurt bad. he lived his life to the fullest. he never worried about rising cholestrol or putting on weight. he never saved and lived like a king. he made hundreds of friends but looking back on those relationships he realised his presence in those lives was not life altering in any way. they loved him and he loved them. thankfully thats where it stopped. he thought of his family and smiled. god bless them. they were all leading their lives happily. he wondered whether they all had a plan. and pondered a while over whether they needed one.
he counted the dollars and wrapped it in the instruction note. he then placed it on the TV where it could be easily seen. he made the call and pulled the trigger.
nine more days. he cleaned up the house and wondered whether he should throw a party. he realised that would be too much of a headache and shrugged off the idea. he called his sister in canada and checked on the kids. she seemed to be in a hurry to get into a conference call and so he hung up. he decided to meet some old pals for a game of basketball in the evening.
it was weekend and just as well. his joints ached from the game the previous evening. he decided to go through his old collection of comics. garfield still had him in splits. he had bills to pay which he did. he took laila - his neighbour's mastiff- along. betty wanted him to pick up some eggs for her on the way back which he happily did. he stayed back for a cup of tea and indulged her in some harmless gossip.
a week more to go for his birthday. he suddenly realised he had always wanted to go on a trek before he turned fifty. he called ann and asked her if she would be game. ann had an important conference to attend during the week. he decided to call gloria instead. she would talk his ears off but what the heck. after fifteen minutes of complaining about him not calling sooner she agreed to join him and also chalked out the trip. he knew he wouldnt regret calling her. he packed his backpack and met her in the evening and off they left on a three-day trip. he left a voice mail on lydia's phone that he would see her at work on thursday.
lydia teased ben about looking drained which he met with a chuckle. gloria didnt look a day older than thirty and she was a wild cat in bed. he was glad he went on that trip for more reasons than one. he spent the day grinning at everybody he ran into.
time flew fast. tomorrow is the d-day. he bought expensive gifts for everybody in the office. he even picked up something for john the hotdog guy. he went through the neatly arranged documents in his computer and cleared his desk for the first time. he wanted tomorrow to be special. he has always wondered what the milestone would feel like. he was relieved he didnt feel depressed about getting old. his decision sixteen years back helped him live life on his own terms. surprisingly enough it helped him pull through the toughest times as also not yield to easy temptations. he again wondered about the party and dropped it as he wanted to avoid drama of any kind. he went on a long walk taking in everything his vision could hold. he didnt sleep that night.
fifty. he reflected back on the journey so far. as far as he could recollect he did not intentionally hurt anyone. he tried never to get involved with anyone in recent years for fear of attachment. he had learnt the hard way that broken hearts hurt bad. he lived his life to the fullest. he never worried about rising cholestrol or putting on weight. he never saved and lived like a king. he made hundreds of friends but looking back on those relationships he realised his presence in those lives was not life altering in any way. they loved him and he loved them. thankfully thats where it stopped. he thought of his family and smiled. god bless them. they were all leading their lives happily. he wondered whether they all had a plan. and pondered a while over whether they needed one.
he counted the dollars and wrapped it in the instruction note. he then placed it on the TV where it could be easily seen. he made the call and pulled the trigger.
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