Two Men on a Bench

On an average bench in an average park in an average city sat a man, and though he himself was far from average, he went completely unnoticed. It was the middle of the day, and the park was teeming with people, but nobody even looked at him. This was odd, considering his appearance, which should have been able to draw attention in a dark room. He was strikingly handsome, a blond haired, blue-eyed Aryan Adonis. He had the soft, boyish features that were currently found to be attractive in modern society, and was stylishly dressed, all in black. He was smiling, and its radiance should have been visible to a blind man. But it wasn’t. Nobody saw it. Nobody even bothered to spare him a glance. But he saw them all

He saw everything.

He watched every single person that passed him, measuring, calculating, listing the possibilities, judging their worth. He was both joyful and saddened by the fact that they all appeared the same: miserable. Undecided. Boring. There was no fire in them, no real passion, and while he knew he should be happy about this he couldn’t help but feel disheartened.

He watched as a pair of young, attractive women walked by. Stereotypical “modern successful women” types, prim suits and horned rimmed glasses and all. They might be fun, he reasoned. For a couple hours, anyway.

“Don’t.” A soft, patient, commanding voice told him. “They’re young, and living good lives. If you must test them, give it a couple more years.”

Still smiling, the ignored man replied, “I love how you call it ‘testing’. It makes it sound like you still have faith in them.”

“I do,” said the other. “That was always the problem between us, wasn’t it? And hello, Luke.”

“Hello, Joe.” Luke patted the spot beside him. “Have a seat.” Joe obliged, and Luke took a good look at him. If Luke stuck out like a sore thumb, Joe was the needle in a haystack. He was dressed all in gray; gray hoody, sweats, shoes, socks, gloves, and his face was hidden by the hood. He looked like anybody and nobody at the same time.

They sat in silence for a while, watching as more people walked by, Luke smiling, Joe casually twiddling his thumbs. Finally, Luke asked, “How’re things back home?”

“Same as always,” Joe replied easily. “Jesse is still feeling depressed, while your brothers try very hard to ignore everything around them. Michael sometimes talks about you, though.”

“Curses, you mean.”

“Naturally. And how are things back at your place?”

Luke couldn’t help but sigh. “Truth be told, I’m a little disappointed. Business is starting to slow down, which is surprising considering the last couple years.”

Joe nodded his agreement. “Yes, the same is true at my end. People just don’t seem to care anymore.”

“You know what the problem is?” Luke asked rhetorically. “It’s the media. The entire world is plugged into this evil, cynical, emotionless machine, sucking the life from them one commercial at a time. Global communication has turned the human race into a bunch of atheist, soulless PC drones whose sole concern is the pursuit of the all-mighty dollar, which they inevitably loose to taxes or scandal anyway. A lot of them tell themselves that they’re not like that, that they know family and love and all that are what really matters, but they’re full of it, and deep down they know it. Mankind doesn’t believe in anything anymore other than what they hear on CNN, which is 80 crap and 20 skewed by whoever happens to be in charge that week. They’re just dull, tedious, boring bags of flesh. They’re no fun anymore.”

“Shouldn’t that make you happy?”

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, but not as much as I should be.”

Joe made a sound that might have been a low chuckle. “That the truth?”

“Everything I tell you is a lie.”

“Touché.” They sat in silence again, until Joe said, “Still, I am forced to agree with you. The current climate of apathy and faithlessness is disheartening. Someday soon, our jobs may become irrelevant. I am not quite sure I will do on that day.”

“Will it even matter? It’s not like you’re high on their priority lists.”

“Oh, it matters Luke. Everything about them matters. You forgot that long ago.”

Luke snorted defensively. “I never forgot. We just had different definitions of ‘matters’.”

“Do we still?”

With a conceding laugh, Luke replied, “Some days I’m not so sure.”

“Why don’t you come home, Luke?” Joe asked. “Don’t you think you’ve made your point?”

“I’ll have made my point when you admit that you were wrong. That they never should have been brought into the equation.”

“But I wasn’t wrong.”

“Then I’ll never come home.”

Joe sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that. Still, one can always hope.”

“Whatever makes you happy.”

Joe sighed again. “Following politics?” he asked as a change in subject.

“On and off. I really got a kick out of the Terminator becoming governor. That should provide weeks of entertainment. It’s too bad he can’t make movies anymore, though. I always had a soft spot for them.”

“Even the one where he fought the devil?”

“I was a little disappointed with that one. Gabriel Byrne just didn’t have the right energy. If I had to choose, I’d pick Christopher Walken.”

“Everybody says that.”

Luke shrugged. “I know, but it’s true. How about you? Who’d play you in the movie?”

“I’m not sure. I saw ‘Bruce Almighty’ the other day, and Morgan Freeman did a surprisingly good job. Add James Earl Jones’ voice…”

“Everybody says that too.”

This time it was Joe’s turn to shrug. Luke smiled and went on. “Personally, I voted for the porn star. Everything wrong with humanity in a position of power; a dream come rue. That’s why I always vote Republican. Or Liberal, if I’m up north.”

Joe only nodded. “Yes, I can see why you would like their current leaders.”

“How could I not? A barely literate, greedy oil tycoon with an inferiority complex and a slimy, arrogant, power-craving Frenchman control two of the most powerful nations in the world. It’s a virtual swimming pool of debauchery and sin.”

“I never much liked politics,” Joe admitted. “I understand the need behind it, but I often wish things had evolved differently.”

“They’re responsible for their own decisions.” Luke immediately regretted saying that. He scowled as he imagined the smug smile under Joe’s hood. He knew there wouldn’t be one, but the image alone was infuriating. “I know what you want to say, so you might as well get it over with.”

Joe just chuckled and obliged. “No matter what tests are put before them, no matter how they are manipulated, the choice is always theirs. That’s why I still have hope. That’s why you’ve always been wrong about them.”

Luke fumed for a few moments longer, then dropped his shoulders in defeat. “You win this round old man, but you’ll never get me to admit I’m wrong. Never.”

“Perhaps. But I can always hope.”

Luke stood up and straightened his coat. “I’ve got to be going. Work to do. Always a pleasure, Joe.”

“Likewise, Luke. And remember—the door is always open.”

“As is mine. Till next time.”

Joe watched Luke walk away, the other people on the pat not even acknowledging his existence. Joe sat there on that bench for a while longer, watching the people walk.

No one noticed when he was gone, if he had ever been there at all.