Short Story: The Lonely Man

The following story came from the prompt "Write a story about a character who’s lost." Provided by reedsyprompts. Link to prompt here: Writing Prompt

Imagine, if you will, a young man. Somewhere in, let’s say his mid-twenties. Average looks by the standards of today, wearing a pair of glasses slightly too big for his head. Not enough to notice unless you were paying him close attention, not that many people do by my understanding. Wearing a scratchy and patchy black beard across his cheeks and chin. One could describe this imaginary man as ordinary.   And this man I am asking you to picture, well he wakes up in his bed like anyone else his age. Groans as he makes his way to the bathroom and attempts to make himself presentable for the world outside. A world full of bustling city streets, honking lanes of traffic and a constant chattering sound of office workers, typically heard at his place of work.   Now it is here, in this fictional office, where our young man sits at his desk, from nine to five, staring at a bright screen. Typing away, responding to emails and completing the mundane tasks set to him by superiors. Superiors who are tall, confident, well maintained and more. Those superiors, they tell the young man what to do. Ask him to work his way through several emails and hand in reports on time, the usual things you’d expect in such environment. Our young man, he does this without fault.   At the end of the day, when he has responded to the last digital letter and dropped off his last folder on the desk of his boss. He returns to the outside world and embraces the crowds of strangers and blaring of metal boxes once again. Finally returning to the safety of his home. Where he can take off his work attire and crash on the sofa. Switching on the TV and watching the first thing he is he finds remotely interesting.   Whilst in this seated position, the first moment of rest during the day, that the young man is able to think freely. Ask yourselves, the man I have been describing so far. What is it that he thinks about? What appears in his mind when he has the chance to think freely? A difficult challenge I assure you. So, allow me to add some more details to this scenario.   The man without a name, well he is also without friends. He used to, once upon a time. But times change. People grow up, they move away. They begin living a life of their own, drifting apart. Not out of malice but simply because that is how the world works. Now he also has a family, but he is not very comfortable talking to them. In fact, it can be days or weeks before they contact him. And when they do, it is not anything meaningful. It is simple small talk, gossip about people he barely knows or one-sided conversations where is simply listening. He doesn’t feel any strong connection to his family anymore. And has convinced himself he prefers the company of no one. Telling himself he would prefer to sit at home, watching TV in peace.   In reality, this is not true. I believe that as he sits down, the imaginary man and his mind begin to drift. To wonder about things that seem random at first. Things such as updating the insurance of his car. Or deciding what ingredients he might need for Sunday dinner. Then the thoughts go even further astray. He begins to dream. Pondering possibilities for his future. Questions begin appearing before him. What if I joined that gym down the road? What if I became a singer? What if this and that? What if…   Those dreams and ideas suddenly stop, as his mind returns to the present. Watching himself sat in front of the TV, slumped on the sofa with a warm beer in one hand. As reality kicks in, a sudden wave of emotions come bubbling up to the surface. The man we are thinking of, begins to feel a tremble of his lower lip. His eyes begin to well up and his hands to begin to shake. All he can do is simply release all these thoughts in a show of raw emotion. The young man begins to cry. Sob in fact, as he comes to terms that what he wants in life and where he is are so far apart, there seems like no path between the two.   Adding these additional details about the young man, I ask you again. What do you think he thinks about? Perhaps your answer has changed, but I would imagine it has only solidified your thoughts. This man sounds lonely, wouldn’t you agree? He seems to have isolated himself from reality, voided himself of a social life. Made a personal decision to distance himself from loved ones. And living like this for so long. Believing the idea that he is lonely has manifested into his actual life. Do you see where I’m going with this?   The man I have just described is you Mr Tomlinson. You are the young man with dark hair and the glasses. You are the one who goes to work day in and day out and sit at home by yourself. You sir, are lonely. And the fact you have come here to my office today and recalled your experiences is an incredibly brave thing. Admitting you have a problem is one thing. But to then do something about it is an accomplishment you should be proud of. Especially when you consider the fact, you have been living a mindset of being alone. Tackling things alone and not feeling comfortable sharing your feelings with people close to you. The fact you Mr Tomlinson, have overcome all of that and come to me today is extraordinary. It would be my privilege to help you on your journey to overcoming this feeling of loneliness. It is actually quite a common thing for people your age. But I will have to warn you, the following sessions are going to be difficult. They will most likely make you feel vulnerable. And there will be times where you will just want to walk out of the room and not return. All I ask is that you stick with it. Trust the process. And most importantly, know you are helping yourself. Even if you can’t see or believe it just yet.   So, let’s get started.