The Fool on the Hill: The young man toiled diligently for his money. Living from payday to payday, coping, surviving, making it. It was tough, but life was good. He met a gentle woman and made her his wife. Blessed with two healthy kids, he bought a little house with a fenced yard and a friendly, floppy eared dog. Yes, life was a struggle, but it was good. Then one day his ship came in. The how, which I leave to your imagination, is not important. Maybe he landed that dream job with the big salary, or a rich relative died and left him a fortune. Or, maybe he won the lottery or robbed a bank. The how is really not important. So the man could finally sock away his dollars, be content, and sail into the sunset. But wait, that would be a much too intelligent decision and a boring story. So, he swapped his little house in the burbs for the cold-stoned mansion on the hill. He traded his Timex for a Rolex, sold his Chevy and bought a Bentley, tossed his department store blazer and went with Armani. One day while sitting out by his quarter of a million dollar pool, sipping on his Blue Label, smoking a Brames Premium Cigar and mourning the loss of his best and only friend, his floppy eared dog, he suddenly realized that he was not happy. Why am I not happy, he asked? I have everything money can possibly buy! Why am I not happy? Is it because my wife left me when I became a pompous ass? Is it because my kids moved as far away from me as they could get and never call? Is it because I lost my only old friend, the floppy eared dog? And then, with the weight of his loneliness heavy on his heart, he slumped to his Italian marble patio floor and died. In a flash he awakened. Staring through the golden haze, he saw his old dog running to him. The old dog licked his hand and said Im so glad to see you Master! What, said the man, you can talk? The dog smiled and said, Of course I can talk. Im a dog! The man said well, where am I? Am I in heaven? Oh, no said the dog, you are not in heaven. Well then, where am I? Am I in hell? Smiling, the old dog said, No Master, you should be so lucky. So, tell me, please tell me, where am I? The old floppy eared dog smiled once more, licked his masters hand and said, Master, you are right here in the place you built and have been living in for the past twenty years.............................................................................................Isolation. A short story by Jackie Lynn Parker, Be well my friends!!!!!
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 11:55:09 +0000