A Story

A story today. I've been meaning to write short stories again. I hope you enjoy this one.


The Groundskeeper.

The wind whipped through the dead tree branches rattling them against each other. The rows of stone graves stood strong against the weather. An old rusted shovel leaned against the dead tree. The graveyard was empty, save for the grave digger and the gentleman sitting across from him at a desk.

"Come now, Mr. Hunter. This should be a joyous occasion for you!"

Hunter fround. "Why should it be?"

The gentleman shifted around the desk and pulled out a file of papers. "Our records indicate you've been waiting for this for some time now. You've been working here, what, 26 years?" He looked to Hunter for confirmation.

Hunter nodded. "That doesn't mean anything."

"But that's not where this begins." The gentleman shifted through the paperwork. "Before this you were a manager of a video rental store, is that correct?"

Hunter stared coldly.

"The store went under and you were forced to sell it. All the people who worked for you were upset and forced into destitution. You, however, had this little job here set up for yourself already." Again the gentleman looked to Hunter for confirmation in what he already knew.

Hunter sighed deeply but remained reticent.

"You were married, correct Mr. Hunter?"

"Once."

"Our records say you were married twice."

Hunter grunted and looked away from the man.

"Your first wife, Elizabeth, ran away on your wedding day. Your second wife, Linda, filed for divorce when you started working here." He turned the page. "Oh, and apparently she got the kids. How many children did you have?"

"Two." Hunter refused to look the man in the eye.

"Says here, Linda had 3."

"Two are from her previous marriage. One is from her current husband's previous marriage."

"Not according to our records."

"You're records are wrong." spat Hunter.

"According to our records the first two are from a previous marriage, as you stated. But the third is from her current marriage. It seems she had a child with this new man."

"Impossible. Your records are wrong."

"Our records are never wrong, Mr. Hunter."

Hunter slammed his fists on the desk. "They're wrong! She can't have kids! She told me so!"

"Is that what she told you? No wonder you're confused, Mr. Hunter. She can have kids perfectly well. Its you that can't."

Hunter grunted and turned away from the gentleman again. The gentleman grinned.

"But enough about Linda, lets get back to you." He picked up the paperwork again and began to sift. "Says here you were a college dropout. Oh my, couldn't even finish a liberal arts degree, that is sad. You had a 2.3 GPA in high school, I've seen worse."

Hunter scowled.

"What was that?"

Hunter remained silent.

"Problematic childhood. Father left when you were little. Mother was always working. No siblings. Hmmm." The gentleman stopped and looked at Hunter. "Are you sure this isn't a happy occasion, Mr. Hunter? It seems to me like you led a miserable life. You should be ecstatic to know your death has come. According to our records you even WISHED for this early a few times."

Hunter stood up from the gravestone he had been sitting on. He sighed deeply and looked at the gentleman. "You're right. I should be happy according to your records. When you read it off like that I sound like a statistically miserable old fuck. But I know what I was, and I was happy. Despite all the crap, despite all the shit I had to deal with. The lies, the hate, the guilt. I found ways to be happy." The gentleman frowned. "So you ask me, why aren't I happy to die? Because as miserable as I was, there was so much more to my life than the misery."

"But its over now." said the gentleman. He stood up and the desk vanished into the wind. A robed figure materialized from smoke next to the gentleman. It was completely covered in its black cloak. "It's time to move on, Mr. Hunter." The gentleman turned and walked away as the cloaked figure descended on Mr. Hunter.