Forgivness

Foot steps echoed in the air as someone made their way to the door. With a slam, the person was inside. Walking down a long hallway, each step ringing in the ears of an elderly man sitting in a chair. The sound seemed to wake him, though his eyes remained shut.

“Daniel, is that you?” Called the old man.

A few moments later the boy walked out and into the front room where the man sat. The elderly man sat facing the back yard, guarded by a window and railing. The boy took a seat by him and grabbed onto his hand.

Reaching out to his hand and holding it tight, “I’m here uncle, and I’m fine,” he said with a half smile.

“Ah, that’s good. Eh, how was school today?” He said with a smile.

“School was…” He trailed off a moment as his squeezed his uncle’s hand.

“Hmm?” Uncle responded.

“I - Its… Okay, I guess,” he stuttered.

“Oh, my boy. What troubles you? Is it your friend, Alex?”

“Well, kinda. Yeah.”

The Uncle took him by the hand. Cupping his around the half sized hands and holding firm. Daniel dropped his head and looked out into the back yard. Birds chirped and played along with other woodland creatures that lived in the spacious yard.

“Tell me now, what are the troubles?” He said in a soft voice.

The boy sat there a moment and slow took in deep breathes. Gathering his thoughts and finding the right words to say.

“He, he told me something that. That really got to me and I told him that I forgave him and all. But I still feel so hurt and I don’t know if what I’m doing is the right thing or not,” he explained.

“Well, what did he do?”

“He kinda kissed another boy.”

“Well, there must be a reason behind it. Something more than you think.”

“He told me that he was drunk and that it was all an accident. He found me last night and he crying his heart out.”

“Now, what does that tell you?” Uncle said while smiling.

“What?”

“You say he cried his heart out? And he came right to you? That should explain more than enough to you,” he said with a grin.

“I don’t understand?

“Oh come now, the answer is there before your eyes. Listen, he came to you when it happened, then told the truth. That means a little something there.”

“Like what?”

“Well, in my seat, the way I think of it. He deeply cares for you. Maybe a little love? If you wanna spice up the soup like that.”

“You really think so?”

With a laugh, “Ha! You best believe it. Now I may not be able to see what you two do together, but the way he sounds when talking to you and how you react to him, says more than you know. I say, its love.”

Daniel sat there a moment is silence. Suddenly a buzzing cam from his pocket. It was his phone. Reaching into it, he say that it was a message from Alex. Tapping a few buttons and then sliding it back into his pocket, he let out a sigh.

“Eh, was that him buzzin’ in your pocket?”

“Yeah, he wants to talk it all out. He seems like he going to explode if I don’t talk to him.”

“Ooh, you don’t want that to happen. Might be wee bad for his completion.”

“Yeah,” he laughed.

The two sat together at the edge of the room facing the back yard as they were the whole time. Animals moved to and from, here and there. But nothing too major.

“Uncle, why do you sit here?”

“Why not?”

“But you can’t see the real world.”

“Oh, I see more than you think. I see the true beauty and love that the world and myself have to offer. Just like how I love you and how happy you are.”

“Even though I not like everyone else?”

“Nonsense! You’re just like everyone else.”

“But the others don’t see it that way. Mainly the whole family.”

“That is true. It does hurt to know that they don’t see you the way I do. But that doesn’t matter right now. What does, is the people that care for what you are on the inside.”

Daniel sat in wonder at what he was playing at.

“You and your mate, Alex, have something special. That something can’t really be seen, but more felt. What you have is love. Love isn’t something that you can really see. But something that you can feel.”

“You think so?”

“My boy, I know it to be.”

“Thank you Uncle.”

“You’re doing the right thing,” Uncle said with a smile.

“Do you think I’m doing the right thing, by forgiving him and all? I mean. I should have every right to be mad and break up with him. But I’m just letting it go. Its just too hard to do the right thing. Maybe I should just give in to it all and just do what my heart says.”

“Well, its easy being bad. Its easier to steal food than to get a job and buy that food. It’s easier to say rude things and not do anything, rather than saying the right things and doing hard work,” Uncle said shifting in his chair. “Being the bad guy is so much more easy and yet it has none of the rewards that life has to offer. Now, Being the good guy is always much harder and yet always prove to have the best rewards the world has to offer. Don’t just listen to one of your feelings; take them all. Listen to your heart and listen to your mind. Both prove greater than anything is combined and made into something special. A very special person thought me that, and here I am teaching you the same thing,” Uncle said with a smile. “If you truly love him, you’ll forgive him, not out of kindness, but out of the love that you have so greatly for him.”

Sitting there in the seat next to the man, Daniel thought  about what he said and then wrapped his arms around him. Uncle patted the boy on his back and released from his grasp, he took off shouting a , ‘Thank you!’ and out the door he came from.

Remaining seated the old man sat smiling as he stared into the nothing., “You thought me that, and as promised I passed it on to the next. Thank you, Marie. You’ve thought me how to love someone for what they are on the inside. Not appearance. I suppose it was good that you took my eye sight when you died,  thought I wouldn’t mind just to see you smile. One last time.”