I was seated at a bar on a cozy evening, chilling with a bottle of
beer. It was Friday, so i didn't have to think about work tomorrow. As for the drink, i needed something strong to make me sleep like a
baby. Suddenly, I heard the shattering sound of a
glass. It was loud enough to tell that it
wasn’t far-fetched from where I sat. At first, I was frightened because I
couldn’t see clearly from where it came from – even when I opened my
brown eyes wider.
It wasn’t long before i saw a staggering shadow from the darkest side
of the bar. It turned out to be a very young man. He must have taken
more than he could carry. More empty bottles went bye-bye as he
approached the bartender’s desk. Surprisingly, the bartender didn’t spit
a word.
I was seated still, wondering why such a young man full of life would
drink so much that he loses some of his senses. Yes! He did loss some
sense – he must have seen the bottles as logs of wood on his way or
perhaps, he didn’t see them at all.
I turned to the bartender who obviously wasn’t soaked in thoughts as I
was. He still didn’t pop a word until the man got to his table. Then he
said, “Are you ok now…?”
“Wait! Did he just ask him if he’s ok?” I said to myself.
The young man was dripping of alcohol and that was all he could say?
“What about his empty bottles – who’s going to pay for them?” I remotely
asked myself…still, i didn’t move.
“Would…i would…I would be going…home now,” the young man responded.
The response was deep, fallen and obviously clouded with sorrow and
pain. It was loud enough to the bartender to hear but for me, it was
more like a whisper – even though i was close.
I watched as the bartender left his position and went to help the
young man out to his car. He had a driver waiting, so i didn’t bother
about how he would get home. But, immediately the bartender came back to
his post. I moved closer to him and popped out the questions that had
been eating me up.
“Is the young man the owner of this place? Is he your brother…? Are you friends…you guys must be close right?”
At first the bartender tried to turn away from me…another minute, I
saw his mouth open wide as if he was about to say, “Will you just mind
your business!”
But, my words came first, “Sorry, I am just surprised. What just happened here is rare in this town.”
“Huh…!” he said.
“That was my bother. He isn’t always like this.”
“He comes here to relax once in a while with his friends but not like today,” he added.
He continued: “he called in early, saying he was coming with his
wife, but later came alone. When I asked him about his wife, he said he
caught her with his best friend at her office…”
I was marvelled at this – a wife cheating her husband with his best friend.
“Huh…please, let me have another bottle of beer!” (Light out!)