The old man is moving

"Moving sale!"

Solid wood furniture
Full mattress with box spring and sheets
bamboo end tables

.50 - $10.00


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The old man is moving.

In my four months of living here, I couldn't help but become comfortable with him being here. He lives just below and two apartments over. Smoking a cigarette, patting his dog's head, all while under a copper cross and behind the lush red blossoms of his potted plants.

He lives only with his dog. No wife, no children, no friends that I know of. He is always there, on his porch.

I'm sad to see him go. We never spoke. Never waved. Never acknowledged each other.

But we both sat outside, stared at the night sky, and breathed the air.

I like to think that he is going somewhere better. Maybe he has found love in someone, and they are moving in together. Maybe he got a job overseas, and is about to start an adventure in another country. Maybe he just patched things up with his son, and is moving back to his home town. Maybe he and his wife have made amends, and he is hurrying back to the face he had almost forgotten.

Someday I will come out to my porch, and he will not be there. His dog will not be lazily sniffing the plants.

But I will be there. Sitting on the porch. Looking at the night sky. Breathing the air.