Canoeing at Dusk

     

     Still water, birds chirping in the distance, and the faint whistle of a man as his mind wanders about his consciousness. This was the environment that every human being should experience at least once in his life. Well, that is how Tim felt, anyway.

     

     Scanning the area around him, Tim saw nothing but water and the early stages of settling fog which stood between him and dry land. Not that he wished to feel the hard earth beneath his feet. Tim was elderly and wise in age, but young and free in the soul. Growing up they had always told him that it wasn’t possible to obtain both freedom and adulthood. But that was exactly what Tim was here for, to be at the last stages of his life and still feel that same freedom that he had once felt as a young lad.

     

     Why must adults choose to think like they do? Tim never could understand his own kind. The way they always scurried about as if they had to save the world and destroy it all in one day. Why couldn’t they just see the world as he did? His kind sees the world as nothing more than time that runs too fast for their set pace. Why couldn’t they run free like he had, like they once did as children? Must everything change over time?

     

     Tim exhaled and slowly allowed his eyelids to close. The time was drawing nearer. His song was coming to an end, just as everyone’s must. Tim enjoyed the life that he had lived. He had made many great achievements and many massive mistakes. He was a man that regretted nothing, well almost nothing.

     

     There always seemed to be that one mistake or missed opportunity that haunts you, even to the grave. If only he had done more. If only he had accomplished that one last task. There was, and always will be, that “if only.”

     

     Tim had only desired one last thing, before he left his home. It wasn’t riches, nor success, nor fame. No, it was something much more precious and meaningful than fame and fortune. It was the opportunity to have taken part in more people’s lives.

Not what you expected?

    

     It’s never what anyone expects; helping people. It’s the last thing to ever come from your actions, but one of the first things to cross your mind. Whether it’s negative or positive, it is always there, lurking in the shadows of conscience. Tim was a genuine guy at heart, but every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. And boy, did Tim have a past, but don’t we all?

     

     Tim held back a slight grunt as he gripped at his heart. Of course, no song can end without that last shot of pain, but did it have to strike him so hard? The man let go of his oars and tried his best to ignore the depressing sound of them hitting the water. He was so scared, so very scared. Who was there for him in the very end? No one except his provocative thoughts.

     

     As Tim lie there, dying away on the floor of his boat, a question crossed his mind. Where was that child? Where was the freedom that he had once dreamed of? Had it left him the moment pain had corrupted his heart? No child can survive a crushed heart. Perhaps Tim didn't want to be a child at the moment. Maybe it was for the best.

     Why the sudden change of mind, you might ask? Well, it’s simple really, and Tim was a simple-minded guy. Every child needs someone to hold them in times of need and fear. Tim currently had no one as he felt his life slipping away. It was time to grow up. It was time to remember that time runs faster than your set pace. It was time to go.