The Old Man Who Knew

fictionspawn Aak, ,

The Old Man who Knew.jpg

There was a great carpet dwelling above the world. Inside it. Around it. It was conscious, yet not intelligent. Awake, but it did not think. One, a spectre of selves, everywhere and nowhere. No one knew how it worked, not even itself. It was pure observation. It knew, but did not calculate. It felt, but did not care. It was existence. Reality. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The old man sat by the window, looking out on the valley he’d lived in all his life. He knew everything about that valley. Every little rock, every old tree stump. He loved the valley. It was the best place on Earth for him.

He walked out on the porch. Watched the little lake. He knew the lake. He knew the kinds of fish swimming in it. He knew how to catch them. He knew which berries there was in the forest on the other side, which mushrooms he could eat and which he could not. He sat down on his old stool, as he had done so many times before.

He knew a lot. He knew how the flowers bloomed in springtime. How the hills exploded in colours in autumn. He knew how it felt to love and he knew the pain of hate. He knew the arouse of glory, the deep sorrow of loss. He knew a lot.

A cat came by. He knew the cat.

Hello, little cat, he said cheerfully. The cat came to him, stroking itself to his leg.

You’re a friendly little chap, aren’t you! Said the old man. The cat purred, enjoying the old man’s company.

He did not know if the cat was a he or a she, but knew it was not important for him to know. The cat was his friend, and friends were good to have.

He was old now. Very old. Life was coming to it’s end, and he wasn’t sad about it. He’d lived. He’d had a rich life, with sorrows and laughs. Memories. He wouldn’t have been without any of them. Even the painful ones.

Today he was looking out on the field in front of his house. Something dark was hanging over the grass. Over the trees. And he knew. He knew his time had come, he’d lived for a long time now. He knew there was nothing to fear. As death came, he closed his eyes and accepted.

A little frog opened it’s eyes in a swamp in Amazonas.

https://kavarastories.com/2017/05/31/knowledge-unconsumed/

https://yashmody.wordpress.com/2016/12/26/self-consciousness-vs-self-awareness/

Fate

Published by fictionspawn Aak

Norwegian trilingual writer and illustrator. Contact information in my Gallery.

71 Comments

        2. Oh really? Let me know what you think!
          I just spew forth thoughts to exorcise my mind
          Haven’t really thought about whether I am a writer yet but maybe I am starting to believe I could be
          Thank you! 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

  10. Pingback: The Old Man who Knew — Fictionspawn Monsters – A Blog to Listen Quietly to

  18. Coming back to this & rereading this relatable & comfortable tale I relaxed some finally into the placid future I aspire to/ thanx, g.r.

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  20. Nice piece. It portrays death the way we should all view it; as a natural part of life. Sure, death comes in many different ways, some sadder and more unfortunate than others. But above all, I believe that death should be something we should discuss throughout our lives. The matter grounds us, humbles us and reminds us that we won’t be in this beautiful, sometimes painful, existence forever and so, like the old man, we must appreciate it to the fullest. Cheers!

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  23. Pingback: Wars Far Away | Fictionspawn Monsters

  24. I would like to hope we all have similar endings and maybe exist once again. The redemption of being able to know our mistakes in our next lifetime is a sweet thought. Smiles, Robin 🐦 🏵

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  25. Apart from that apostrophe, I love the final line. (Sorry, but as a remedial writing teacher, misplaced punctuation stuff always gets me.) It’s bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter: the valley welcoming him to be a part of its cycle. Of course, it also begs the question: as the man has lived in this valley all his life, what was the man before he was born?

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    1. Thanks! I’ll check out the error and change it, always good with some help 🙂 No one, not even him, knows what he was before the life as a man, and the frog knows what it needs to know to be a frog. The old man just knows there’s nothing to worry about 😉

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  26. The satisfaction and character of the old man, having lived such a peaceful and rich life, comes through strongly in this piece of interesting writing. If only we had the choice of a second life, frog or otherwise – although I would prefer being human again.

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  29. Pingback: Enlightenment – Fictionspawn Monsters

    1. Thanks Chris! You might be interested in the “top post” widget at the bottom of the page 😉 By the way, today’s post was accidentally published with only the second half, and kind of lost its essence. It’s updated now.

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