The Stranger

<p>I could tell something was off just as soon as I walked in. The bar looked normal, a typical half-hearted vibe of a Tuesday night. But hanging just below the dull murmur of idle conversation was something… unsettling. I scanned the bar searching for the source of my disposition and my eyes came to rest on the Stranger. In a town this size an outsider sticks out like a cat at a stock show. He was alone at the front counter draped in a long brown trench coat, hunched over as if trying to drink off a hard day. I made up my mind to mosey on over and see what I could see about this passerby. I grabbed the stool next to the Stranger and tried to make myself comfortable. For some reason I was suddenly feeling agitated. I tried to shake the sensation as Tom came around. I told him to grab something from bottom shelf. No point in emptying the pockets for a Tuesday night pit stop. I stole a glance at the Stranger when Tom left to take care of my order. His coat hung off of him like pestilence. The thing looked old enough to crumble to dust, though I somehow felt like it was an artifact that would outlast my unborn grandchildren. I didn’t realize I’d been starring till Tom came back with my drink. I tore my eyes away and pretended to be fascinated with the dark liquid Tom was pouring into my cup. “Thanks.” I muttered once my glass was full. He nodded then went off to a corner to polish his glass because I guess that’s what they teach you at bartender school. I picked up my glass, took a swig, and winced. It tasted like goat piss. Don’t ask how I know what that tastes like, that’s a different story altogether, but when you need a drink booze is booze. I looked over at the Stranger again meaningfully this time. He had the face of a wraith. Like something walking the fence between living and dead. I wouldn’t say he was ugly though. I don’t really judge guys but I’d say he had one of those mugs that my teenage daughter would swoon over. It was hard to tell how old he was. I wanted to say he was a little older than my oldest but the next moment I was sure he had to be much older than I am. All the while the Stranger just stared straight ahead never blinking never moving. He clasped his drink with hands made for strangling but I hadn’t seen him drink anything yet. “Konrad.” I said introducing myself. I was going to go for a handshake but decided on the traditional gruff introduction of the scene. I waited for the Stranger to respond. He didn’t. I took another swig of my drink. The 2nd gulp went down a bit easier. “It sounds like comrade” I continued, “That’s how a lot of folks remember it, my comrade, Konrad.” The Stranger’s silence seemed to echo is the base of my ears. I cleared my throat loudly and took another drink. The sound of his silence was deafening enough to rupture my eardrums. I kept talking if for no other reason but to block the sound. “It was one of my old workers that started the whole comrade thing. Might have been from Russia or something; he did have a bit of an accent. Good guy though. He stuck around about five years or so then he went off to bigger and better things I guess.” I stopped rambling and downed the rest of my cup. Choking down the last dregs I slammed down my empty cup harder than intended. Tom, waking from his glass cleaning stupor, thought I was signaling another round. Before I knew it my glass was full of the same awful stuff. I thanked Tom again as he left. Like I said booze is booze. Tom’s tip jar might be taking a hit tonight though I thought to myself. I turned my attention back to the Stranger, as I lifted my new glass and took a sip. His cup ensnared by both hands was still filled to the brim. His drink was the color of negroni but it was hard to tell without leaning into the Stranger’s personal space. No doubt it was better than the crap I was drinking. I took a hard swallow and put my drink back down. “You’re not from around here are you Stranger?” I asked him. Going with the theme of the night I wasn’t really expecting an answer so when he responded several long seconds later I almost choked on my drink. “No I’m not.” He said simply. The Strangers voice was the sound of a thousand heartbreaks mixed with the last prayers of a crew lost at sea. I put down my drink and stared at the Stranger thinking if I waited he would say more. When it seemed that wasn’t the case I went on probing him. “Well what brings you to these parts Stranger?” The Stranger turned ever so slightly. Just enough to fix me with eyes that knew nothing of mercy. “Business.” He said shortly. Then he resumed staring into the void. “Oh...” I wanted to interrogate him further and asked him what type of business but his last word contained a weight that sounded like that was the end of the matter. I went back to my drink and proceeded sipping in silence turning my thoughts to what my wife probably made for dinner tonight. I was surprised when I heard the Stranger speak again. “Tell me Konrad, what exactly is it you do?” I turned to the Stranger who was still looking directly ahead. “Me? I run the lumber yard on the East side of town. Been there almost twenty years. You might have passed it on your way in. It’s hard to miss cause there not much else out that way.” “Tell me about your family Konrad.” The Strangers words were sweet poison. I felt an unexplainable desire to answer his every question. “Well I’ve got a lovely wife of 29 years. And we have three kids 2 boys and a girl. My oldest son whose 24 is off studying at the University. My daughter just turned 17 and my youngest is 13. They both still live with us of course.” The Stranger responded with silence. I’d never experienced communication as inviting as the Strangers indifference. I tended to my drink wondering if I was speaking to much or perhaps not enough. “Konrad what do you love most?” The Stranger suddenly asked. I was taken completely off guard. “Umm that’s a difficult question.” “It is not a difficult question Konrad. It is a simple, straightforward question. What do you love most?” I stared into my glass thinking. Almost a minuet passed before I answered. “My family.” “That is not a valid answer.” declared the Stranger. I stared at the Stranger staring at nothing. “Why not? ’ I asked dumbly. “I asked you, what do you love most. As in greatest degree. A family that is composed of many bodies cannot adequately answer such a question because it combines serval entities and presents them as a single solution. I asked you for one answer but you gave me four. So let me ask again Konrad, what do you love most?” I felt like I was both floating on and drowning under the Strangers speech. Hearing the Stranger talk for so long was slightly overwhelming. “Oh.” I said. It was all I could manage. We sat for a few minutes without saying anything. Once again I could feel the silence pressing on my eardrums, then the Stranger spoke again. “If you insist on your previous answer, you must tell me who you love the most in your family, your wife either of your sons or your daughter.” “I love them all the same.” I responded quickly. “Don’t ever lie to me!” The Stranger thunder quietly, in a voice that would cause a tornado to run for cover. The one eye he now had fixed on me had the force of a meteorite, and the breath of his order/warning promised consequences on a biblical scale if disregarded. I sat immobilized for several long moments until the Stranger returned his gaze forward. I suddenly felt breath in my lungs. I hadn’t realized I wasn’t breathing. Time seemed to stop while the Stranger had his eye on me but I was feeling so dazed I wasn’t certain if my mind was playing tricks on me. I watched the Stranger’s mouth twitch as he asked again quietly. “What do you love most Konrad?” The Stranger’s question hung suspended in the air a moment, before slowly wrapping me in an invisible cocoon. As I tried to think of how to answer his question I felt the cocoon grow steadily tighter and tighter till I feared I might lose my breath again. “I... I don’t know.” I finally muttered. I felt the cocoon release immediately. “That is an honest answer.” The Stranger said to the wall. Again we sat in silence. I drained the last of my drink and set the glass down softly. This time I broke the silence. “Why would you ask me that question?” I asked him. As ever the Stranger was slow to respond. “I asked you because I wanted an answer.” The Stranger said simply. “Oh…” I said for the 12th time that night. “Why?” “Humanity vexes me.” The Stranger responded. “If you ask them what is precious to them they will respond nobly with answers like people, friendship, love, peace, values, and yes family is common too. It’s more disgusting to me that they actually believe their own answers. In truth almost anyone would throw away these things for money, pleasures, comforts, or convenience.” The Strangers eyes burned hotter than a furnace and I was thankful that he continued to face forward as he spoke. “That’s not even including what humans value above all else, their own lives.” The Stranger concluded his prose and a chorus of anguish immediately ceased. “I don’t think all people are that way.” I told him. “Konrad, you could not even answer a simple question. Do you really think you understand humanity? Do you even really know yourself?” The Stranger’s words were a dirge. “Konrad if I told you, you would die unless you picked a member of your family to take your place, any one of the four would work. Would you do it? I wanted to respond right away. It was such a ridicules question but I remember the Strangers warning and tried to think hard about a real situation. Then I responded. “I wouldn’t sacrifice any member of my family; I would die 1st.” The Stranger turned slightly fixing me with the force of his one eyed gaze. “What if I told you I would kill you here, tonight? What if I told your death would be more brutally violent and painfully agonizing than what your mind is capable of understanding? Would you still choose your own death over any of theirs? In the Strangers eye I saw my body break, burn, and wither away. I barely got the word out choking on the horror I’d just seen. “Yes.” I whispered. There was a moment long pause then, the Stranger took his eye off me and resumed his normal position. He let out a sigh that set a ripple through the room. “Perhaps answers lie in the things long forgotten, like a simpler more honest soul.” The Stranger seemed to be speaking more to himself than to me, which was just as well because I didn’t know where to start to respond to what he just said. I picked up my cup but then realized it was empty. So I put it back down. Here have this. The Stranger pushed his glass with a finger and it glided to a halt in front of me. Though it was still full to the brim not a drop spilled out. The Stranger stood up and gave that ancient trench coat a shake. “I suppose I’m not that thirsty after all.” I looked from the Stranger to the drink and back. “If you don’t mind me asking sir, just who are you?” For the 1st time the Stranger tuned his head and that man smiled a smile that was deeper than darkness. “Just a passerby he said. Have a good night Konrad.” And with that he turned on his heels and walk out of the door. I stared at the door even after he’d gone trying to discern if that experience was really real or if Tom gave me some type of crazy juice. Then I remember I still had a drink. I didn’t thank him. I thought as I picked up the Strangers glass and tipped it back into my mouth. It was good! No that's an understatement. It might have been the best thing I'd ever tasted! I downed the glass in a few quick gulps. I put the empty cup down smacking my lips to the delicious taste. “Hey Tom what was that guy having? Give me another round of that!” “Seriously?” Tom walked over with his polishing glass. “I can't believe your actually drinking that crap. Its literally the worst stuff in the house.” “Not that!” I said in disgust shoving aside my old empty cup, “this” I said picking up the Strangers cup. “What the other guy was drinking.” “What other guy?” Tom asked. “The guy in the trench coat” I said impatiently “the guy I've been talking to all night.” “Umm you’ve been sitting alone all night.” Tom said puzzled. “I.. what!?” I ask incredulously. “But I was talking to, to...” I trailed off. “This might be past it's date” Tom said trying to read the date of the dusty black bottled he'd been using to pour my drinks. “Sorry bout that, here let me get you something on the house.” “No no I'm fine.” I said standing up quickly. I should probably be heading home. My body felt like it was moving through molasses but I made it to the door. Once outside I took in a huge gulp of fresh air and let it out slowly. I wonder if I really did just dream up that whole exchange with the Stranger. If so, stranger things have happened. If not well, that's a different story altogether... </p><p>

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