Untold Stories

"Some stories are better left untold." The old man said to the ever curious young man. The young man looked at him puzzled; he had asked a question, a simple question, and had gotten a philosophical statement, not an answer.

"What do you mean?" The young man asked, pressing the old man to go farther, to explain, to say what he meant.

"One day you'll understand. You'll be older, maybe even greying around the temples, but you'll understand what I meant all too well. But for now I'll simply explain it." The old man said as he looked over the horizon, towards the unknown. He looked away from the horizon and turned towards the young man who was synonymous with impatience, but it was in his nature to be impatient, to be a fool at time; he was young after all.

"Sometimes there are times in a person's life that they don't talk about either because they're too painful or they're simple a raw nerve. You're asking about that time of my life; do you think I'll open up to you like a book? Well, I won't. You'll learn about it in time and when you do, it will not be from me in anyway." The old man said staring into the young man's eyes then without another word, turned away, looking back towards the horizon. The young man was shocked by the old man's change in reaction to him; he had thought when the old man said he'd explain it that he would tell him, but that was, obviously, a misunderstanding.

"What happened to you? You're not the same man I remember when I was a boy." The young man said, demanding an answer in his own way, despite his initial shock.

"You have lost someone; I too have lost." The old man replied and at that moment, the young man found that he understood all too well.

- Michael Hall