The Stranger

The Stranger

There is a man who always stands on the street corner.

He is tall, slim, and easily missed in his black clothes and bowler hat. He hides in the dark against the wall of the old shut down corner shop. He blends in with the paint-stained walls and tattered posters.

He simply stands out of sight and stares out into the long, streetlight bathed main road. He never moves, not even a shuffle or a shifting of feet.

Nobody seems to know he’s there. That, or they’re pretending they don’t see him.

But there is one boy who does.

Little Joel Crowe lives in the block of flats opposite. He always checks out his bedroom window to see if the mysterious man is still there.

The seven-year-old often wonders what the man is waiting for. Joel wonders if the man is there for him; maybe it’s his father.

He asked his mother about it once. She told the boy he was just imagining things – there is not, and never was, a man standing in the dark.

But Joel knew adults were silly, oblivious.

He could see the man plain as day.

One afternoon, after the longest day of school poor little Joel had ever endured, the boy decided to hide with the man.

His bullies would run straight past and, if by some chance they did notice him, the man might be willing to protect him.

So, Joel ran as fast as he could down those rain-soaked streets – his heart pounding at the loud voices following him not too far behind.

He fell as he turned the corner too sharply, forcing him to crawl until he was squished up into the dark.

He held his breath as the bullies dashed past and out of sight.

The little boy released his breath in relief.

It was then Joel realised the tall man hadn’t even bothered to glance down at him. He hadn’t moved a muscle.

The young lad looked up at the strange adult. His brow furrowed when he saw the weeping wounds on his face.

“Are you hurt?” The boy asked in a whisper, his eyes studying the marks. “Do you have a cat? Those scratches look pretty bad.”

The boy sucked in a breath as the pure silver eyes slid down to look at him.

“Don’t talk to strangers,” the deep, gravelly voice warned. Joel cocked his head curiously.

“You’re not a stranger.” Joel told him as if it were that simple, “I’ve been watching you from my bedroom window for months! All you do is stand here!”

There was a beat of silence.

“I don’t have a cat,” the man finally answered as his eyes lifted back to stare out into the road. “A knife made these cuts.”

“Oh… I guess that’s why Mummy always says not to play with them…” Joel hummed sadly, unable to look away.

“Probably,” was all the response he received.

The boy bit his lip. He wondered if the man was upset or angry with him.

“My name’s Joel! What’s yours?” The boy smiled politely, deciding to try and be kind to the loner.

“I don’t remember,” the man responded blankly. “It hasn’t been used for a very long time.”

“Oh…” Joel finally looked away and bowed his head in thought. “Can I give you a name then?”

The man didn’t respond – the boy took this as a yes.

“I think your name should be…” The boy hummed as he studied the man again, rubbing his chin. “Mr. Tall!”

The man glanced down at him in exasperation.

“That’s the best you could come up with?” He asked with disbelief.

Joel giggled.

“Yeah! You’re tall and a man!” The boy laughed giddily, “I think it’s perfect!”

The man’s pale, torn lips pulled up into a smirk.

“Very well, Joel.” He sighed. “Mr. Tall it is.”

The boy grinned up at his new friend, he found this very exciting.

“How come you just stand here all the time?” The youngster wondered curiously as he forced himself to finally stand.

“I’m stuck here,” Mr. Tall growled, his eyes narrowing bitterly.

“What do you mean?” Joel tilted his head in interest. “Why are you stuck?”

“This is where I was killed. Now, I’m stuck here for eternity,” the man admitted, his mouth turned down in misery and defeat. He didn’t bother to look down at the child. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the terrified expression.

“Wait… are you a ghost?” Joel gasped. Mr. Tall winced.

“Yes… I prefer spirit, but ghost is technically correct,” he admitted, though his voice was hesitant like he didn’t want to say it.

“Wow…” Joel breathed as he turned to face the spirit fully. “Is that why nobody can see you?”

“Yes… which begs the question, why can you?” The ghost turned his head to look down at the boy, his expression worried. “And why aren’t you running away?”

“Why would I run away?” Joel scrunched his nose, “Ghosts can’t touch people or hurt people… can they?”

“You’re clever,” the ghost smirked. Joel grinned toothily.

“I’m top in my class!” Joel nodded with unbridled pride, “I’m gonna be a scientist when I grow up!”

“Is that so?” The ghost chortled breathily, as if he hadn’t laughed in a very long time and his throat was coated in dust.

“Yup!” The child nodded confidently.

The two stood together for a moment.

“Are you maybe, like… one of those angels?” The boy wrung his hands timidly.

“You mean a Guardian Angel?” The man clarified, only continuing when the boy gave a stiff nod. “Doubt it… I’m far from being an angel…”

Joel bowed his head sadly, his little shoulders deflating, much to the ghost’s dismay.

“Why would you need a guardian angel anyway?” He asked hurriedly. “You seem to have everything figured out.”

“My mummy works two jobs, so I don’t see her much, my dad left when I was two and my school is full of bullies!” Joel muttered moodily. “I really wanted you to be here for me…”

Mr. Tall frowned in thought as he looked down at the sad, lonely boy. He knew he had done too many terrible things in his life to be anything close to an angel. He assumed that was why he was cursed to forever stand where he was murdered.

But, he supposed there was nothing better to do when you had all of eternity ahead of you – if the boy needed a friend or a father figure, then he was going to do his best.

Maybe then he’d finally get to move on, if not then at least he would have finally done something right for a change.

“Well… friends are better than angels anyway.” The ghost shrugged. He smirked in amusement when the little boy’s head snapped up to look at him, a bright beaming grin upon his face.

“You really wanna be my friend?” Joel asked excitedly.

“Of course,” Mr. Tall chuckled in amusement. “It’s lonely standing out here all the time.”

“This is great!” Joel burst as he bounced giddily on his toes. He was quick to dissolve into a hurried ramble to update his new friend on everything about himself.

Mr. Tall smiled gently as he listened. For the first time in years, he didn’t curse his misfortunes or past mistakes. He wondered if this was his fate all along, if so, he would do his best and finally do something good.

Original Short Stories