As usual with all my stories and poems, please provide feedback for the same. Criticism, as always, is highly appreciated. Inputs help in development of skills and help me gauge myself. If you liked this then please also read my last story, if you have not already read the same. I believe the previous story is much better compared to the current one.
Arthur Gold was as an ordinary man. No not an ordinary man who did so and so to become so and so. But just another man. He could well have been the proverbial guy next door. His life averaged around the average definition of the average. The hero of this story is as mundane and quotidian as one could imagine. In fact, to term him ‘hero’ would be erroneous and he shall hence be referred to as the protagonist. This tale is not one of adventure, comedy or tragedy or one with a mysterious murder to solve. Nothing of that kind normally occurs in normal lives.
Most stories start with visual descriptions of the hero (the protagonist in our case). The story excuses itself from the same and assures you that they were nothing special. You would not have recognized his face in the newspaper from someone else even if you would have seen him the previous day. No, he did not look ugly either- for that would have meant that you remembered him. Anyways you would not call being ugly ordinary, would you? Talking about newspapers, his name never graced either the Front Page, Business Page, Sports Page or for that matter any page. Yes a small obituary with his photo would have been published by his family on the second page at his death, just like most people. He was not among the rich and famous, who are envied; nor was he among the poor and destitute who are pitied. He was among them who did all the pitying and all the envying. He had a normal job - like most people. For which he was occasionally late - like most people; something for which he was always shouted at - like most people. In fact nothing in this story would shock you or surprise you. I shall perfectly understand if you do not wish to pursue reading any further. More intelligent authors know about this, and that is why no one writes stories about Arthur Gold or Jane Doe; for there are few who who like prosaicness- in prose or verse. Alas, this story has started and every story, good or bad (or to put it in the tone of this story- ordinary or extraordinary) has to have an ending.
I have already told you that Arthur’s fortunes never changed. He never discovered that he was a wizard on his thirtieth birthday. He never won a lottery, (he had once bought a couple of tickets and never again.) He did have have a college crush on someone, but like most people he never mustered the courage to ask her out. He never received a will from a distant aunt who died in a freak accident. One of his Aunts did bequeath him her property, but that hardly changes this character or story. His Aunt was not rich and she died an ordinary death. It is the Author’s belief that anything unremarkable must always be confined to unremarkable surroundings to remain so. Newton would have probably explained that saying Every action has an equal and opposite reaction and that reaction may lead to other actions. Le Chatelier would have said that change of any of the reactant mixture would lead to disturbance of the product equlibria. Shakespeare probably said something else which probably would be quoted among the higher echelons of the society when discussing things like these. The lower strata, as I previously mentioned, would have simply said ‘What? I don’t care”. Arthur said something which no one cared to remember.
He did not die at the ripe old age of 92 or at the young age of 47. Such was his case that he died at the ordinary age of 76. Adjectives, other than those synonymous to ordinary would never associate themselves with his name. No not even on his death. Reading his file, the ‘Keeper of Records’ who resides in the office next to God’s was thoroughly disturbed.
He asked the Master himself- “Oh Lord! What had he done, to deserve this plight? Why did he end up becoming what everyone fears the most and yet by definition everyone ends up being so- the ordinary? Why was he ‘Just another guy’. Could you not have helped him at some point of the time? Why do the Arthurs and the Janes have to be so?”
Master replied “Romilda Bagshot,whom Arthur fancied in college, reciprocated his feelings, though subtly so. She kept waiting for a proposal from Arthur, but finally decided to move along. Arthur’s life would have been much different had he been with her. Arthur only bought two lottery tickets in his life, one of which ended up being the winning number. I am yet to know why he did not ever look at the tickets which he bought. Arthur was to be given a substantial pay raise and a promotion in office somewhere near his thirty second birthday, but he came late that day. Five years after tha-”
“But sir, then is it not your doing that he was late for office or that he could not ask Romilda out. Are you not the one who controls fates, situations and circumstances?” interrupted the keeper.
“Dear dear, I can hardly be blamed for him forgetting to change the batteries of his alarm clock. Is it my fault that he could not go up and talk to Romilda? The ones who notice the consequences of not changing their batteries and the ones who have courage are the ones who becoming the someones from the anyones“
The keeper, thinking of the protagonist’s life that could have been, merely said “Only if he had…. Only if…How tragic!”
“How ordinary” his master corrected him, smiled; and resumed working.