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Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: West Midlands, Pensnett
Gender: Male
Posts: 6
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He is silent
He sits at the bar sipping on another whiskey. His head swings down every now and again but it wakes him up. This is his home, his bed, his pillow. Everybody in here knows him but nobody speaks to him. He has never been the same since his wife died, he used to smile. Now he just sits on that stool, his stool, all day everyday until its time to go home, usually by that point someone is calling a taxi for him and two people are helping him into it, the taxi driver knows him but has probably never spoken to him either. He is silent.
I’m here most nights of the week, I work down the road and live round the corner. This is my local. There are some characters in here, There is silent Bill at the bar, I’ve mentioned him already. There is Joyce, she is the barmaid and the landlord, she makes me laugh, she likes to have a laugh too. We have lock ins on Fridays where we have a few more drinks and have a dance to the music on the jukebox. George is the other man in here, he is another quiet character, he is not too old but he has an awful cough, sometime she is nearly sick he coughs that hard.
That’s everyone who is here at the moment, Joyce’s husband will probably be in afterwards, he has a drink in the Bull’s Head down the road on a Tuesday. I’ve never noticed how dark it is in here before, I cant see George’s face from this side of the bar.
Bill gets off his stool and heads to the toilet, the toilet is outside which is something you don’t see many places anymore. He walks along swaying like a bucket full of water all the way out the door. Joyce looks over to me and shakes her head. ‘He is getting worse.’ She claims.
I don’t speak, I just curl up my mouth into an accepting smirk. I have another sip of my beer, its gone warm and tastes sour. I place it slowly back onto the beer mat. I listen to George trying to force up his lungs as he reaches into his coat pocket and lights up a cigarette.
‘Do you want another one Jim?’ Asked Joyce, I think she was looking at me. I smile and raise my hand then tell her ‘No thanks.’
Bill fumbles his way back into the bar, breathing heavily in a deep tone. He slaps his hand on the bar on his way round to his stool. That was his sign for when he wanted another whiskey. Joyce sighed then snatched his glass and put in another double. She put it in front of him aggressively, the whiskey almost swung out of the glass but it managed to all stay in.
George got up putting on his coat, still smoking, the cigarette in his mouth wobbled as he tried to cough through the other side of his mouth. He walked towards the door, giving everyone a wave on his way out. He opened the door, there was no noise outside, silence was everywhere.
I stared at Joyce, Joyce stared at Bill, Bill stared at his glass. It was like this every night. We sat like this in the same positions pulling the same faces. Alan, Joyce’s husband walked in eventually and broke this trance. He mumbled hello to everyone and walked behind the bar and up the stairs. Bill almost showed some sign of acknowledgement.
I changed my mind about having a beer and shouted Joyce, She poured it and carried it over to me, I gave her a note and told her to get herself a drink too. She smiled and gave me the look that completes my day, it keeps me alive.
Alan came back down with a cigarette in his mouth, he poured himself a whiskey and sat himself next to Joyce at the bar. Nobody spoke still, we only speak when we get drunk enough to repeat stories we have told before, and are drunk enough to listen with an interest.
I stared at Joyce, Joyce stared at Bill, Bill stared at his glass and Alan stared at me. It was as if he could read my mind, he knew I liked Joyce, but he also knew I would never do anything because he would kill me in a second. If he cant have her then no one will. Joyce and Alan didn’t get along anymore, but they both had no where else to go. Alan found out he couldn’t have children after an old rugby injury. We never talk about it when he is here though, I don’t even want to imagine what he would do to us, especially Joyce.
Alan eventually took his glance from me and put it onto Joyce. ‘Has George been in tonight?’ He asked plainly. ‘Yes, he only just left, I thought you might have seen him’ Replied Joyce. Alan shook his head, then slumped back onto his stool taking a gulp of whiskey with him.
Bill nearly nodded off to sleep but woke himself up again. He looked up at Joyce then over to Alan. ‘Do you love her?’ Bill said, his voice was husky and full of whiskey. Joyce looked astonished, Alan was shocked to but his face was more overrun with anger.
He got off his stool and grabbed Bill, Id slipped into a panic, my heart sprinted. He pulled Bill off his stool but kept him on his feet. ‘Time to go old man, but your not coming back next time.’ Exclaimed Alan as he dragged him over to the door. I stood up wanting to do something but not knowing what. I had a quick glance at Joyce, she was tearful with her hands over her mouth.
‘You don’t love her, your just a ghost.’ Stuttered Bill.
‘A Ghost?’
‘You have nothing, you mock me but your just the same, we are all the same.’
Alan had stopped for a moment but now continued and threw Bill outside onto the gutter. He walked back in giving Joyce an evil glance that scared me. He then looked over at me, I was still on my feet.
‘I think you better leave too’
I looked at Joyce, her face told the same story as before, I walked out, I had to walk right past Alan, he followed my eyes all the way until I was outside. Bill was on the floor sobbing, the door slammed behind me. I helped Bill up, he wasn’t hurt, just upset and still drunk.
‘Don’t be a ghost, do something about it, don’t die lonely.’ said Bill looking into my eyes with the deepest honesty I had ever seen.
I heard Joyce screaming and Alan shouting. I walked back in through the front door. Bill was right.
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Feedback Please, Its a rough version, bits need adding and taking away so i would love some opinions
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