An Old Man's Wish

A Journey to the Sea

There was a very old man. His name was Juan. Juan lived with his wife, Adriana. They had lived together for many years. They lived in a busy town, deep in a valley. The mountains were so high, their peaks blocked the sun from shining on the town, and the snow fell in shovels from the sky.

"I want to live by the sea," said the old man to his wife, as he had for more than 50 years.

"So go and live there," she responded, as she had every time he had asked for more than 50 years.

But this time was different. It had been just a little too cold and a little too dark. They had had just a little too much snow.

This time, after the old man said, "I want to live by the sea," and after his wife responded as she always did, "So go and live there," the old man quietly leaned on his cane, pushed himself up, put on his overcoat, packed his traveling bag, pulled open the door, and without saying a word, stepped out into the storm.

His wife was too busy with her business to notice that he was gone. She didn't even peer up from her papers.

The old man hobbled towards the horizon and slowly disappeared on his way to the sea.

A story by Pemba Umoja