a man with a gun

I

A man took his rifle and went out for a walk.

He was not sure why he did this action, he was supposed to be at his living room watching feeds and thinking about the never-ending streaming of information that pop-ups in his screen.

The TV was on, he never pays attention to it, he uses it to block outside noises, the white-noise had a soothing effect to him, it helps him to relax.

“Where did this rifle came from?”

He could not remember, he detests guns, he didn't even knew he had one but nonetheless it was there, and it was the right time to use it.

The city was calm and cold, it was a brisk afternoon of early spring in the northern hemisphere. A red cardinal flew next to him and with ease started to sing for a quick moment and then departed to its private destiny.

He hadn't thought much about this, he was used to the local fauna and his mind was still revolting from what he had on his mind. To shoot that bastard that took everything from him.

But who was him? Why he was having this desire now? So many things had passed since the event. He was such an average person for having such a crazy drive. He was supposed to be drinking scotch, alone in his flat, and now he is outside, with the world at his knees, waiting for unload the charge to his target and he could not stop now. He could not withdraw from his purpose. His future was sealed and he will be remembered. His name will be all around the press and he will get the obstinate recognition he had been longing for for so long.

A deer stood in front of him. It started to pronounce over and over

“But you know that you will not get there”

“Shut up!” the man screamed to it, “you are a deer, you cannot talk!” the deer just stare at him for a moment and replied “you know that you know you don't know” and then it got lost in the midst. The man was confused, “what was that? what is happening to me? This could not be real, I'm not supposed to be this man, I didn't even know how this rifle came to my hand and why am I supposed to kill that bastard who I don't even know what did to me!”. He stopped and smoked a cigarette, the action of exhaling smoke appeal to him. He had been smoking since he was 18 and promised to himself to stop at 30, but he was 40 now and he stopped doing promises he cannot fulfil to himself a long time ago.

The man started thinking this was all a dream, but what a curious dream it was, he never had a dream so real as this, he wanted to wake up, but he couldn't so he proceed with his desire. He thought “if this is a dream let's see where does it takes me, eventually I will wake up”. What he didn't know is that unfortunately it was everything but a dream. He kept walking, until he got into an intersection, a bus was parked there and suddenly he heard someone shouting at him, he turned his back and saw this man with a red cap, brown velvet and a gaze staring at the skies, he told him “I will take you where no-one else have taken you before, because I know” and made a follow me sign and got inside of his bus. The man stood there for a moment, thinking, “what the hell it's all this about? Ok, I told myself to just follow the dream as it unfolds and stop questioning what seems to be real” .

II

The bus driver turn on the radio and a voice started “Due to climate change new droughts are expected, this will have a direct impact in the price of grain”, the bus driver mutter something and then added “this world is going to hell”, the man nod in approbation and then he changed the station, the voice of Edith Piaf was singing “Je ne regrette rien” and thought aloud “man, I love that voice”, the bus driver replied with excitement “Do you like Edith Piaf?!” “Yeah, who doesn't?” “Well, you are the first person I know that likes her, I'm surrounded most of the time with idiots”, then an awkward silence followed. “Man, I don't like these modern times, everything is so depressing, when was the last time you felt alive staring at something contemporary?” “I don't remember” “that's my point, there is nothing to appreciate right now, that's the state of affairs we are in”. He kept driving for hours, and the man didn't asked about where they were heading, “it's all part of this crazy dream”. He felt into a deep dream.

The bus driver woke him up, “we're here”. They were in what seems a downtown area of an average city. “Let's go for a coffee”. While walking he saw this young man deeply immersed in a book, then he raised and pointed to the direction of the man and said out loud “Ill n'ya pas un rapport sexual” and then went on to his reading again. “That was certainly odd”, he thought but he just followed the bus driver into a coffee shop without thinking much about what just happened, he discarded as a “post-modern statement young people make these days”.

The coffee shop was full of students getting ready for their long day at school, getting bagels and stuff students eat. “What do you want? Be splendid, there is a long road still ahead” '”Just a cup of coffee and a bagel” “OK then! but you had been advised”. The cooker growled when he received the order and started fixing it mechanically. “There you go, now leave and please never come bac”'. “Man, the hospitality of these people is jawbreaking”, and they went to the park to eat their stuff. While there the man started getting anxious, “please, could you tell me what is this all about, I'm supposed to be at my office right now but instead I'm with a complete stranger traveling to an unknown destiny while I'm carrying a gun ready to kill that bastard”. “What are you worried about? Look at me as a medium, you need me to carry on what you know you have to do.” “But precisely that is the problem, I know but at the same time I don't know where this knowing came from, yesterday i was just...2 A boy with a bicycle suddenly stopped in front of them and said “the man with the gun, please follow me”, the bus driver just weaved and said “my duty is fulfil, good luck” and went away and got lost into the multitude.

III