He recalled some of the romantic adventures he’d had, along with the hearts he’d broken with few regrets. So how had he ended up here, a lonely old man punching away at a keyboard trying to present an image of himself as a younger man?
The stroke had devastated him at first, then little by little he recovered each lost ability, up to the point where he now was, almost back to normal apart from some short term memory loss. The visiting therapist told him he needed a hobby. “You spend too much time on your own!�?he declared. “Get yourself a laptop and join the world wide web to make new friends in places away from here. You get few visitors here and none when you were in hospital? Do you have any family?�?/FONT>
“I have a son who works in the city�?he replied, adding “But he’s always very busy and doesn’t get much free time.�?nbsp;
“That’s a shame, I think you need other people. You’re becoming socially isolated. Would you like me to see about getting a computer for you? We have special borrowing access for senior citizens to help them learn today’s technology. It won’t cost you anything! It’s funded by Age Concern!�?/FONT>
The old man agreed, and later, after being shown the basics of his laptop, he was soon on line and learning fast about all of its many uses. It was on one of these occasions, whilst surfing the web alone, he entered a room which advertised itself as one where you could make new friends easily.
Alicia, or ‘Sin-sister�?was already a member of the group and had so been for several months and her humour and easygoing ways had made her a popular person with whom to chat or post messages in the room. David, or ‘Boy Blue�?as he was known by his pseudonym was an obvious target for her as she began to engage him in regular conversations, ranging from the weather to politics and believe it or not, even feminism. Often they would laugh together at postings from people which they didn’t really understand or even ‘get the gist of�?
They found they had a lot of common interests, but were especially dumfounded to discover that they both lived within 30 miles of each other. On line etiquette and normal worries had at first disbarred either of them from disclosing where they lived, but after a few months of long evening conversations which by now had moved from the MSN group room to the privacy of MSN Messenger, they realised that they both lived on different sides of London.
Alicia nagged David for his photograph and he stalled her for as long as he could, surmising that once she saw his elderly features, that she would lose interest in him and even though he realised that physical contact with her at any level was hardly likely to happen, what he felt for her now was more than just affection.
After recent health ordeals, he needed someone to love and to be loved by, even if it was only in a non physical way. But now the time had arrived to do something before he lost her. The answer bowled him over with its simplicity. He would send her a photograph of his son who was in his mid thirties, unmarried and quite handsome. She needn’t ever know, and neither would his son, also called David. He was sure he’d get away with the pretence and after all, what harm was he doing?
The conversations went on daily for a long period of time, their wording becoming more and more like that of lovers than simply friends. The old man often wondered why Alicia didn’t make any effort for them both to meet and she thought the same about him, never supposing for one minute that it was physical appearance in reality which was the major stopping block.
Then one day, fate intervened. The old man continually neglected his medication during the long hours of typing away into the night, using just one finger to form the words which he most wanted to convey. His loud shout and gasp before he slid into a coma, was heard by one of the twilight shift at the nursing home and an ambulance was called to take him to hospital. His son was routinely called and highly agitated and upset he arrived at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital to be with his father.
The on call consultant told David that they were doing all they could, but they didn’t really expect his father to survive this time, so he should prepare himself for the worst case scenario.
“After all, he’s a very old man and this is not the first time for him is it?�?he asked. David shook his head and tried to stop the tears forming in his eyes. “He’s been so happy these last months too!�?his son said....”I don’t know...............
The doctor said, “There is one thing, your dad had a piece of paper with him which you might want!�?nbsp;
David scanned it, noting the ‘Sin-sister�?nbsp; = Alicia and the ‘Boy Blue�?= David pseudonyms and a hotmail address and password and wondered what and why they were recorded as such. He guessed his dad’s memory was poor and this was the reason. He shrugged his shoulders and settled down to wait for any more developments.
Just after midnight, a nurse said , “The doctor would like to see you now �?at the office please!�?/FONT>
David quickly went to the ward office desk. The doctor said, “I’m very sorry, but your father passed away a few moments ago. We were just coming to get you when it happened.�?/FONT>
His heart sank as he realised he would never see his father’s smiling face again, never hear his silly old jokes, never smell the old man odour which clung to his father like stale pipe tobacco. They would never watch television together or discuss the merits of single malt whiskies from different distilleries. Tears flowed freely as he remembered his dad when he was younger and instantly regretted that he had not done more for him after his mother had died. “Too bloody late now!�?he muttered.
A few days later, David went to collect his Father’s personal effects from the nursing home, which included the laptop which needed to be returned. It could wait for a day or two he decided. In his hotel room, David opened the laptop and was pleased to see that he was in a ‘hot spot�?and all the magic of the ‘w-fi�?technology was instantly available giving access to the internet. David was computer literate and had no trouble using the password to access Messenger. He could see the name ‘Sin-sister�?on there and it was ‘active�?/FONT>
He sent a message asking for a chat. After a few moments, a reply came.
“Hello, is that David....where have you been?......I’ve missed you dreadfully!�?/FONT>
David responded. “I am not David the person you normally communicate with on here........I am his son.�?/FONT>
There was a pause for a moment then a reply came, “I don’t understand......please explain?�?/FONT>
“Can we meet?�?David asked, “What I need to say would be best said face to face and not on here!�?/FONT>
“Of course�?Alicia answered.
They arranged to meet under the clock at Waterloo Station at noon on the following day. “I’ll wear a West Ham scarf!�?David said. What will you be wearing?�?/FONT>
As he typed the last line, the laptop ‘crashed�? It’s batteries were empty. He searched feverishly for the laptop’s charger and realised he’d left it behind. “Oh well, I’ll just have to go along and hope she recognises me from my description�?he muttered to himself.
The next day arrived and was a bright and sunny one for a change. David wondered what sort of friendship or acquaintanceship his father had had with Sin-Sister. He’d never mentioned her to him, obviously. He wondered how she would take the news of his recent death. Was she a hooker even?
Nah! his dad was too old to be bothered by pleasures of the flesh, he thought.
The short train ride into the city took about half an hour and it was almost noon when he arrived at platform 6 as arranged and waited near the clock so see if the young woman, whose picture was embedded into his brain as much as it was on the the messenger page, was anywhere to be seen.
Lots of tourists and city workers bustled around, but the only person remaining static under the clock was a little old lady in an electric wheel chair. Her eyes scanned the platforms and when she saw David’s mauve and blue scarf, she called out to him. “Hello, are you David?�?/FONT>
He looked at her for a few seconds then walked over. “Sin-sister?�?he asked.....
She smiled and said yes of course, and you are David, I recognise you, but you are not my internet David?�?/FONT>
He shook his head. I have some bad news for you I’m afraid......My father, ‘Boy-Blue�?passed away a few days ago. I thought I’d tell you in person. Did you ever meet him?�?/FONT>
“I guessed he was poorly�? Tears rolled down her face, “No, I was too embarrassed about my age and physical state to ever suggest it, but we did know each other really well....He sent me your photograph you know, so that I wouldn’t realise he was old, and I sent him one of my daughter in the states, pretending it was me.....All seems so silly now!�?She continued, “I always knew he was an old man because of his knowledge and wisdom, but I guess he never realised that I was like this eh?�?nbsp; She smiled philosophically, “Perhaps you should contact my daughter sometime if you are free......She is unattached now and is a lovely girl. Would you like her hotmail address to contact her?�?/FONT>
“I might just do that sometime!�?he replied.
The End
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