Walking

The man sat alone off to one side and watched. The chair he sat on was old and worn, obviously fatigued by heavy use. He sat leaning forward, elbows on his thighs, hands clasped in front of him. His face was tense, eyes slightly narrowed, as though he were deep in thought. Falling around his shoulders, his hair shifted slightly in the cool air currents.
In front of the man, bathed in a warm circle of yellow light, stood a group of people, laughing, drinking. The sounds reaching the man's ears were dim, only the occasional laugh or shout loud enough for him to understand. Within the group was a beautiful, young woman whom the man's eyes picked out. She was smiling, enjoying herself as she stood amongst her friends. Earlier, the woman had sat beside him, talking with him, laughing and smiling with him. Not now.
As the man sat and watched, the woman's eyes passed over him. She turned slightly to look directly at him, waving and smiling. For a brief minute, the man's face appeared to light up, relaxing into a warm smile. Raising his hand, he waved back. She mouthed the words "are you ok?" to him. The man nodded, still smiling. After a moment, the woman's eyes turned back to her friends. Within seconds, the happiness on the man's face disappeared, the hidden sadness returning to the surface.
Several more minutes passed while the man continued to watch. Shifting his weight slightly, the chair creaked in the cool silence. The group of friends continued to talk and laugh, the light still falling around them in warm waves. He was not part of that group. He would not be able to feel the warmth of that light.
Finally the man closed his eyes and dropped his head slightly. He listened to his heartbeat and the blood flowing through his veins while in the background he could still hear the laughter. Standing, the man opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. A barren landscape greeted his vision; the landscape stretched far into the horizon. But squinting, the man caught something in the distance, a slight glimmer, a hope. He nodded and turned toward the glimmer. Taking a deep breath, the man extended his foot and took the first step. Then another. And another. And he stopped. Turning around, he gazed back the way he had come, his eyes picking out the young woman. She stood chatting with another man, a smile on her face. He stood for several minutes, waiting. She did not look at him again.
Sighing, the man nodded, as though he expected what he found, though he was not happy with it. He returned his gaze to the horizon, to the faint glimmer he still saw - a glimmer that seemed to glow brighter the longer he looked at it. This glimmer was the man's destination, across the barren landscape. He saw people, friends, standing near the glimmer. They chatted amongst themselves, but kept turning to watch him. Many of the people he had met only within the past few years. Others stood nearby, friends met long ago. Off to one side, apart from the others, there stood another woman. She was smiling gently at him. Feelings of love washed over the man as her eyes held him in their gaze - a gaze that he would never forget - a gaze he had once dreamed about for so long.
A slight smile spread across the man's lips as he watched the people. They were all waiting for him. His first steps were taken. However, many more were left. With a deliberate effort, the man turned his back on the circle of yellow light containing the young woman and continued walking toward the glimmer. Step by agonizing step, the man walked across the barren landscape, the laughter fading behind him. Slowly, with effort, the man returned home.