O'Shaughnessy

O'Shaughnessy

Postby ciderman_nz » Mon May 13, 2019 11:07 am

O'Shaughnessy.

It was my last term at school. I stood by the shelter shed and thought how quickly the time had passed. As I pondered, a small third former, who I had never seen before, walked towards me. He was small and thin, with a wedge shaped head that seemed a little too big for his body. He had not noticed me standing quietly behind the doorway. As I watched, to my surprise, he disappeared through the wall! I quickly moved inside the shed and blocked his path.
"Don't ever do that again!" I said, "It will complicate your life!"
He raised his eyebrows over green eyes.
"My father says I will grow out of it; it comes from my grandmother , only she could walk through glass. I can't do that."
"You'll have to give it up," I told him, "You'll find it doesn't pay! I'm not asking you ! I'm telling you!. Never do that again!"
He did not reply but shook his head and tugged at his pointed left ear in embarrassment.
A week later at morning break, I saw a crowd surrounding a gibbering third former. He seemed to be hysterical. He was led away gently by two teachers.
A fifth former told me that he was 'off his bean' , convinced that he had seen someone called O'Shaughnessy walk through a brick wall. The crowd dispersed ; break was over.
I went into the shelter shed. There was the trembling wedge of a head on an undersized body cowering in the shadows. He recognised me . "I got in," he said, " but I couldn't get back. It's over. Dad was right". His eyes filled with tears, like murky little pools.
I put my hand on his bony shoulder, "It's all for the best. You'll never get anywhere doing that sort of thing."
He walked out of the shed towards the school and I tried to imagine his sense of loss. He would learn that nothing lasts and all things pass. It's a hard world.
The bell sounded! I was late!
To save time I walked through the wall!
Civilisation is a veneer, easily soluble in alcohol.
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