Am I Alive? - Is there life after death?

I came to that city for the first time. I thought I would stay here for a few days and then go ahead, but I had to stop for some unforeseen reasons. I stayed in the hotel for the whole day and, when bored, would walk frequently and move towards this place. Even in strange cities, travelers find their favorite places. I was tired of meandering now so, that autumn day, I went there. A pungent smell permeated the air around the island.

It was at the edge of the city, where the hill begins. Under the bridge, the red benches were lying in a row on the river bank. These benches were almost empty. The leaves kept falling on them continuously. The sudden gusts of wind were blowing the fallen leaves back and forth, bringing more leaves to fall on them.

As soon as I descended the slope, my eyes suddenly fixed on him. He was a very old man. He was sitting on a small sports chair, completely still and silent. An unlit pipe was in his mouth for a long time. He had a fishing rod in his hand, but his attention was not on the bait. He was probably looking beyond the island at the bridges of the city.

It was a silent corner of the island. It has been raining in this city for the last week. The soil under the grass was moist and soft. It was the first day the rain had stopped, but the clouds were still there.

I sat there for a long time. During this time, the old man did not catch a single fish. Once the fishing rod shook, he pulled it. I thought he caught one this time. I was probably quite excited, but nothing happened. He then looked at me and started laughing. The fork was empty-the fish had neatly gotten away with the bait.

We both sat quietly in our respective places. The old man again put a bait in and then threw it into the river. He relit his pipe and raised the collar of the old overcoat up to his ears. I could not decide exactly at which particular point his eyes were fixed. I was not sure whether his eyes were open or closed.

But gradually, I was even more confused, and I still don’t know if he laughed when he saw me, but I wonder if he saw me properly at that time or if that was my imagination. But if he had not seen me, how could he laugh? Oh, I am even more confused now.

I started feeling a strange uneasiness inside me. He had no idea of my existence at all. No doubt he was eyeing something special somewhere. There was a slight gust of wind. But he was leaving now. He took the fishing rod out of the water, folded his canvas chair, put on his very old hat, and took the pipe out of his mouth and put it in his pocket. He had hung the fishing satchel, which was empty, on the rod.

I don’t know why, but it felt as if I was going to lose something that had been growing in me for a long time, as if his stay here was related to my life. But maybe something happened at that moment, the sound of leaves or perhaps a stone rolling in the water, and it startled me as if my feet were tied to the ground, as if someone had caught me.

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