Old Man by the Cliff

The old man (though at this time a young man) climbed up the steep hill. At the top was a cottage, along the front was a cliff, and at the bottom was the ocean. The man set up his belongings in the cottage before making himself dinner and heading outside. He put up a chair (though it wasn't the nicest chair) near the edge of the cliff. He then sat and ate while watching the sunset and listening to the waves crashing below. Then, once the sunset, he would head inside and set a fire. The man did this for years until...

He nearly stabbed his hand when he went into the kitchen. At this point, he was an old man and couldn't see very well. Later that day, he nearly fell down his front stairs when he went out to get glasses. On his way into town, he nearly got run over by a car due to the fact he couldn't see it. At the ophthalmologist, the old man nearly got stabbed in the eye when he was getting the exam because the doctor sneezed. On his way home, he nearly got hit again. It was almost as though the world was trying to kill him. 

A few weeks passed, each one full of near-death experiences. On Halloween he nearly had a heart attack, the next day he nearly chocked to death on a piece of candy, and on several different occasions during those weeks the old man was nearly blown out of his chair. But after those weeks, it seemed like death had given up on trying to kill him.

Years passed without the old man dying. He was way past his limit and spent most of his time sitting his his chair by the cliff. The locals began calling him "Old Man by the Cliff". Sometimes little kids would come up to visit him, and he would tell them grand stories of his travels around the islands before settling down here. The children would ask him questions in return.

"Do you have any grand kids?" a child would ask.
"Sadly no." he would respond.
"Can we be your grand kids?" another would ask.
"Of course." the old man would chuckle.

"Do you have a wife?" a child would ask.
"No." he would respond.
"Do you have a husband?" another would ask.
This question would cause the old man to smile sadly to himself. He wouldn't respond after that question. So the children (in hopes of stopping him from dying of sadness) would ask him to tell more thrilling stories. 

Another few years passed without him dying. 
...
Until one autumn day when he was sitting in his chair. Enjoying the sounds of the waves, the sight of the setting sun against the surrounding islands, and the taste of a apple pie one of his grand kids gave him. A hooded figure approached him. The old man looked up at the figure, tears in his eyes. The hooded figure tried not to tear up as it extended it's hand. The old man set down his pie and shakily stood up.
"Well well well. It's about time old friend." he hoarsely said, releasing a few tears. 
The hooded figure wiped it's hidden face. The old man put his hand on it's face and looked into it's eyes. 
"Took you long enough, Jeremy." he smiled through the tears.
The hooded figure took down it's hood and placed it's hand on the old man's. 
"Let's go, Micheal. I can't bear being without you anymore." he (the hooded figure said) managed to say between tears. 
"I need my player two." the old man said.
The two hugged, resulting a slightly colder breeze to flow through the air of the island. Some of the old man's grand kids noticed this and rushed up to the cottage on the cliff. They searched through the cottage before walking onto the lawn where the chair sat. All of the children chocking up and sobbing to see their grandfather dead in his chair with a half eaten apple pie next to him. 

A funeral was held a few days later. The entire town showed up as at some point in their lives, the old man had touched their hearts. He was buried under his chair which got turned into a statue version with an apple next to it in memory of him. Every year after his death, on the day of his death someone would bring an apple pie up to the statue chair and leave it there. All of this in memory of the Old Man by the Cliff. 

© Inside Sofi’s Brain
insidesofisbrain.blogspot.com
Yes I do realize the names at the end. That's only because I've been listening to Be More Chill. Hopefully I don't get anything bad because of it. Well now it's just an reference that some people will get.
Note: I almost cried while writing this.
Note: I'm fine I just had this thought and decided to roll with it. 

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