Medvedev Dmitriy: http://www.proza.ru/2013/07/14/1385
Once, into a city full of miserable people came a cheerful traveler with a big bag on his back. He marched energetically through the narrow streets, smiling merrily at the severe-looking pedestrians. Those who came his way just followed him with apathetic looks, before returning to their sacs of sorrows, backpacks of heavy thoughts, satchels with complains, purses with regrets, paper bags with regrets and cases full of disappointments.
The journeyman, despite the impressive size of his burden, walked carefree to the nearest park, where he stopped by a bench occupied by an old man, who held a huge sac in his hands. The weight visibly encumbered the poor soul, leaning sideways and pushing at his chest, which often made the sitting mans’ breath heavy. But the elder seemed to accept it and didn’t try to change anything.
The youth said his greetings politely and set to take an inquisitive look around. A cloud-less day filled the alleys with light, a pleasant breeze blew through the tree leaves and the warm rays cheerily reflected across the children’s playground, on which boys played, dumping their fears and hurts into a big pile.
Not far from there, their parents sat, bored and weighted down by the bitterness of the personal lives, private trouble and negative experience. The exhausted adults sighed, while shifting the alerts and cares from one hand to another. Their bags kept filling up with bad mood and annoyance, which made the tired humans even more miserable. Because the longer you carry your burden around, the heavier it seems.
A woman holding a voluminous box with unfulfilled dreams lectured her daughter for bringing someone else’s vice, grabbing the first package from the common pile. The girl twirled the newly-gained pack in her hands and gave her mother the silent treatment. Near them stood an old woman with a basket of grief, which already leaked some stagnant misery out, and she gossiped with an aged dame, who pulled a handful of sadness and some poor health to her chest.
Not far from them, a respectful-looking gentleman in an expensive suit couldn’t find himself a place. While wiping sweat from his brown, he kept shifting a briefcase from his shoulder to the ground and back up, sometimes sitting on it, but then standing back up and struggling to lift it.
By them, a man with calloused hands walked, desperately trying to hold a chest of life hardships on his back. The poor man looked bent by the weight and it seemed that those sorrows are about to crush him any moment. He was followed by a teenager with a backpack of bitterness, and held up a corner of his fathers’ baggage, trying to somehow help him.
The traveler gave friendly smiles to the strangers passing by, and then, without saying a word, dropped his bag to the bench and relieved, went somewhere. Those who had seen the action just shook their heads judgingly and immediately set to discuss the dangerous carelessness and cluelessness of the young man regarding his belongings.
Some time has passed before the youngster has returned. The evening has already set onto the streets, and the old man with the sac still sat in the same pose, apparently making no move during the whole day.
“It sure is interesting around here.” The younger man said to the elder. “Too bad it’s time for me to keep on moving, to see more places.”
“Ah, the naive youth,” the old man grouched from under his burden. “Don’t you see that you’ve lost your own self, when you’ve left your homeland? And today, you left a part of yourself in a strange place. You mustn’t be so careless with your baggage!”
“Why so?” The stranger smiled. “I didn’t forget my mother land, but I wish to see the world. And this is merely a backpack of my problems, and they’re not going anywhere from me. But until they can be solved, I don’t feel like carrying around unneeded weight, which keeps me from enjoying life.”
He picked his bag effortlessly, and without a shadow of fatigue on his face or in his motion headed to the parks’ exit.
“Yeah, well…” The old man barely managed to say, when the journeyman has already lost his sight. “If only I could leave my envy aside the same way.”
And with those words, his burden grew heavier and a few minutes later fell from his lifeless hands.