Excuse me, Please

Hello, excuse me… please come here for a moment? Yes, you.

The one who has stumbled upon me in this random chance of a meeting. The one who has ended up in this exact moment and I have to believe it’s not just happenstance but something more, but really, what is life but a series of chances coming together to make us believe that there is something bigger at play?

Sorry, sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself, but really please come here for a moment? I need to tell you something and I can’t tell you why but it would really help me a lot if you would listen. I just need a moment of your time - please. Sit. Stay a moment. Breathe.

Thank you.

I’m kind of in a bind, but if I tell you the bind, then I break the bind and if I break the bind, then I’m breaking my - never mind. You don’t need to know that. I mean, if you knew that, this would be a lot easier, but… Rules are rules.

So here we are. The two of us. Random blobs of humanity on a random blip of a timeline in a random place on a random planet and I’m trying to pretend that it means something because I desperately need it to mean something. Have you ever needed something so badly that you’d use any justification you could to make it real? That’s how much I need this to matter.

And I still haven’t told you anything. Thank you for your patience. I swear it will make sense. I hope it will make sense. But let me begin…

Once there was a human. I’d say man or woman normally, girl or boy, but for the sake of this story, it doesn’t matter. There was a human, and that human was moderately attractive and moderately wealthy and moderately fit, but despairingly lonely. They weren’t alone, but they were lonely. People were constantly around them, people who called themselves friends, people who called themselves lovers, people who called themselves family - despite that, this human felt alone. They didn’t know why they felt that way, they just knew it felt like something was missing from their life - or maybe someone?

The feeling of loneliness became so heavy, so increasingly obvious to this human… Okay, this will not work. This human needs a name, so we’ll call them… Frankie. So one day, Frankie felt the weight of their loneliness and that one day, they broke. Frankie left the moderately satisfying life they had built. They sold their things; they donated their money; they hugged their friends and family. They wanted an adventure, maybe, or a random happenstance that turned into something incredible, or a purpose, or… Anything to make that moderately satisfying life they were leading seem like more…

Frankie traveled, slept in bad hostels and bug infested tents, ate food that was delicious and food that made them question why that food was food. People were met, and places were seen, and memories were made, and still - Frankie longed for more. The more people they met, the lonelier they felt, and the lonelier they felt, the more Frankie became convinced that there was no joyful end point in this moderately happy life. Frankie wanted more than “moderate” but after traveling the world and meeting people and experiencing new things - there was nothing more than moderate to be found. Even the best person still left Frankie wanting more. The most amazing food still left Frankie wanting the next bite. If there was never a joyful conclusion, an incredibly satisfying point to life, then what was Frankie to do?

I don’t know if there’s an answer to that, but you know that feeling, right? The feeling of wanting something but not knowing what it is. Searching for something and hoping that when you find it, you’ll just know that it’s the right thing for you, that it was what you were searching for your whole life? It’s part of the human experience, maybe… Or maybe it’s a random feeling that only some of us get…

No, don't leave yet, please! I know that sounded like it could be the end, but it’s a terrible ending. Stay a few more minutes, please? I promise there’s a point to this… And if I could just tell you the point, it would make so much more sense, but I can’t… You just have to listen… Thank you.

So Frankie was feeling desolate and wasn’t sure what to do. Should they continue their travels? Eat more food? Meet more people? Or should they go back home? Both options seemed to carry the same heaviness and the same loneliness and Frankie sat with their head held in their hands trying to decide which flavor of loneliness they wanted to carry. Alone around strangers, or alone around friends.

Frankie decided to try one last time. They would find a spot to sit, and they would wait. When someone came along, they would try to tell that person their story, and if that person sat, waited, listened, then it would be a sign that there was a meaning to Frankie’s life - it would be the sign that loneliness doesn’t have to be Frankie’s way of life. Maybe that person would be the change that Frankie was looking for. Maybe that person would be the purpose for Frankie. And if they weren’t, if they wouldn’t listen, if they walked by, then that too would be a sign and Frankie would know the truth - they would be lonely forever, there was no purpose, no joy, no meaning - and Frankie could then choose if they wanted to live in that loneliness forever or come to a painfully short ending.

So Frankie sat and waited. It took a long while before someone came along, but when they did, Frankie had to take the opportunity. Frankie caught their attention and tried their best to hold it, tried to stay on track, tried to give enough details to keep the person interested, but not quite knowing what was going on. To Frankie’s surprise, the person sat. The person listened. At one point, Frankie thought they lost the person, but the person shifted their weight and sat.

You know, it’s rare that people will do that. Take time out of their day for a stranger. Sit and listen to a storyteller. Pause their hustle and their busyness to enjoy a moment created just for them. It’s rarely at all, and Frankie was really taking a risk by putting their life in the hands of a stranger like that. I guess it turned out okay though, for Frankie.

Thank you for listening, and for stopping. Honestly, it means a lot. I don’t know what you think about all of this, but I’m convinced this wasn’t random now. With all the people in the world, all the rush in our lives, I’m sure most people would not have stopped for me. You can’t know what this moment of your time has meant for me, truly.

Oh, the bind? It’s fine now. I was held to a bargain, but it’s turned out okay for me. You can continue on your way, and I’ll continue on mine. This wasn’t a random happenstance, you know. This was written in the stars or fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it. I know it deep within my soul.

It’s been really nice to meet you. I needed it to mean something, and it did. I guess I can tell you now… I’m Frankie.