Nowhere Man

The nowhere man was feeling sad that day, he so desperately wanted
to be liked that sometimes it hurt him to think that he wasn't, well,
really accepted. He flitted about from task to task, searching for an
elusive something that he was sure he put in a safe place over there,
but it had gone. The drawer was empty.

He had a sandwich and a cup of tea and considered ringing his friend,
but again, he wasn't sure what to say. He had some idea that being a
nowhere man, nobody was really interested in him. He liked to help
others and made a point of it, but still when he looked in the drawer
it was empty.

He went out for a walk for the sun was shining and the grass was
singing, but underfoot the road he walked moaned constantly at him,
making faces at his thoughts and trying to trip him up if he thought
really hard. He helped several people across the road and then went
into the shop for dreams but everything was too expensive for him. He
studied the dreams that swirled and twinkled in the light from the
window, and spent a long time looking at some small dreams that he
could possibly afford but he had no money. And when he went home again
and looked the drawer was still empty.

He listened to some heart music pumping out from the seashell that sat
in the corner, and thumbed through a book or two searching for an
answer while the wind outside began to blow and blow, till it shrieked
through the chimney and he thought the tiles on the roof were coming
loose. After two hours of the storm he took a look in the drawer, but
it was still empty.

He sat for a while in his favourite chair and thought very hard, hoping
the road could not hear in case it tripped him while he was thinking
again. And then it was time for bed, And of course he was certain the
drawer would be empty and it was.

He lay there alone in his bed thinking quietly and sadly that the
drawer had it in for him, and it would always be empty whenever he
looked inside. From time to time the Nowhere Man looked in the drawer
and sometimes he would only pretend to open the drawer to look inside
but it made no difference, it was always empty.

He dozed off after a while into a deep dreamless sleep and then
suddenly woke with a start. He wrenched open the drawer which caused it
to fly across the room and start flying about, while he tried to catch
it, even if he was quick the drawer was quicker, and till after half an
hour of jumping about he sat on the bed and tried not to think at all.
The drawer stopped flying about then and slowly landed on the quilt
beside him. This time it wasn't empty, there was something inside. He
took it out and looked at the piece of paper he had in his hand.

Happiness is a state of mind, he read, love is not elusive but will
happen when you are least expecting it. He read further: But there is a
price, there is always a price, that has to be paid in advance. And
sometimes further instalments are necessary.

He put the paper back in the drawer. It wasn't exactly what he had
expected to find in the drawer. Outside the window of his room the road
moaned and grumbled to itself. The Nowhere Man looked in the drawer
once more and saw that the paper had gone, and all that was left was a
small glittery thing that flickered in the light from the Moon.He
looked closer at it, it seemed to be some sort of ring he supposed, but
as he reached out to hold it, it vanished and the drawer was empty
again.

He put the drawer back from where it had come and went back to bed. The
wind howled and the house shook, and he was very frightened to look out
of the window. About ten minutes later he heard someone weeping
outside. He wondered who it could be and donned his clothes to take a
look. But there was no-one there. Except the road moaning to itself and
the grass humming quietly as it was wont to do at night. Impelled by a
strange force he marched out onto the road and began walking and
walking. The road moaned loudly even though he wasn't thinking
much.

At the corner of the next but one road he saw a girl with a sunburnt
face standing under a lamp post. "Was it you weeping?" he asked gently,
for fear of scaring the girl. The girl sniffed once or twice and
nodded. It began to rain, slowly at first, then heavier. "I'm getting
wet," the girl said. " I have been waiting for you to come out and see
me for the past three hours." "Oh," said the Nowhere Man, " I was
asleep. (Chasing the drawer more like, he thought) But I am here now.
How can I help?" The girl smiled a bit at this and took the umbrella
the Nowhere Man had with him, so that she was dry. "We need to get out
of this storm," she said ever practical. So they hurried back home to
where the Nowhere Man lived and went inside. And he sat her by the fire
and made her a cup of tea. And after a while he sat down in his other
chair while she sat in his favourite chair and sipped her tea slowly as
it was very hot. The wind howled around the house. But the road seemed
to have fallen asleep at last till morning. After a while she fell
asleep and the Nowhere Man sat there watching her sleeping. Her face
softened in the light from the fire and he gradually dozed off
himself.