2047, tale for Isabel

Bob is a man age 47, father of a beautiful daughter of 7, Isabel. Every nights when is bedtime, he tells her a different tale, gives her a kiss.. and goes to bed too!

Isabel: "what are you going to tell me tonight, dad?"

Bob: "put you under the duvet.. very well, tonight I will tell you about Bill's story"

Isabel: "and who's Bill?"

Bob starts to tell..

Bill was a small boy born in 2000 in a small village in the Tuscany countryside. When he was born his mother took him in a great city very far from the place he was born. Bill, 4.5 kilos, thin blond, precocious runner and very smart boy grew up with her in that great city.

He grew up quickly day by day and while he was growing he thought always to a question he would have asked to her mother, but he didn't know how and if make this question. A day at age of 8, he definitely asked to her mother:

Bill: "mom, have I got a dad as the other boys?"

Mother: "Yes, of course you have. But he was a bad man, and do you know where bad men go?"

Bill: "no"

Mother: "bad men go in faraway places made for them. Your mommy is good instead and you do not need anything else for yourself, for being good."

Time passed. Bill grew up tall, healthy, smart, excellent at school, but he didn't smile very much, he was very thoughtful and not social, his glance often was often painful and rarely carefree.

At 18, in one of his rare acts of instinct, he says to his mom:

Bill: "mom, I would like to meet my father anyway!"

Mother: "what are you saying! I have done everything for you, what the hell are you telling me? Look for him if you want, but then don't come back here again! You are giving me a great sorrow with these terrible thoughts!"

His mother started crying and went away slamming the door.

Bill felt himself going down deeply and guilty to have given a great terrible sorrow to his mother. He had been struggling between the wish to meet his father and to have ruined his mother's life. He had never seen her in such an angry and desperate way.

He never talked about this with her anymore.
But from that day on, he started suffering very much.

How he was not thoughtful, he was sad. He was not reflective, he was discouraged. Every time he saw a guy playing with his father, he thought his father would have never wanted to play with him. Every time he saw a father kissing his son, he thought his father would have never kissed him.

Between 20s and 30s he was a disaster in love. His love stories never lasted a lot. He was beautiful, athletic, smart and intelligent, but he was used and throwed and he met only wicked girls. He had not great esteem in himself. He thought he did not deserve any of the beautiful in and out girls he met.

An ordinary day, He was at a desert bus stop early in the morning. He saw a man who approached him and with a smoked voice said: "You are Bill, aren't you?"

Bill: "Yes, it's me. Who are you?"

and that man said: "I had no doubt you were Bill. I am your father."

Bill did not take seriously those words, but he suddenly thought nobody stopped him for telling him this incredible thing with any reasons. So.. who was that man? maybe the real father? Time was passed and Bill had not been thinking of his father for many years. He had not idea how to behave in that moment.

Father: "how are you getting on? have you got a family?"

Bill (on the defensive): "are you sure you are my father? or are you playing me around?"

His father told him that, telling the truth, he never knew about him. His wife left him one day with any particular reason. He never knew why. He loved her, but he could not force her to love him. He respected her and her feelings.

Father: "your mother did not tell me she was pregnant. We never met each other anymore, we just wrote some letters during those years. Some years ago, I wrote her telling about my illness, about my little time to live. I didn't know why she wrote me about you.. Bill. I have not much time son, but I would like to know you in the remaining time."

Then an endless silent moment came. Some other father's words came and nothing less. Bill instead had no words, he could not find them, only some embarrassed words.

Father: "I can see you are a man now. I am proud of you" going toward and slapped the son on his shoulder. The father saw then a swollen tear on the stuck and petrified son's face, something like terror and fear, so he did not hesitate to hug him saying: "It must have been hard for you."

Those words plenty of pity and love were similar as a key which opened Bill's feelings without any control. He started crying, a cry plenty of sorrow like a man who has lost a caring person. And after that, hate went out. Bill said: "Why! Why! Why were you not with me? Where were you? Why? Why? Dad! Dad! ...he was a river flowing and for long time cried with sorrow in a liberator cry, the greatest of his life.

Then he stopped crying, he felt like a five years old child among his father's arms. He felt a little better, looked at his father's face and saw he had watery eyes, but he kept the tears with composure and peacefulness. Then a big smile came on the old man face.

They spent the whole day together. They talked about their lives so similar but never have they intersected. Time flied away. They realised they had many things in common, many interests, passions, stubbornness.. even some defects.

A man taking photos along the river, took a photo of them and Bill bought it. Evening came, and his father's train arrived. The journey was very long and his father had necessary to come back to his illness treatments. Bill promised to visit him at the hospital in the following weekend. Their faces now had changed, they were not the same as in the morning, they were different. Bill was happy. He walked on air. They hugged each other.

His father gave him a caress and look at him with love.

He got into the train who picked him up directly to heaven. Bill was very sad about that, but he thought he had met his father and now he knew him. He thought his father was a clever man, a good person, he was proud of him and was proud of himself. From that day on, he stopped diminish himself, feeling small and without value. The rest of his life was so beautiful that all the past had no more importance to him. He went through the world proudly and felt happy like that old outside (but young inside) man who came to say goodbye to him before leaving for the sky.

..silence.. silence was in that bedroom.. Bob stood up slowly for not making any noises but..

Isabel: "what incredible tale dad! So sad at the beginning, so beautiful and happy at the end!"
"I love your tales dad. I love you dad."

Bob: "have a nice sleep, now."

Bob hugged his daughter.
He gave her a caress and looked at her with love.

He turned the lights off and went in his close bedroom.
Long Blond hair was waiting for him and an angel face was sleeping in the queen size bed. He thought about the photo to the river with that old man, opened the drawer into the night table and looked at it, a relaxed smile curved his face extremities, he put the photo inside the drawer and turned the lights off.

A deeply breath surrounded the whole room, then.. silence.

It was 2047..
..and peace reigned in Bob's home.