[2-Minute Short Story] The Strange Old Man

Monday mornings are always depressing...

Shizuku moves her heavy body to finish her makeup and get ready for work.

She puts on her ill-fitting high heels, and as she heads to the nearest station, the ticket gate doesn't react properly, and the salaryman behind her clicks his tongue.

Even when she arrives at the station on time, the trains are always delayed.

Once on the train, salarymen, office workers, and students are all staring intently at their smartphone screens, looking bored.

Suddenly, when Shizuku peeks out the window, she sees the town's famous strange old man riding his bicycle in his usual comical outfit.

Today, he is riding with no hands, gracefully playing cat's cradle while going down the hill.

"(He's scarily dexterous, but... is he okay?)"

Shizuku watches the old man with a look of slight concern.

And, as expected, the old man's wheel caught on a stone rolling in the road, sending him flying spectacularly.

(See... I told you so...)

People getting on the train just glanced at the old man for a second before returning their gaze to their smartphones.

And so, the long, long week comes to an end,
and another gloomy Monday morning arrives.

Shizuku puts on her makeup as usual,
wears high heels that don't fit,
and clicks her tongue when the ticket gate doesn't respond properly.

When she boards the train, which is delayed as a matter of course, there is that strange old man on the other side of the window.

Today, I've modified my bicycle tires
and am riding with square tires.

While vibrating violently with a clattering sound,
the old man is riding with a desperate look on his face, his cheeks shaking.

In his hands, he was shaking up a cocktail with a shaker like the kind a stylish bartender would use.

(Focus on either riding the bike or making the cocktail! It's dangerous!)

Shizuku watches over the old man, feeling anxious.

And, as expected, he lost control, hit a rock, and went flying spectacularly while spilling the cocktail everywhere.

(Well, of course that would happen...)

The people on the train give a bitter smile, then
return their gaze to their smartphones.

The following Monday, the old man
was holding up a large placard
for Shizuku and the others riding the train on the other side of the window.

Written on the placard
was, "Next week, I will overtake this train on my bicycle."

When the following Monday arrived,
Shizuku and the other passengers
were staring intently out the window, not looking at their smartphones for once.

("It's obviously impossible to overtake a train on a bicycle... but, with that old man, maybe just maybe...")

While Shizuku had already decided in her heart that it was impossible, somewhere deep down, she hoped the old man would overtake the train.

When they reached the usual spot,
the old man was there.

Dressed like an F1 racer,
he was pedaling a small child's tricycle with great effort, looking cramped, at a speed as slow as a turtle.

Everyone looked like they were about to fall over in disbelief,
and small giggles could be heard inside the train car, with people saying, "He has no intention of overtaking us at all!"

And then, another long, long week comes to an end,
and a gloomy Monday morning arrives.

When I board the train, which is delayed as usual,
there is that strange old man on the other side of the window.

Today, he has attached about 30 training wheels to his bicycle, modifying it to look just like a tank.

The old man is
wearing a helmet like the ones used at construction sites, and on the saddle, he is
standing perfectly still while lying face down,
a truly bizarre way to ride a bicycle.

(Huh? Old man... isn't that posture amazing!? How are you doing that!?
And more importantly, what are you planning to do today?)

Shizuku and the other passengers can no longer take their eyes off the old man.

The old man rides down the usual hill,
still riding his bicycle in that truly bizarre posture of standing perfectly still while lying face down.

Perhaps because that bizarre posture is drastically reducing air resistance, the speed keeps climbing higher and higher.

"Huh? ...Mister... if you keep going like that..."

The moment the bicycle reached its top speed, the training wheels could no longer withstand the velocity,
breaking off one by one.

And there, right in front of the old man,
was that fateful stone he always trips over so spectacularly.

"Mister! Look out!!"

In vain to Shizuku's plea,
the wheels of the bicycle at top speed
struck the fateful stone with destructive force.

The impact sent the old man flying into the sky with the force of a missile.

While maintaining an upright, rigid posture, he traced a parabolic arc
as he flew through the air,
eventually landing in the large pond ahead with a magnificent splash.

Every passenger
rushed to the window and stared intently at the pond.

“...Old man...”

After a moment of silence,
with a straight face,
and arms raised like a gymnast,
the old man emerged from the pond.

Then, with miraculous timing, a duck that had flown in from somewhere landed right on top of the old man's head.

At that moment, a roar of laughter erupted inside the train.

“What is that old man doing!”

“Man, I'm just glad he's okay!”

"What were you trying to do?"

"Was that duck part of the plan too!?"

"Oh man, it's been a while since I've laughed this hard."

The usually bleak morning commuter train
was united by the topic of the old man.

"Hahaha, thank you, strange old man.
Thanks to you, I think I can get through another boring week..."

Shizuku whispered a thank you.

The old man had a sad past.

Several years ago, on a Monday morning, his beloved son threw himself in front of a train.

Ever since then, every Monday morning, the old man would
ride his bicycle in a ridiculous outfit
and try to make the people on the train laugh.

He never wanted to create another person like his son again.

Today, too, the old man pedals in a strange way to
make the passengers laugh.

Little by little, little by little,
the train delays are disappearing.