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Solitude vs isolation
Julio Alexis Rubio González A00819054
Pablo Redondo Peña A00816912
Solitude vs isolation.
James hated people, he was a man that loved the peace of solitude. He hated seeing people, he hated going out, he hated meeting new people; he basically hated everything that had to do with spending time with other people. Since he was young he knew that he didn’t want to marry, he knew he didn’t want kids. He was a man that was happy being by himself, never having to worry about any other. Then why did he felt so lonely?
James had managed to accomplish every single goal he set in life; he had money, he had a house as big as he had always dreamed of, he had multiple cars as expensive as they came. Yet he felt empty, he felt he was missing something and he did not know what it was.
That’s the moment when he decided to do something he had never done before, going out to the park. Once outside his house he decided to ignore his neighbor, he was just too bothersome for him. He waited for a cab, he told the driver his destination and sat there ignoring the cab driver and his small chat. After 25 minutes he reached his destination, the park. Once on the park he decided to sit on a bench and watch. He watched a man that was in front of him, the man had a family and he was enjoying what people called a Family Sunday. Most people would think nothing of that man, but for James the man meant everything he hated. The man looked happy but James knew he couldn’t be really happy. No one could be happy leading such a troublesome life, a life with a family that forbid him from reaching his true potential in life. He sat there watching the man until an old guy came and sat beside him. The old man just sat there without moving a muscle.
The first thing James noticed was the expensive suit he was wearing, he also noticed the nice watch accompanied by some nice shoes. The old man showed that he was no normal folk he wore only the best and for that James respected him, he had achieved everything. After a couple minutes the old man started coughing vigorously, this was the moment James noticed something he had missed before. The man looked sick, he was dying. At this moment James realized that the man looked lost, he wore such nice clothes but he was old and most importantly he was alone. Once the man finished coughing he stood up and left the park. James realized that even thou the man had money; he was dying, he was dying and there was no one there to take care of him, no one to ease his loneliness at his end.
James just sat there. He looked at the man that was in front of him, and after looking at him for some time he smiled, the man had everything and James had nothing.
