As I walked through the park, I noticed a frail man with silver hair and old eyes sitting on a bench. He was alone, and held a paper bag in his trembling hands. I watched as he reached inside the bag and pulled out a handful of what looked like birdseed. He then proceeded to sprinkle it on the concrete path in front of him. I looked to where it landed on the path with no birds. He sprinkled some more, and I noticed a thin layer of birdseed on the concrete path. I approached the old man. “Excuse me,” I said. He looked up at me, “Yes?” his voice was rich, old, and somewhat raspy.
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“Why are you sprinkling birdseed on an empty path?”
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“Oh, is it empty?” He queried.
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“Well, yes.” I uttered.
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“I could have sworn there were birds here,”
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I stared at him as he dusted bird seed off his hands and into the bag. He held his back as he stood up, sighing. He smiled at me before heading off along the path. “Excuse me,” I called out after him. He turned around and looked at me, puzzled. I looked down at my shoes. “Um, where are you going?” He didn’t reply and I looked back up at him. He smiled, displaying a set of perfectly white teeth. “I’m going to another park, my son.” He cocked his head to the left. “No point in sprinkling birdseed on an empty path now, is there?”
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