And He Had to Follow It

(A Short Story)

                                                                               I 

        Fred walked up the long flight of steps he had been wont to ascend during his childhood years.  It led him up to a  residence  that could have been easily and unmistakeably regarded as home to an affluent family. 

At the top of the stairs he reached for the doorknob, let his hand stay there for a while - motionless, as though the mere touch gave an inexplicable sensation..  Then he turned it and stepped into the house he once knew to be his home.  It was so quiet inside.  He could even hear the faint rustling of the leaves outside... hear his light footsteps resound... almost hear his own heart beat.  Slowly he walked in while his eyes roamed through the spacious living room.  The furniture was still arranged the way it used to be - the table lamp, the radio, the newspaper rack, the book shelves.... everything!  The room was complete; only it was so empty of anything animate save some fresh flowers nicely placed in a vase on top of the old black wine cabinet .  The old woman took care of the house for us after all, he muttered.  And he went near the cabinet.  On the wall a little above it hang a big picture frame.  His eyes brightened with an expression both of joy and affection at the sight of it.  And it always stayed where it used to be, he whispered... where father always wanted it to be.  For a while Fred was lost in his thoughts.  His mother passed away while he was yet in the grades but his father never married again. This wedding picture of theirs was apparently enough company for his old man through his remaining years.

        Towards his right was a door to a room.  In measured steps, he went to it  -the room he had  had all to himself  because he never had a brother to share it with.  Nor a sister.  In the corner between the two big windows was a three-decked shelf that was painted blue, his favorite color.  And on top of it still stood the old framed picture of him as a three-year old kid.  As he let his fingers run over the edge, his thoughts continued to race in his mind.

        Every time he celebrated his birthday or brought home a one-hundred -per-cent marked test paper, or just when he could memorize a poem, his father would buy him a story-book.  Eventually the shelf was filled. The big chair beside his bed was also still there... the chair on which evenings, his father used to sit with his face buried in a newspaper.  Those nights were spent so quietly but to him, these had been enough to compensate for the lonely moments of the day.  He would only be able to sleep when he saw his father sitting there... his father to whom he looked up with so great respect and love, reasons perhaps for which he never was spoiled, unlike other only-sons who usually are expected to be so.  He never even tried to demand things he wanted to own... like books.  But he never asked for them anyway.  He knew better ways of getting them.

        Now he was a man.... a full-grown man.  Much more, a doctor.  It was in the city where his father sent him to study.  And it was in his second year when his father passed away.  It was then that he realized how lonely a man his father must have been, seeking only the company of his own son, making him happy in all ways he could.  For this, Fred felt grateful and his love for his father grew intense. But then, as suddenly as he seemed to walked out of the trance he was in, he walked out of the room. He muttered  vehemently under his breath, No, no.- not me.  I'm never going to let this happen to me.  I'm going to fill this house with children.... my children..... dozens of them....dozens of them....

                            
                                                           II

        Linda was the sweet and lovely young girl Fred met in college.  The dorm she stayed in was next door to his.  In each school activity, they'd be in the same group enjoying every work and play the academe demanded of them.   After classes, they'd find themselves going home together that in each day that followed, they realized they had so many things in common.  Soon their acquaintanceship bloomed into a close friendship.... and a fascination for each other..... which eventually turned into love.

                                                          III 

        Big candles steadily burned at the main altar of the church.  Linda, lovely in her gown and a veil of immaculate white, was marching up the aisle that was lined up with  chains of flowers.  With the half smile she wore on her lips, she was easily the most beautiful even among her pretty purple-dressed bridesmaids.

  She was already beside Fred with whom she stood in front of the officiating priest.  And the ceremonies began.  A soft melodious voice from the choir loft filled the air with soothing strains of the Ave Maria as the priest,  by the words of matrimony, asked Fred,  "Do you take this woman as your lawful wife........"  So suddenly a feeling of uncertainty swept over him.  He simply stared when he was supposed to answer.  So the question was repeated, "Do you......?"  This time, his eyes gave an expression of helplessness and he fidgeted under the level gaze of the priest.  He couldn't meet the searching eyes of Linda , pained and surprised.  Now the other eyes turned to him in askance.  For the third time, the priest patiently worded the question.  But this time, Fred's lips were firmly set.  Slowly but still silently, he turned his back to the priest.  Linda passed out.  But he didn't mind.  He didn't even try to look back at her.  In measured strides, he found his way down the very same aisle on which Linda had tread only a while ago.  As though wanting to retrace her steps,  he walked on,  the steady gaze on his expressive eyes thrown high above the heads of the people who could only stare cautiously.....high above to a strange unseen power that seemed to invite him to a far more sacred task as a man - a powerful force that was beckoning him towards the wide open doors of the church.  And he had to follow it.