Title: An Old Man's Tale
Author: Zarah
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Note: .Hey, guys, it's me, Maharet. I've registered under a new name, because I had some problems with my old one... anyways, thank you for those who replied to my other fics (What If, Outbursts, Happy Birthday Angel...) and also, sorry if i haven't been around to post that much. Anyways, I would like to tell you I love all your fics. really, I do.
It was a dark, moonless night. In the absence of the glowing orb, thousands of stars, each radiating it's own light, cluttered the otherwise velvety sky.
Angel smiled. It was a perfect night for a stroll.
And so, they did. Angel, Cordelia and Connor, all went out of the hotel that they called home, and took a leisurely walk under the beautiful L.A sky. Cordelia held the gurgling baby in her arms, while Angel pushed the stroller with his own.
To every person that they passed by, the three looked like a beautiful family; the strong, vigilant father, the lovely, caring mother, and the healthy, precious baby that is the product of their love.
Of course, no one actually said these to them, but Angel can see it, the admiring glances that were thrown their way. He looked at Cordelia to see if she had somehow noticed the way some strangers were looking at them, but she seemed preoccupied with mumbling something incomprehensible to Connor. The baby squirmed with delight, earning a mega-watt smile from the young woman. Angel could feel a smile working it's way to his face, too, as he observed the affection that were right before his very eyes.
They stopped in front of a beautiful lake.
"Angel," Cordelia called as she glanced at him. "I'll just show some flowers to Connor, okay?"
He nodded as he seated himself on the bench alongside the sparkling waters. "Be careful."
"Of course we will, daddy." Cordelia used Connor's hand to wave at Angel. After smiling at him, she sauntered off to find the moonflower she spotted the other night.
Angel looked after them. Assured that he can't hear anything else aside from the beautiful rhythm of their hearts, he settled his eyes on the waters, and began to think.
Moments later, footsteps echoed in his mind, and he turned, half-expecting a demon. Instead, he was surprised to see an aged man, his frail body supported by a slim, black cane. The other man felt Angel's stare, and he smiled at him. He precariously settled beside Angel on the bench.
"Nice night we're having," he said to Angel, his voice roughened by experience and old age.
Angel only nodded, surprised to see that the old man was actually talking to him.
The other man also nodded, and carefully he lifted his cane and settled it on his lap. He turned his head when he heard the chuckles of a woman. He noticed that the young man had also focused his attention to the young lady with a baby in her arms. "You have a beautiful family," he said.
Angel faced the old man. "Excuse me?" he asked.
The old man inclined his head to the direction of Cordelia and Connor. "You have a beautiful family," he repeated, his hazel eyes glowing warmly.
Angel glanced briefly at his son and best friend. "Indeed I do." He muttered, without even making an effort to correct the man in his assumption of Cordelia being his wife. It was a common mistake made by many people, and he sometimes thought that it was useless and a waste of time to even try to right it. It actually felt wonderful to have them think that the three of them were a real family. If only all of it was true-
"The baby looks like you," The old man said, cutting through Angel's thoughts.
"I have been told of that before," Angel admitted, warming up to the other man.
"Your wife surely loves your baby, doesn't she." It was a statement, rather than a question, and Angel couldn't help but agree more.
The man sighed. "I had someone like that in my life," he said, as his hands settled themselves with holding the cane on his lap. "Someone who loves me deeply, someone who appreciates me. who knows me completely, entirely. She didn't judge me by the person that I was, but by the person that I had become."
Angel was quiet as he listened to the old man's tale.
"It took me a lifetime before I realized it." His voice was suddenly filled with regret. "A lifetime before I've come to know that I love her as much as she loved me. But it was too late." He sighed once again, as though the simple uttering of the words have drained him of strength. "It was too late."
"What happened?"
The man regarded Angel with his old, aged eyes. "She was taken from me by people in authority. She. died. And partly, it was because of me."
Angel felt sympathy towards the other man. "I'm sorry." And he truly was. He did not prod with questions about her death, because he could plainly see that the man was in pain as he recalled the memories of the woman he loved.
"So was I." The man said. "Suddenly I'm confronted with the reality of living without her warmth. And it wasn't an easy task. Accepting that she was really gone was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Sometimes-" he paused, reclaiming his breath, "sometimes I could still see her with me, and yet. she wasn't there, and this void, this cold, empty feeling, will hit me in the head, and make me wish that everything was different. It makes me wish that I should have done things differently, that would I have declared what I feel about her, then things would've surely been different. She would've been with me now, and I would be happy. I won't become this old man who's waiting for death to claim him so that he could be with his beloved."
"It is good that you have a family, a wife and a son." He continued, as he glanced at Cordelia and Connor, before returning to Angel. "It's good that you have someone you love, and someone who loves you in return. That way, you won't have to spend your days alone and wondering what it feels like to love and be loved."
He smiled at Angel once again, and the vampire was struck with the odd feeling of familiarity. He had seen him before, that he was sure of. But when?
The old man carefully stood up, using his cane as support to keep himself upright. "It was nice talking with you, son." He said. "But I'm afraid I'm keeping most of your time out with your family with my crazy tales."
Angel smiled at him. "It was a pleasure, really." He said sincerely. "Thank you."
With a nod, the old man began his walk away from the bench, leaving Angel once again with his thoughts. Angel turned to look after the old man, but to his surprise, he found that he was gone. It seems as though he magically disappeared, leaving no trace of him behind. but that couldn't be-
"Angel?" Cordelia said as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Angel?" She became alarmed when he was still staring off to space like that. She was about to shake his shoulders when he suddenly shook his head as if to clear his head. She let out a relieved smile.
"Wh-what?" He muttered. Angel raised his eyes to see Cordelia peering at him, and Connor playing with the lapels of Cordelia's blouse. "Where's the old man?" he asked as he stood up.
Cordelia frowned at him. "What old man?" she queried.
"The old man I was talking to a while ago. He. he."
She touched his face with her warm hand. "Angel, there was no old man. I was glancing at you every now and then, and what did I see? I saw you staring off into the waters like you're in Twilight Zone or something."
Angel looked at her. "Are you sure?"
Cordelia nodded. "Positive." She said. With her free hand, she tugged at his. "Let's go home. The air's become too chilly for Connor."
"Okay," he said, but his voice was still uncertain. He pushed the stroller and began following the two, but his thoughts were still plagued by the old man and his words.
The old man's words. He had just been told a tale of a lost love.
Suddenly, he regarded Cordelia in a different light. Angel decided that it was time for him to confront his true emotions instead of pushing it aside and denying it's existence for all his worth.
She would have to know.
With this newfound insight, Angel smiled.
And at a distance, the old man smiled the exact same smile. Maybe, just maybe, with his tale of the what the future will become, his past self would come to realize how valuable Cordelia is to him, and he would act out before it's too late.
End.