Eddie checked out

 

They say it was a shame about Eddie. I'm not so sure. In many ways, it is a sad tale, but not for Eddie. Wherever he may have gone.

There are people who were a part of Eddie's life who are sad. Some of them are probably angry. And if they are, well, they have a right to be. They should be angry. At themselves. Unfortunately, that changes nothing.

People who were only casually acquainted with Eddie, when learning of his disappearance, say that it was a surprise. So sudden. But it wasn't, really. People who were close to Eddie, and they are few, know better. They can't bring themselves to admit it, but they know.

It happened quite slowly, over years. Eddie's life was like a man living in a three-story house, who one day decides that he must secure every inch of the place. Starting on the top floor, locking every window and drawing the blinds, locking every door, methodically working down, down... until every point of egress was completely shut to the outside. He no longer cared to see. He no longer cared to listen. He no longer attempted to speak.

He could not be convinced that there was a problem. Some said he needed to be medicated. Some said he needed therapy. He went along with each, to humor them. The only beneficiaries of this were the therapist and the pharmacy. Some now say that he simply lost his mind. Nothing could be further from the truth. Eddie was the sanest man I've ever known.

I don't know where he went. I only know that one day Eddie walked into the forest and never came out. It was a number of days before any type of search was started. The search began with the expectation of finding not the man, but a body. They didn't really put a lot of effort into it; their search yielded neither.

There was nothing wrong with Eddie. He wasn't crazy. One day, like an epiphany bathed in a heavenly light, Eddie realized the peace that comes with accepting being the villain in someone else's story. He may have died out there somewhere. Or, he may have come out the other side and just kept going. Either way, we'll never know for sure. I'm pretty sure that is just how he wanted it.

Today marks ten years since Eddie took his long walk into the Daniel Boone National Forest. He is believed to be dead, and in all likelihood, he is. Whether alive or dead, I'm reasonably certain he is now at peace.

Edward Arthur Eberhard

1960- ?