Proud

I walked through the hallways at my work, signing what I needed to sign, to show that I had done my job, the clock struck 3 am, I was all alone, the humid air in the building was all I had, then at a window, I saw a man. He looked old and gray, his coat looked so heavy, I had to go there, because some of my work was there, I walked past him, nodded a hello and put my hand on a door, when he spoke to me, his voice was soft and his word rang in my head, ''it's a fine night, wouldn't you say?''. I stopped to those words, smiled to him and agreed, he asked if I had time to talk, since there wasn't many there for him to talk to, I glanced at the paper on the wall and then back to him, gave him a gentle nod and walked over, the man looked content while observing a plane outside, he asked me a question, ''What is your name?'', it was a strange question to me, my badge had my name, but I still answered, he just smiled at me again and looked out again, nothing seemed to bother him, so we started talking, minutes passed by, laughing and talking about how things were different from his time, I listened to him talk about all things, felt a warmth in my formerly frozen heart, I couldn't place it, but I felt like I had met him before. Then the clock struck 4 am and I sighed to myself, I said I had to go, I had things to sign, but I asked him if he'd still be there once I got back, he nodded and said ''I got all the time in the world.'' I nodded and walked off, repeated my nightly cycle, thinking about the man standing there at the window, intrigued by how he spoke and once I got back, he was still standing at the same spot. I quickly signed the paper and walked over, he looked at me with a smile, ''you are true to your words, kid.'' I nodded and looked out the window myself, said the words that kept ringing for me. ''This is how I was raised to be, I denied this for too long, duty comes first, but nothing wrong with talking to people'', my words freed me from my thoughts, but the man chuckled at what I said, a warm smile on his face, he placed his hand on my shoulder and said to me, ''Son, you sure are different from what they all say, you hold such values, despite what you've been through, I'm here to tell you that your father is proud of the man you've become. It's nice to see that despite it all, you are building a new life, I'm sure it was hard for you, but you never gave up, so keep on doing what you are doing and never forget your roots, because the world lacks the people that are willing to be like you.'' I listened to his words, stumbling back on the mentioning of my father, I had said nothing about it, how could he know? His smile still felt warm as he let go of my shoulder, a tear rolled down my chin and I knew that this wasn't a normal encounter, he looked at the time and chuckled once more. ''I'm sorry to cut this short, but I must go, remember that it's all a matter of perspective, but you have done good despite how you've suffered at the hands of others, so take care now, keep being who you are, that's what you do best.'' He shook my hand and started walking off, I asked what his name is, remembering I had forgotten to ask, but he just smiled to me and held his finger to his mouth and walked out to the hallway, I ran after, full of questions, but I saw nothing out there, I only saw my co-workers arrive from the elevator, it sure felt a bit weird, but the warmth in my heart spread to the rest of my body, suddenly I smiled, knowing that it was alright, I had those words, repeating in my mind, I felt watched and I turned around and what I felt was the same warmth walk past me, it was nice to know, that I'm not alone.