ESL Blogs

The kids had gone and the old man took a cup of coffee from the coffee pot on the stove, filled a glas with lemonade for the boy and took a seat on his old armchair opposite the boy. Between both stood only an old wooden table. On the table lay some journals, some medical journals and some about gardening and farming.

The boy took a sip of lemonade, looked at the old man and said: "I have seen a shelf with so many medical books and also there are many of them also here on your table. I also noticed how you immediately had known what to do with our friend after you had pulled him out from the pond. Have you been a doctor?"

The old man looked a little confused at the boy.  His eyes became dark and he got a deep wrink over his eye brows, his mouth twitched and his gaze became hard.

"Oh, I am sorry, it seems as if I had hurt you", the boy said "but it isn't curiousity why I ask you. I'm thinking about to study medicine and to become a doctor. I'm interested in reading. I have seen your many books and I asked myself if you can lend me some of them. I promise you to be careful. Please, will you think about my asking?"

"So, do you want to be a doctor? Hahaha, what a silly idea!" the old man said sarcastically.  "So, a doctor!" he repeated and he laughed again "Hahaha!" The cold glance of his eyes was hard and his thoughts  seemed to be far away. The boy didn't try to say anything. "Why do you want to become a doctor.... hey?" the old man asked with expressionless voice.  "To help people. What is wrong with it? I always wanted to become a doctor."  the boy answered. " I don't understand you. Why are you laughing?"

The old man's glance came back as if he had been far far away. His cheeks twitched and his hands looked for stop at the small wooden table. With a loud sigh he fell  back on his armchair and looked through the boy as if he were made by glass.
But then he had under control himself again. " I am sorry", he said to the boy. "Of course, take from the shelf the books you want. But please, treat them carefully, the most of them have been very expensive. Take them and go now. I am very tired. You can bring them back if you don't need them anymore. Take your time, I don't have any uses for them anymore."

The boy didn't try to ask more, picked three books out from the shelf and wanted show them the old man. But he had his eyes closed and the deep breathings showed the boy, the old man was asleep. He took the books, closed quietly the door behind himself and went home.

The young boy was still impressed about the old man when he came home and his parents were surprised how serious their son looked like. He told about the accident at the lake but his parents knew it already. The news had quickly spread around the village and his parents were very proud of their son because he had been one of the boys which had saved the little boy. They also knew the little boy was fine and he was already back home. So they avoided to rant at him though they had been very angry about the kids. How often they told them to avoid bathing in the dangerous lake!

The boy was relieved and after dinner he went to his room to have a look into the books. He opened the first book and saw a dedication from a  famous American medical university. The dedication was written for a man with the name Charles Forsite.
It was a gift of his students after their graduation at the university.
But the other books surprised the boy much more after he noticed the author. It was  Doctor Charles Forsite and when he saw the image of this man on the inside of the book cover, he recognized the old man. He was  young on that image but he was that man.

                                           ----- to be continued -----