The Boy Who Rode His Bicycle Into Manhood

March 17, 2008

  <— 1976

There was a boy who rode his bicycle one day and did not stop until he became a man. He was strong, thoughtful and kind. A woman took his hand and pulled him to her. At first, this puzzled the boy, for the woman had a husband. The woman dazzled the boy with her beauty, and he kissed her. Her husband, seeing this, took her away. The woman returned the next day and took the boy to an empty house where they let their bodies touch and glide and rock together. The boy, who had been lonely, was blissfully happy.
However, he would not come between a man and a woman who loved each other. He prepared to leave, but the woman stopped him, saying that she did not love her husband. She asked him to stay with her for two weeks, so he did. During that time, the woman told the boy she desired a child with him. The boy had never wanted to father a child before, but this melted his heart and he and the woman found a house to live in and were happy. The boy found a job and used his bicycle to commute daily. Their happiness was short lived, however, for the woman felt unsure of the boy’s devotion to her, would not have a child, and left the boy for a man who had been whispering his love for her in one ear, and whispering terrible things about the boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood in her other ear. The boy was terribly puzzled and hurt by this and wept. In despair, he thought of ending his life. He lost interest in the pleasures of riding a bicycle. He bought a motorcycle, and loved racing it at dangerous speeds.

In time the boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood found that other women were just as pleasing and he tasted many women’s bodies over many years. Tiring of all that, he married one day to a gentle, pretty woman with two children. They had many happy years together, but, in time, they grew apart. The boy sometimes still looked longingly at other women. The woman would sometimes order the boy around, or make fun of him, or call him a liar, and the boy would be angry with her. They divorced and the boy found himself alone again. He wept again, but did not despair so much this time.

One day the boy met another very pretty woman, again with two young children, and they spent a lot of time together for several years until one day he asked her to marry him. The woman, who had been married once, had sworn to never marry again, but after some thought, the woman agreed to marry the boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood, and he was very happy again for many, many years.  The two children grew up and moved from their home. In time, the boy and his new wife had begun quarreling and she decided it was best they go their separate ways. The boy was sorry it was over, but he did not cry this time. Although the two had had a lot of fun traveling and spending way too much money on food and drink, the woman had caused him much hurt over the years they had known each other, so that the boy found he was happier without her.

The boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood sighed often, and felt great loneliness for some time, but he did not despair, for he knew another woman who gave him much pleasure in her appearance and talk, and they were friends. They saw each other once a week for several years, simply to have lunch together where they worked. The boy was still lonely, and he found that he desired this friend, but she did not love him, and would not meet him outside of their workplace. Although they found joy in many of the same written stories, animated tales, and other movies, and talked often of the things they both loved, they could not enjoy these things together. This woman was not married, loved children, and did not yet have children, and had never had a husband. The boy who had ridden his bicycle to manhood loved her, much too deeply, and despair grew in him, for she would not love him. He desired to have a child with her, to live and love life with her. She seemed not to care for the boy, and he wondered why she had sought him out. He persisted in courting her, but she resisted any attempt by the boy to see her more often. One day the boy gave her flowers, which let her know his feelings. The beautiful young woman  was angry that the boy thought that way about her, for she was young, and the boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood was no longer young, and had not the pleasing face and dark hair of his youth. Although the two would occasionally still have lunch together, the rendezvous lost much of their gaiety, and took place less and less, until she was always too busy to meet him. This was despair indeed, but the boy had been so sad for so long because this woman he loved would not have him, that he resigned his work position, and felt his sadness lessen.

The boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood, in fact, felt nothing anymore. He was not sad, and smiled at odd times. He was no longer lonely. He felt no desire for any woman, past or present, and no desire to meet anyone new. He lived by himself for the rest of his life. He walked often, and reflected on his life. There were good times and sad times. It had not been what he expected, but it had been his life, and there was much to remember and be thankful for. Somewhere inside of him, he was still lonely, for no one should ever be alone for very long. None of us live fully without the presence of family, friends and loves. The embrace of a lover brings great comfort. The touch of a hand, the warmth of a body next to you, or the sweet kiss of love shared; these things are needed by all of us. But the boy would not, could not, ever have those things again. He had no desire for company.

When he died, he was mourned by no one, for he had been forgotten by all. It did not matter. Love is fleeting and forgetful. The boy who had ridden his bicycle into manhood had finally learned that life can only be lived fully one day at a time, with no expectations, and no regrets.