There it was. He stood in front of his former school. He had not set foot in the building during the last 60 years. It was time to see his old school for one last time. He went inside. Not a lot of students in the hallway. Most of them had class right now. He went to the second floor and took a left. There it was. On the right handside was his old classroom. He heard some noise from inside. It sounded like a math lesson. He opened the door silently and sat down in the last row. The teacher stopped talking and looked at him. “Sorry, do you mind? I would like to experience a lesson in my old classroom for one last time” The teacher nodded. He continued the lesson. Nothing had changed since he had been here last time. The classroom looked almost the same as he remembered it and even the students looked familiar. A young boy with short brown hair and gray eyes was sitting next to him. He seemed very interested in the lesson, his eyes focused on the teacher and the whiteboard. “You like maths?” “I think so, Sir”, the boy looked at him as if he was suddenly woken up from dream. “Do you have passion for it?” “I think so, Sir”, the boy looked at him with wide questioning eyes. “What do you want to achieve in your life, boy?” “Greatness, Sir” “That is a broad term” “It means that I want to be the best at what I do, Sir” “I was once like you, you know? Now I am but a shadow of myself” The boy looked at him with big eyes “Where did you go wrong, Sir?” “I didn’t. This is the price we pay for being who we are” The boy looked at him for a moment, then shook his head and turned his attention back to his notebook and the teacher.
He stood up and walked out of the classroom quietly. He knew not to interrupt the boy further - he had always loved that teacher and his lessons. He went down the hallway one last time. When he arrived at the entrance, he opened his eyes. He looked at the ceiling. “It has been an honor to serve you, boy”, he mumbled. His breathing got slower and his eyes fell shut.