[ WP ] He said the world was ending and only he could save it . They said he was insane . He was right , but they were n't wrong .

Sitting on the park bench, he breathed and felt the touch of summer. The shimmers of sunlight in the gaps of the foliage was something he enjoyed greatly. The light made the silhouette like the warmth made the winds. He loved how imaginative the world was in preserving its balance. 
 
 “ Out for fresh air again? ” Sandra sat down beside him. Sandra was a new nurse. 
 
 “ Yes. It ’ s been weighing on my mind how the world is ending. ” 
 
 Sandra leaned in and followed the direction of his gaze. “ The world seems to be doing pretty fine. Summer is beautiful, isn ’ t it? ” 
 
 “ Why, thank you. ” His lips broadened into a wide smile, savoring the compliment for the moment before continuing. “ But it ’ s not going to last. I am going mad – this I know for sure. ” 
 
 Of course, she didn ’ t know what to say to that. She could hardly agree with a mental patient that he was indeed going crazy. So she said, “ What do you mean it ’ s not going to last? ” 
 
 “ Believe it or not, the world runs on my imagination. What I imagine becomes reality. ” 
 
 A flock of colorful parrots were perched on the bench, cawing loudly. They did not fly in from somewhere. They were just there, oblivious to the world and the eyes that were converging on them. 
 
 Sandra was entirely captivated. “ Can I feed them? ” she asked. 
 
 “ Of course, ” he told her. And she found herself holding a bag of seeds. She squealed from an odd mix of shock and delight as the birds noticed the seeds and swarmed towards her. 
 
 Minutes went by and he just looked at her, bemused. When the seeds were gone and the birds were done, they took flight in unison, as if from a common calling. 
 
 He imagined she understood. And so she did. 
 
 She brushed strands of hair from her cheek and forehead, the only evidence that the birds had been there at all now that they had disappeared from sight. 
 
 “ So about what you were saying…the world runs on your imagination, but you are going crazy. Is that right? ” 
 
 “ Yes. ” 
 
 “ Can ’ t you do something about it? Imagine yourself sane, for example. ” 
 
 He shook his head. “ Unfortunately, no. ” 
 
 “ Why are you telling me this? ” 
 
 “ I get the sense that there must be a good reason, but I can ’ t quite figure it out. ” 
 
 And she spoke to him day and day after. And when she was aged and frail, they laughed about the time he almost went crazy from solitude. And he lived on when she died. Another person paused to listen to what he had to say. And he stayed sane. The serendipity and kindness of the world had bought it another lifetime. 
 
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