My old buddy chapter 1

A hooligan set up a grilled lamb skewer stand downstairs of an apartment building. The place was filled with smoke from the grill and noisy sounds, making the residents in the building restless and complain constantly. One night, a stone fell from the sky and hit the man running the stand. Strangely enough, it turned out to be a meteorite…

He even thought about ending his own life.

Old man Henry had been really annoyed these days. He was a lonely old man with a weak heart and suffered from severe insomnia. Recently, a guy named Jack set up a grilled lamb skewer stand downstairs of his apartment building. Jack had been involved in a fatal brawl when he was 18 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, he got his sentence reduced and was released at the age of 38. Having no means of living, he noticed that the area by the roadside in the neighborhood was a good spot with a lot of passers – by. So he started selling grilled lamb skewers there, setting up a few tables and playing the radio loudly. His stand was right next to Henry’s five – story apartment building. The constant smoke and loud music made it impossible for the people in the whole unit to open their back windows, and they couldn’t sleep well at night.

Henry lived on the third floor and was hit the hardest. He had approached several relevant authorities, but being an ordinary person and considering Jack’s background, no one wanted to get involved with him. So the problem remained unsolved. One afternoon, Henry couldn’t stand it anymore and went downstairs to argue with Jack. Jack cursed Henry out, and the old man climbed back to his third – floor apartment shakily and got so angry that he fell ill. Lying in bed, he groaned and even thought about taking his own life.

In the evening, an old man named Tom came. He was Henry’s former workmate. After retirement, he had been traveling around the world and happened to come to this small town. Knowing that Henry was a bachelor and cooking was a hassle for him, Tom bought some wine and meat and came to visit. Seeing Henry lying in bed, he thought the old man was sick and asked with concern. Henry knew Tom had a hot temper, so he didn’t tell him at first. But after finishing a bottle of wine, Henry couldn’t hold it in anymore and told Tom everything, tears welling up in his eyes as he felt so wronged. By then, Tom was also drunk. He slapped the table and was about to go downstairs to confront Jack. Henry quickly stopped him, saying, “You can’t beat that hooligan. Why throw yourself against a stone?”

Alcohol gave them courage. After half of the second bottle of wine, both old men were a bit tipsy. Tom started to laugh because he came up with a good idea: he planned to climb to the rooftop, throw a small stone at Jack first, and then sprinkle a handful of lime to ruin the guy’s business that night and teach this over – bearing bastard a lesson! The drunk Henry praised the idea and told Tom to come back right away after he was done. He would leave the door open for him, and they could just keep quiet and deny everything. No one could do anything to them.

There was a small bag of lime left from a previous wall – painting job and a half – brick on Henry’s balcony. Tom picked up the lime and the brick and was about to leave. Henry nervously told him to break the brick into small pieces so as not to hurt anyone. Tom nodded repeatedly.

After Tom left, Henry was extremely worried. His heart was pounding like a rabbit in his chest. Soon, there was a big commotion downstairs. Someone shouted, “Someone’s been hit! Call the police!” Henry was so scared that he sobered up immediately. He rushed to the kitchen, opened the back window, and looked down. He saw Jack lying on the ground motionless, surrounded by people shouting and in a panic.

As the saying goes, “No coincidence, no story.” Just then, the newly – appointed Mayor Smith, accompanied by the police chief, was on a tour to assess the local security situation. Hearing the noise, they immediately rushed over. They sent Jack to the hospital and started to question every household and search for the suspect who threw the stone. Henry heard someone in the corridor say, “We need to search all ten households on the five floors of this unit, and also the rooftop!” Then he heard someone running upstairs.

After only a few seconds of hesitation, Henry resolutely opened the door, stood in the corridor, and shouted, “No need to search. I’m the one who hit that bastard Jack!”