/lit/ - Literature

"What is man, what has he got?" It was a question that was roaming around freely in Andy K. Potters head for a while now. Not that he doubted his manlihood or was worried others did. Andy never really was the man to care about others anyway. But he did care about his wife and son. This morning just before he went to his little hideout in the snowy mountains she had said something. He was in the kitchen packing the absolute minimum to survive a weekend on his own. Some beef jerky, a sixpack, a bag of nuts. Every month or so Andy carved out a weekend like this. The wife had been upstairs washing junior when he heard her say it. Not overly angry, but still irritated as fuck: "You men are all the same, you'll grow up just like your father!" At the time he didnt think much of it, but the higher he drove his little truck up the mountains, the more the words haunted him. Wasn't his son supposed to grow up like him? Sure, it was a throw away remark, but aren't those the most honest? Andy sighted, opened up a beer and played a bit with the transistor radio. Even the machine had no answers for Andy other than white noise. He thought about his own father and the little time they spent together before he passed away last winter. Not that Andys dad was a bad man or anything, but still.. It had taken him a lot of effort to shed even a single tear during his funeral. Andy just didn't knew the guy that well.
"Ofcourse I'm all men", he said now to the snowy noisy world outside his cabin. Weren't all fathers? Especially for childeren as young as his one. That's why we never forget the names of our first teachers of our first real school no? Finally Andy understood the world again and he opened up another can. Next time he would take junior with him into the mountains. He would even start a big fight with his wife about it. The boy was old enough and just as much his responsibility as hers, he would argue. Yes, Andy would take his kid into the mountains and tell him about his father and the passed. He would answer questions. He would teach the kid about the importance of solitude every now and than. Andys son would grow up just like his father.