The Mysterious Bernard (Part 1)

Length of Shower: 19min --

Today I thought up the fictional story of Bernard.  Check it out and tell me what you think.

Bernard was a 35 yr old college student still living in the dorms at my old college.  He was tall and lanky.  Bald, but wore a long, brown beard.  He was very introverted and quiet.  He had no friends and was always seen by himself.  Apparently he had been going to school there for something like 15years, and that whole time he lived in the dorms.  Same room: Holling Hall number 3L.  The last room at the end of the hall on the 3^rd floor.  He was nice and would always say “Hi” to people in a quiet and apologetic way; but he was a creepy loner.  No one ever talked to him, but he was talked about a lot!  Whenever you needed a discussion topic, Bernard could be counted on to spur everyone’s theories.  One of the most talked about theories was what his room looked like and what he did in there for hours on end.

My junior year I was an RA in the same dorm as Bernard.  It took 6 months, but I finally got up the courage to do what I never should have done.  It was a cold night in late February and I followed Bernard to his room.  After waiting outside in the hall for about 45minutes gathering my courage, I finally took the master key and inserted it into the lock on room 3L.  Fearing the worst (Bernard holding an axe and cutting me to bits and feeding on my remains for weeks), I slowly opened the door. 

What was on the other side was not as gruesome as I imagined, but rather it was perplexing.  The room had no beds, mirrors, shelves, TV’s, dressers or any furniture at all save for one small desk and a hard folding chair in the far corner near the window.  Taped to the walls with faded yellow masking tape were countless sheets of notebook paper that had random notes from every class over the last 15 years.  On every inch of the tile floor were rows and columns of neatly stacked papers that came waist-high except for a narrow walkway leading from the door to the desk and from the desk to the lone closet in the other far corner. 

I quickly realized that Bernard wasn’t in the room.  I know that I followed him here, but there was no sign of the hairy-faced, bald man anywhere.

I carefully shuffled my way to the closet, being mindful not to disturb the multitude of paper stacks reaching for my waist and thighs and screaming to be free of the room.  The brown paneled, accordion-like closet door was closed, but not locked.  I opened it a smidge to peak inside, afraid I would find a quiet Bernard hanging from a noose.  What I found was more confounding than the paperful room.  I opened the door to its full aperture and revieled the closet was empty.  No clothes, no shoes, no jackets, no paper, and no Bernard.  Nothing in the roomy closet.  Why?  Why not put some paper in there if that is all he has in his life?  I turned to leave the room, and that’s when I noticed it.  A brief breeze of cold night air.  I turned back around and used my hand to feel where the breeze was coming from.  I followed my hand and found the air was coming from the back corner of the closet. 

I entered the closest and pushed the back wall with a quick but strong shove.  It swung open easily into the night revealing a spiral staircase leading to the ground at the back of the large dormitory building.  I descended the staircase quickly with the anticipation of finding something truly amazing at the bottom.  But when I got to the last step I was standing on the frozen ground alone in the dark winter night.  Scanning my surroundings and seeing mostly tall grass before the line of trees that made out the forest that our campus bordered, I saw that there was a small path worn down by frequent steps of a human; Bernard.  Looking ahead the path made a beeline for the forest.  Seeking escape from the cold, I followed the path in haste. 

After a brief walk into the forest I saw where the path ended. An abandoned car sat snug among the tall trees.  It was an older car, something from the 70’s.  Maybe a Chevy Nova?  I’m not great with cars, but this was an older, ordinary and roomy 4-door sedan type thing.  There were no lights inside, so I crept up as quietly as possible.  The hood was opened just enough that I could make out there was no engine inside of it.  The front seat was a solid bench and had no steering wheel.  Instead, it was full of a mess of clothes and shoes I assume were Bernard’s.  I made my way along the side of the rusty contraption to peer into the backseat.  There I saw Bernard. 

He was sleeping quietly in his full-length pajamas and curled up in the fetal position.  For the first time he didn’t seem creepy to me.  He seemed like a peaceful child.  I scanned to the far end of the back seat near his feet and saw several blankets folded neatly but not used.  That’s when the scariest thing of my life happened.  Bernard opened his eyes and looked right at me!  I froze.  He said nothing as we froze for several seconds staring at each other long enough for me to have the thought that maybe he didn’t see me.  That’s when he said, “Hi.”  I was spooked and ran!  

I never spoke of that event again, to anyone.  Bernard disappeared from campus a couple of weeks later and it was rumored that he either died, or was living well in a third world country somewhere.  No one really knew for sure what happened to him, but I wish him well wherever he is.