A Happy Man

Gallagher Galloway beamed a tremendous smile that drew the town out to the streets. They waved and wished him a happy morning, asking him about his day and his life. Gallagher Galloway was the town’s favorite character; always full of life and cheering up everyone around him.

As he strut joyfully through the town, he bumped into a little girl who was holding a sock puppet on her left hand. She smiled and began talking in a funny voice with the sock puppet towards him. Gallagher Galloway knelt down and untied his own shoe, removed his sock, and slipped it upon his own left hand to talk back. Together they laughed and made up hilarious stories of their sock puppet friends.

Gallagher Galloway stopped in the local diner and had a quick cup of coffee, where the hostess was overjoyed he had come. She quickly seated him and brought her favorite waiter to tend to him. There Gallagher Galloway joked and performed embellished tales of wonder for the waiter, who stood there so amused for so long that the coffeepot he held had gone cold.

After he enjoyed a small cup of coffee, Gallagher Galloway went to work at the post office. He charmed each and every customer he helped, rattling off remarkable quips and clever one liners. He was so popular in town that many people would send trivial letters just to see Gallagher Galloway at the post office. One woman had even sent a letter to herself.

The day went on and his shift was done. He strut through the town and said goodbye to all that he passed. Gallagher Galloway reached his apartment door and walked inside. The town talked with each other, as they very often did, how lucky they were to have someone as endlessly happy as Gallagher Galloway. They all wished they had as much joy as he, and often they’d try to cheer themselves up by asking “what would Gallagher Galloway think about this?” And the answer was very often a happy response.

It surprised the town that Gallagher Galloway had never been married and was often alone in his apartment. He was so liked outside that it didn’t quite make much sense to them that he chose to spend his nights by himself. As they came to think of it, hardly anyone knew Gallagher Galloway intimately. No one had ever invited him for supper or to have a drink after work; no one had asked anything about his family or where he was from; no one knew anything about Gallagher Galloway. Nevertheless, Gallagher Galloway was liked by everyone.

Gallagher Galloway walked up the steps into his apartment and shut off the light. He wasn’t smiling any longer; he was strangely somber. He ate his dinner and turned off the light. He looked out the window one last time and stood on his couch, where he tied a rope from the ceiling and wasn’t found for three days.