All the Lonely People

by Mike Gayle

The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Death, disease, divorce and relocation: these, it appeared, were the four fates consuming all that remained of Hubert’s generation. It was a sorry state of affairs, made all the more poignant by receiving this news in one go. It was as if he’d been asleep for the past five years only to wake up in another world, in another reality where an entire generation had been wiped out and he alone was the sole survivor.

‘you raise them the best you can, make all the sacrifices in the world, give them all the love in the universe and all they do is break your heart.’

The world is moving so fast and no one’s got time to stop these days. It’s sad really.

It used to be the family all looking out for one another but it’s not like that any more. It used to be you at least knew your doctor, but these days you’re lucky to get an appointment, let alone see the same GP twice. It used to be your neighbours kept an eye on you but people like to keep themselves to themselves now. It used to be that you belonged to a community, but really, is there such a thing any more? Now it’s more like every man for himself.’