Everyday Hero- A 400 word Short Story

Arvid Moseley was a hero. He was "the Medic" for the people of Bastion. He was a small man with a bald pate framed by salt and pepper hair. A wisp of a beard covered his soft jawline. His almost pink skin had a permanent sun-burnt look. He rarely shouted and was generally affable. The townsfolk knew virtually nothing else about him.

When the Medic first came to Bastion it had been ravaged by unusually savage seasonal flooding of the river and the lake after which the town was named. There was only one doctor to care for the fifty odd distressed families and their livestock. The Medic had brought with him not only vital medicines but rations- a van full of grains and canned foodstuff.

Later when he settled down and opened the first and only pharmacy in Bastion he was accepted by the people with open arms. He lived above the shop and never took an off. Everyday from ten in the morning to seven in the evening he would keep the pharmacy open- though the business was slow. He sold more taffy, biscuits and honey than medicine and the fastest moving item in the shop was boiled sugar candies which he offered for free. The Medic had even put up a bench outside his shop for people who just wanted to sit for some time.

Two things about the pharmacy were unique. The first was the credit system. He had set up a black board on one wall. If you did not have the money you could take the items and write your name and the amount due on the board. When you paid up you rubbed it away yourself. There were incidents when kids rubbed out a part of the list as a prank or on a dare, but the Medic did not change a thing.

The second curious thing he did was he put signs in front of his door regarding the day.

"Today Hiroshima was bombed."

"John F Kennedy was shot today - 22 Nov 1963."

"Today the United Nations met for the first time."

After twelve years of service the Medic left Bastion in an ambulance. He had a stroke and would need prolonged care. Now there is no pharmacy for dozens of miles around Bastion and no one is willing to open one, even when the town was ready to forego rent- It is simply not profitable.