Short Story about Opportunity: "The Bench at the Edge of Town".

This is a Short Story about Opportunity: "The Bench at the Edge of Town". There were once two men who sat on the same old bench at the edge of town. Every morning, they arrived with warm drinks in hand, and every evening, they left with the same quiet sighs.

Henry, the older of the two, always looked at the sky.“If luck wants to find me, it will,” he would say. “I just have to wait.”

David, the other, nodded at first. He liked the idea of patience. He liked believing that the world would notice his quiet dreams. For months, they talked about what they’d do if the opportunity came. Open a business. Start a community project. Teach children something new. Travel. But nothing ever came.

One day, David didn’t come to the bench. Henry waited alone, convinced David was just tired. But the next day, and the next, he still didn’t show up. David had stopped waiting. He had started baking in his kitchen. Small at first—just for neighbours.

Then he started documenting local recipes from elders, baking and sharing stories online. People noticed. Orders came in. A blog turned into a business. A little stall opened. Then a café. Then a brand. David wasn’t waiting anymore. He was making.

Years passed. The bench stayed the same, only older. Henry sat alone, still looking at the sky.

And David? He wasn’t at the bench.He was somewhere else—busy building the kind of life he used to talk about.

Moral:

Some wait for doors to open.

Others build the door, carve the key, and open it themselves.