A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud Summary

A boy enters a diner late at night for a cup of coffee after finishing his paper route. Just ready to leave, he is instead called for by an old man in the corner. The old man tells the boy, "I love you." The boy is naturally taken aback by such a confession, shrinking away from the old man. The old man begs time to explain, and Leo the cafe owner fetches the boy another cup of coffee. The boy hesitantly sits down.

The old man shows him an old picture of a woman who was his wife. He reveals he was married to her for little over a year when she suddenly left him and abandoned the house. The old man says that he had never been satisfied in life, that fleeting...