“Personal Escort” is a short story by Dino Buzzati that can be found in the collection The Siren: A Selection from Dino Buzzati. It’s about a boy who experiences a shift in his world view when he notices a man far out in a field looking at him. Although the boy doesn’t dwell on it afterward, he comes to realize the man is still a presence in his life. Here’s a summary of “Personal Escort”.
“Personal Escort” Summary
When the narrator was a child, he climbed the city wall and saw a man standing out in the field who was looking right at him. He was dressed in gray and carried a walking stick; he was too far away to determine anything else. He waved to the man, who raised his stick in acknowledgement. The boy briefly thinks he could be a kidnapper but then feels like he’s encountered a mysterious world outside of his small sphere of existence.
Three years later the narrator rides his bike to the city limits. Again he sees a man standing in a field; immediately he knows it’s the same man. He tries to get closer, but on arriving there are five men in the field, none of whom is the man he just saw.
He feels apprehensive and like a great adventure is beginning. He grows up, though, without any adventure, and the memory of the mysterious man fades.
Ten years after, the narrator drives a car in a foreign city. Beyond the houses, in a field, is a man with a walking stick. The narrator has no doubt it’s the same man and that he is looking at him, not anyone else.
From this point on, the narrator sees the man many times in the countryside, regardless of what city he’s in. He’s afraid now as the man is clearly following him and could have bad intentions. Whenever he tries to confront the stranger, he gets blocked by others or the man disappears.
The narrator doesn’t know what the man wants. He avoids the outskirts of cities hoping the man will get bored and move on.
The narrator is old now but still sees the stranger. On land the man is in a field. If the narrator travels by sea, he’s walking on the dock.
Although he still doesn’t understand what’s happening, the narrator isn’t afraid anymore. This otherworldly man isn’t out to hurt him, he’s just waiting. Maybe when the narrator enters his very last city, and his journey is ending, the mysterious man will finally arrive at his house.
As the years pass and take away everyone the narrator knows, he’s grateful that this faithful man waits patiently and will be with him in his most difficult hour. There’s no reason to hate him.
So much has changed since that first sighting as a boy. He hurries to meet the man now, impatient to finally see his face and receive his message.
I hope this summary of “Personal Escort” by Dino Buzzati was helpful.