It was a very sunny day, sitting on a grim, firm, jagged bench that got highlighted with warm lights of the morning sun. It was slightly misty, but one could see sunlight filtering through the light mist. As always, I sighed with a heavy heart, thinking for one 100th time, if I were a painter, I would have painted it and showed off this piece of beauty to the world.
Anyways sighs apart, like always, I buried myself inside one of the books I recently bought on amazon. The book was good as it could take me away from reality and locked me inside the words.
Coming to the park and reading books have become a hobby. Not going to the park has become an unexciting fact. I like coming here, losing myself in between the lines that got hold of me.
It should have been a very ordinary day. Because, on all days, it’s me, the cleaning ladies, and the security are the people in the park.
But it was different today, as a little girl was running around the butterflies that flew around the flowers. It was a sweet sight to watch. But haven’t kept watching it for too long, I shifted my full attention back to the book.
I felt a weird sensation white reading, so I lowered my book a little bit, and Aha! The little girl was facing me with curious little eyes and a mischievous little smile on her face. We chit-chatted for some time. My time was up, so, waved goodbye to the little girl and went back home.
The next day, I came and started reading the book, and here she is! We prattled for some time and went away. It slowly started to become more like a routine. Slowly l started getting up and going to the park not to read the book but to see the girl. We have been meeting every day. But I have never asked her name. Whenever she sees me, she asks me for a small thing. Every day it’s the same thing, she wanted a pen, funny isn’t it. I ask her every time why she needs a pen? It’s an unanswered question that she rejects with a sweet smile.
Every day I forget the pen she asked me for somehow. So today, I decided I will give her what she asked for no matter what happens. So I put a reminder on my phone. I woke up the next, and the first thing I do is put the pen inside my bag. Half an hour later, I find myself in front of the gate to the park.
What could be worse, the park was empty except for the cleaning people. I waited for some time, but I couldn’t see the girl anywhere inside the park. The next day and the day after that, the same scenario repeated. I had to go back without seeing her and a kind of burden crawling inside me.
On the fifth day, I got out of my apartment made up my mind to ask around and see if anyone at the park knows the little girl. Even if the ladies don’t know, the security will remember the girl for sure.
I reached the park a bit earlier to make sure that she doesn’t get there early. I waited at the usual bench for about 10 to 20 minutes for the girl to appear in front of me. But that didn’t happen. The girl didn’t show up. So I went straight to the security and asked him if he knows anything about the girl. I was amused as he said he had never seen any little girl who comes to the park early. I felt a bit agitated, so I muttered to myself that does he do his job correctly. He might not have been paying attention to the people. So I went straight towards the ladies, as they know me very well by now. I asked the same question to them, but the ladies also told the same answer that they never saw a person other than me in the park during this time of the day.
I felt defeated, irritated, sad, and disappointed. How was this even possible. How can these people not see a little girl?
I sat on the bench for a while, closed my eyes, and calmed myself, that’s when it occurred to me suddenly, I had clicked pictures with the kid, I took out my phone and searched the whole gallery, got the picture clicked with the kid. I went to the sweeping ladies, showed them the photograph, and asked if they have seen the girl in the picture. They started laughing and said yes. I felt like I won a lottery, but it was a bit weird because they were still laughing at me. I thought to myself, what is there to laugh too much in a photograph. So I turned the phone, brightened the screen and saw the picture, and froze. There was no kid in the picture. The little girl in the photo was no longer in the frame. It was as if I have never taken a picture with the kid. It was too confusing because an unfamiliar feeling was building up inside my head and mind.
Was it fear, angst, disappointment, or was it all of these?
How can the kid in the picture vanish into thin air?
Nonchalantly I went back to the beach, sat back, opened my bag, took out the water bottle, and drank water. I tried to think about any possible outcome to explain to myself what happened just now. It felt strange, like can I dream about something in broad daylight, and that too for this long. It could not be an illusion. Everything I saw was substantive. I have touched the girl, experienced her presence, argh!!
God, how can I find an answer for this?
I closed my eyes, leaned on the bench, and started to breathe in and breath out. I felt like crying but didn’t want to do it here. So I needed to calm myself first and then think of a reason for how this happened. Slowly I started to concentrate on my breath.
The sudden ringing of my phone broke my deep thoughts. I didn’t take the call, as my mind drifted away from one notion to another. the ringing died in few minutes. But anon it started to ring. So, squeamishly I took the call and heard a very eager voice from the other end. The voice on the other end asked me, ” is the story, ready madam?”. Even more hesitantly, I said “yes.” Then I heard myself telling the Mr that the final copy will reach his place by evening. Saying this, I hang up the call.
I put down my pen and walk to the kitchen to make a coffee for myself, to pull myself back into reality.