Pigeons swung unruly between his legs, greedily swallowing the pieces of bread he was throwing for them. They softly cooed as if thanking him for the tasty morsels but, Arthur was no longer enjoying the sight of these happy creatures. Instead, in silence, he commemorated. Arthur retrieved that day again. He was in such a trance that he almost heard the woman’s voice next to him.
“Do you think you can be fully happy?” she asked, brushing strands of blonde curly hair away from her face. It was their third meeting. Ever since Arthur invited her to the bench, the woman fell in love with this place. She insisted that he had to take her there. Always.
Arthur was looking at her. He watched as she fed the birds with a mighty smile, bathed in the spring sun. The rays of the red star could envy the natural light the woman was oozing with. Her angelic aura… intelligence, goodness, beauty. Arthur felt himself sink into her eyes again.
He hadn’t answered for a long time, and finally, the woman looked at him with a worried look. Arthur felt his face turn red. Caught red-handed. The woman laughed, and it was the most ethereal sound Arthur had ever heard.
“Because that’s how I feel now.” She sighed, now looking straight into Arthur’s eyes. The man felt himself melting under her gaze. How his heart leaped out of his chest. How his stomach twitched restlessly. And he knew that he wanted this feeling to stay with him for the rest of his life. “Really.” The woman continued. “I’ve already told you this, but I want to come back here forever. I love this place." Her soft voice was a balm to Arthur’s ears. He wanted to do something for her. Keep her happiness forever.
“I promise we will come here every day.” He assured. He really wanted to keep that promise. If this place made her so happy, Arthur wanted to make sure he would always be able to bring a smile to her face. Even if the clouds of worry would cover their sunny days.
The woman nodded. Without a word, she went back to feeding the pigeons, and the smile on her face seemed even more dreamy.
Arthur kept that promise. Even after she was gone. On the anniversaries of their first meeting, of their wedding, and her death… he always came here. Even though his broken heart would not allow him to visit this place every day. Arthur pulled her picture out of his wallet. He stroked the crumpled photograph with the thumb of a shaking hand. Now, again, he was here… with her.
He shook his head, knowing that thinking about it any longer would make him unable to go to her grave. He looked up, turning his gaze away from his wife’s photo, almost at the perfect timing. Black and white round thing was flying at him with an astonishing pace. It took Arthur a moment to deduce that it was a soccer ball - a kinda heavy ball. Not good.
Before he could tilt his head back so this ‘orb of death’ wouldn’t hit his face, it had bounced off his skull. It was ringing in his ears, and it went black in front of his eyes. Arthur hissed in agony as he rubbed his sore temples with his mechanical hand. The pain was almost unbearable. Suddenly he heard a female voice.
A young girl who… Arthur guessed from her words… was the inaccurate thrower, was trying to apologize for her behavior. The man smiled awkwardly at her. After all, it wasn’t her fault. One didn’t always get to throw where they wanted.
“Nothing happened. It’s alright.” Arthur chimed out, relieved to feel the discomfort slowly fading away. “Next time, please be careful when you throw the ball.”
The girl, not discouraged by her earlier mistake, tried again. This time she tried to throw as if she had been doing it since she was a child. Maybe she was even born with a ball in her tiny hands? She aimed the ball straight at the sky, and Arthur’s jaw dropped. Like in a movie, time seemed to slow down as he and the teenagers watched a black and white inanimate ace cut through the clouds. It was incredible, Arthur had to admit to her. He whistled in admiration.
Everyone was waiting for the big ending! The kind of which would take their breath away. But… unfortunately… the ball fell into the street. Arthur frowned, feeling it wouldn’t end well. And he was right. Before either of them could react, the ball was massacred by the devilish truck. Eight wheels… almost like the first eight circles of Hell. Well… at least the ball’s breath had been taken away.
Arthur looked away, knowing it was none of his business at all. When he suddenly heard the same girl asking him for help. He looked up in surprise, only to see a group of twelve-year-old hooligans approaching her dangerously. Arthur sighed. “No, I do not have a vehicle. But I know what can work.” He whispered to her.
Arthur stood up and looked at the small blonde boy, who chewed on pink bubblegum with loud, gooey smacks. He was staring at the girl and Arthur with a sinister look. He will surely grow up to be a successful man. “What do you want? It’s not your business.” He snapped at Arthur, and the rest of his gang, like the choir, agreed with his statement.
“Really?” Arthur asked stoically. “What do you want to do?”
“BEAT HER FACE!” they all answered together without thinking.
“And yours too, if you interfere.” The blonde once again graced them with his intelligence.
Arthur nodded understandingly. “I wouldn’t do this if I were you.”
“And why is that?” the smallest of the group spoke, and to prove his power, he spat right at Arthur’s feet.
The man just sighed and pulled a police badge from his jacket pocket. The boys’ faces dropped. The blonde also seemed different, as if his courage and arrogance had vanished at the speed of light. “I don’t think your parents would be happy to hear about a fight in the park, would they now?” Arthur added. The young boys nodded silently… only the smallest one seemed unconvinced by the man’s reasoning.
“But what about our ball…?” he asked quietly, meeting the warning gazes of his gang’s members.
“Perhaps…” Arthur looked at the red-haired girl. The instigator of this whole situation. “Perhaps, this lady will buy you a new ball? I guess everyone will be satisfied.”
