A small breeze rustles the trees as a man and a woman sit silently on the dark bench with their hands intertwined, resting on the bench in between them. The woman, with short red hair to her shoulders, wearing a black skirt, blazer and heels, has a water bottle in her right hand. The blonde man’s left hand is free. They sit staring at the fountain in front of them. Not a word is exchanged as they watch the fountain spill into the larger pool at the bottom. The woman breaks their embrace to sip her water, at a second glance, her cheeks are filled with tear streaks. She keeps her hands to herself this time, placing her bottle beside her, and folding her hands in her lap.
The man, filling out his navy suit very nicely, glances sideways at her, still no words have been spoken. She continues staring at the fountain, ignoring his stare. The man’s knee begins to shake, the woman continues to ignore him. A yellow colored leaf falls into her lap. He brushes the leaf off of her and he attempts to hold her hand, but she moves them out of his reach.
The man looks at the ground, then up at the partially cloudy sky, and back to her. She doesn’t acknowledge him. The man squints at his watch impatiently and says something inaudible. With a wave of her hand, he sighs and he’s gone. She wipes her face, removing the tear streaks and sips her water once more. The world slows down. The birds begin to hush, the wind slows, the surroundings slow down as her hiccups and soft sobs follow the pitter patter sounds of the fountain. She’s oblivious to the world, she is memorized by the soothing sounds of the fountain.
At the screech of a little girl, the red head snaps out of her trance. She looks in the direction of the shriek and she wipes her face quickly once more as the girl reaches the bench. She holds a small lemon colored flower out to the woman.
“Look mommy, I brought you a flower.” The woman’s face struggles as she forces a smile.
“Honey, it’s beautiful, thank you,” The mother says. The girl smiles brightly and then looks around, questioning her surroundings.
“Mommy, where’s daddy?” The woman stays silent, pondering the answer to her daughter’s question.
“He left, baby,” the daughter’s eyebrows draw close in confusion.
“Where did he go? Is he coming back?”
“No honey, he’s not.” The daughter sits meditatively with the information given to her.
“Mommy, do you know what my favorite season is?” The daughter asks. It’s now the mother’s turn to be confused.
“No, what is it?”
“Spring.”
“Really? Why spring?”
“Because no matter all the bad that happened in the winter, the world springs back and is beautiful again. I’m going to get more flowers while I still have time.”
