Thousand Paper Cuts

Thirty-nine : a sunny day in New York

Mark :

Looking at the sky/longing to dissolve

It was still evening; sun too orange and sky too pretty. That little kid was still sitting next to him, asking too many questions, that seemed bigger than him, like, when he'd seen her book in his hands, the kid had asked, "Do you feel a different person after reading a good book?", or, when that kid had seen Mark's scar on his forehead and had asked, "How does it feel, sir, to be scarred?". Mark had told him that not everything feels like something else, and that every scar has a different story.
That kid seemed to be a really good company; not like those kids going home and telling their mothers "Mommy, I saw this guy who had an ugly scar on his forehead and talked like a nut."
That kid was different. He understood. He listened.

After a while, Mark decided to just go back home. He was too tired, but he didn't want to leave that kid alone there, so he asked,
"Where's your mother?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Did you get here with her?"
"Yes sir.."
"Do you want to go home?"
"No, sir."
"Well", Mark began in a soft voice, "it'll soon be dark. Why don't you come over at my place, so I can get you home?"
"No sir", the kid said, his eyes too bright, "I'll be here. The sky is pretty. We don't have forever, here. So what if I die tomorrow? I'll miss the chance to see this pink fallen sky.."
Mark nodded, and thought that on his way back, he'd inform police or someone in the airport about this kid with a red cap who wanted to see the pink sky.
Mark gave him a friendly nod, and said,
"Okay. Great. I shall get going. Take care, will you?"
"Yes sir", the kid smiled, "don't worry. Mum will be back anytime. I know she will."
He went back staring at the sky, trying to figure out all the worlds up there.

Mark walked away slowly, the sun setting over the mountains and hills. He went inside the office that was near the airport, and told a man about that little kid. When Mark glanced over, he saw a young woman with high cheekbones, sitting in the office with a tearful expression on her face. When she heard about that kid, she almost shouted,
"Oh!!! JASON? Where did you see him? Please, boy, tell me where is he?"
She was his mother, having the same old tired expression on her face as the others.
Mark lead her all the way towards that specific place outside airport, and at the side of the wall, there he was. Still looking up at the sky.
His mother rushed to him and kissed him constantly on the cheeks, that became redder from her lipstick.
His mother didn't even bother to say 'thank you' or anything, so he walked away, leaving them hugging eachother too tight. He wanted to tell his mother that she had a wonderful kid, and that most kids aren't like that.
Anyway, for a brief moment, he felt a little happy, because he had reunited a mother and a child. He kept walking under the pink fallen sky , concluding that some people are given a wonderful gift of hope, which is rare in this world.
He smiled a little, feeling good, because he did good.
But then that smile vanished like a flicker of candle. His heart wasn't pumping blood, it was pumping pain, all in his tired body.
His heart was beating so hard, and he couldn't stop thinking.
Thinking about her......

The girl he loved. The girl he would always love.

                               xxx

Once he remembered they were sitting on his rooftop at midnight, hand in hand, thinking about everything and nothing. He remembered touching her red hair, and feeling complete while kissing her freckles.
"I didn't know", she had said, "that love would feel THIS wonderful."
He had looked down at their hands. Wonderful? Yes.
"That's the thing. Only the people who feel it can know it."
"So...", she had started, caressing his thick hair, " it's like a field of roses, right?"
"What do you mean?", he was trying to get her.
She had straightened herself to look into his eyes. She was good at making his heart stop.
"Like", she tried to explain, "as long as you water it with understanding and care, it never dries. It never fades."
And after hearing that, he had kissed her on those strawberry lips. It felt like feeling all the seasons. All at once.