PARKER | Dark H.S. AU

liv. whatever

Copyright © zylgnagnaba 2014

The sweet aroma of fresh coffee beans wafts her nostrils, allowing her thoughts to wander into her taking a generous sip of crisp espresso. Her casual steps against the frigid concrete floor create a rhytmic pattern, amusing her as she passes by a crowded coffee shop...for there's no better time of the year to relish on the warmth and taste of coffee than during the winter.

She's tempted to enter the establishment for a cup in a brief moment, but decides against it once she realizes the thrift amount of time she has in her wrist watch. And there's no way she could squeeze through that sea of customers and come out unscathed.

She tugs at the collar of her thick coat, tightening the knitted scarf around her neck before she pockets her gloved hands inside her pockets. She watches as commotion of people in the sidewalk and the cars whizzing by unfold before her eyes. All of them, including herself, just moving along to where life may take them...never knowing, yet striving to have the best one -- or at least she thinks.

She was young when she heard someone uttered the words, you will never truly experience the sweet taste of bliss unless you get dunked in misery.

She never considered herself miserable, though. In any aspect of her life, she has always remained optimistic...after losing both her parents at a young age and got dumped in a small orphanage consequently. She went through the worst nightmare a child could ever have, yet she still saw the better side of things after that.

Her resilience, good spirit and sunny personality always leave people envy; but then, they're the same reason why they love her. You can never truly hate Charlie Baker.

The sound of birds overhead pull her attention out of the uniformed man pulling a cart of two big boxes inside a small store. She smiles at how they spread their wings in liberty, soaring high until they can't hold their breath any longer. The great and mighty skyscrapers grace her view, almost kissing the thick white clouds which stay afloat. She envies the sun behind them, its intense rays still able to sear through the overcast, although its strength has been lessened. She giggles at the gust of cool air that engulfs her, sweeping through her blonde hair and sending tingles down the base of her neck. Her nose and cheeks are flushed and puffy. She admires the beauty of it all, but she's even more floored to the One who created them.

Her boots feel heavy on her feet but she continues to navigate the busy streets, dodging preoccupied pedestrians on her way. She passes through a narrow alley and she pinches her nose at the foul scent of rotten trash from the dumpster pushed against the brick wall. A bucket of dirty water is splashed across the hollow path and if she didn't stop herself from sprinting over a carcass of dead rat, she would've been drenched and shivering from the cold right now.

"Sorry!" A young boy yells from a back door of a small casino. He wears a white apron around his small waist, a messy hair over his head and an apologetic grimace to match his earlier statement.

Charlie brushes it off with a shrug, smiling at the kid to reassure him to which the boy reciprocates with one of his own before reentering the building.

She reaches the end of the alley and turns to another street, this one not as crowded as the previous one. A soft music plays from one building across the narrow street, the words and tune familiar to her ears while she hums with it.

Kids clad in thick jackets and wool sweater run around, playing catch and hide-and-seek. Their laughter just as melodious and pleasing to the ears as the one she usually hears every day at the home. She averts her attention to her steps, the clicking sound of her boots louder now as they hit the brick path.