Elliot

Eight

I ran across the park again while I skated to nowhere. There were no kids in sight. Just pure plain scenery of an empty playground and pretty tweets of the birds. Good for some alone time, I'll take my chance.

I sat on one of the benches where Mom usually sits when she takes us here, or when Dad takes us here.

One Sunday afternoon, I remember begging to Dad to go to the park because Alvin is there and I want to play with him. But, Dad was dead tired that day so he kept on refusing.

Mom saved the day by agreeing and going with me. I was eight at that time. It was the day after I met Alvin. The first time I met him was also at the park. I was at the end of the slide and he accidentally bonked the back of my head while he also slid down.

Instead of fighting, both of us just laughed and then we started playing together for the rest of the day.

Until today, whenever I remember that moment, it never fails to bring a smile to my face. It was a very memorable moment and surely unforgettable. It feels like yesterday.

It's nice today. Very peaceful. Nothing bothered me, no spoiled kids in sight, no thoughts about Mindy—ah, fuck. Now I thought about it. Shit, shit, shit.

You're a bloody dumb idiot, shit Elliot. Now you ruined your so-called "peaceful day". Great.

"No kids to scare today?"

I opened my eyes out of shock after I heard someone speak. I didn't even realize my eyes were closed and my hands were covered around my head. The person who spoke was the guy who caught me threatening a kid the other day.

"Jesus, do you really just pop out of nowhere? Is that your thing?" I asked out of annoyance.

His face calmed, his smile faded, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I decided not to respond and turned my head around. I turned my attention to the playground, staring at the emptiness of it.

Damn, he really got me. I was really scared of that. But, at least my thoughts for Mindy vanished for a moment but I'm not thanking him for that. At the corner of my eye, I see him sit at the other end of the bench.

"You seem tense. Everything alright?"

I looked at him. "What?"

"You're bothered," he spoke. From the playground he was looking at, he turned his attention to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, mentally bothered by something. My presumption only."

"How do you know what's going on inside my head?"

"I don't," he shook his head. "I just know there's something bothering you."

I laughed. I don't know why but I did, and it somehow felt good. "What are you a psychic?" I joked. The guy didn't laugh but he smiled.

He looked away and stared at the empty playground again. "I don't have to be a psychic to know if something's going on in a person's mind."

I glanced away from him and stared at the empty playground again. Well, he has a point. Wise man. There is something bothering me and it's Mindy. But I don't know why now? After a month of no news from her well-being, why does it bother me now?

Am I going to be happy if she replies to my message or at least calls me? Sure.

Am I going to be happy if she shows up? That I don't know.

But it still bothers me knowing nothing about what's happening to her now. Was Manta right? Is it really not worth it to focus on this thing in my mind right now? Should I just drop it and forget about it?