And so I was standing there at the edge of the lake, watching the crystalline blue waters softly ripple, the breeze pushing the molecules forward in a march. The air was fragrant with flowers of poise. Trees were blooming in the sky, the sky that had been dusted with the white clouds of the heavens. I stood there tenaciously, drawing in a lung full of that refreshing spring scent. Winter has gone and spring has come.
I budged my feet from their place on the earth and walked graciously along the body of water. My hands were in my pockets resting, just as my mind was. The only thing concentrating on producing any energy was my legs which were taking me somewhere unknown. People are always afraid of the unknown, but I never was, I dare say, and I am glad to produce that I still am not. My father always told me that when I was growing up,
"Never be afraid, my dear boy. Fear is for smart people, and I wish my son not to be smart, but to be foolish in this world."
I never understood my father's wisdom. But his words still ring in my ears to this very day, me being at the young and bitterly sweet age of 19. He died a long time ago, so I kept those words as a sort of philosophy in the back of my mind.
"I am not fearful." I would tell others, but mostly just to reassure myself in times that I felt I may falter.
"Someday you will be." My mother used to say, "You'll meet someone as divine as all the heavens and the earth, and you'll be so full of fear, you'll want to drink poison from a vile and kill yourself, as Romeo did when he thought his true love had so unusually died."
"Never, mother." I would always reply. She would merely look at me amused and simply laugh,
"You arrogant boy, just like your father..."
I didn't know my father enough to know just how arrogant he was. My mother never gave me the pleasure of telling me either. I never questioned it.
I kept along with my afternoon stroll along the edge of the mirrored lake. Birds sang melodious notes that left a trail of whistles in their wake. I noticed a young man and a young woman sitting on one of the park benches. They were speaking of something indecipherable and the man made the woman laugh. They looked into each other's eyes longingly... Lovingly.
Could I ever love someone as passionately as my mother has always proclaimed?
I watched the pair intently, examining their behaviors and actions. The woman was blushing profusely and the man was stuttering. I stared on as the man picked a little white flower right from the ground and drew it up to the woman's face, tucking it behind her ear into her hair. She ran a hand through her hair to tuck her hair back more and smiled at him.
But why can't I picture myself with a wife?
I became confused by the fact that I wasn't feeling anything exciting by watching this couple. There were no "butterflies" as my mother would call them. No "funny feelings" or "feeling sick." I didn't long for a wife or someone to love. I felt nothing.
"Richard, old friend, ah!" Hector's voice booms from behind me. Hector was a smaller, stout man. What he lacked in height he made up for in personality. I turned quickly to be greeted in a manly hug, which I obliged to give back.
"Hector! It's such a pleasure to see you!" I pat him on the back in delight and he chuckles.
"Please, call me Tico. I prefer it much more over my real name. It is so mundanely boring and common. I don't like common things. Please, call me Tico." He pleads.
"Well, I can't argue with a sensible man, now can I?" I retort, making him laugh boisterously.
"Sensible? I'm hardly that, Richard. If any man in this town is to be remotely close to being sensible, I would have to say, at the very least, it would be you. You are quite the peculiar man."
"Hardly. I am only 19." I argue.
"Now, dear boy, don't be so fretful. You are a man and a hell of a good one at that, 19 or not!" He claps me on the back. I give him a polite smile.
We continue walking, eventually finding ourselves on a path in the park, one I've never walked before. We talked about the basic things of society that one should always think to speak of in simple conversation.
"Your mother has arranged for you to meet with Mr. Rashbaum's daughter this evening." He says inquisitively. I pause for a moment.
"Rosie? Why would she do that?" I ask, slightly fearing his answer.
"She's trying to find the perfect wife for you, Richard!" He cheers. A fit of slight anger and annoyance started to bubble in my stomach. Or maybe I was just hungry.
"Hect- Tico- I am not sure that I am ready to marry. I hardly know Rosie anyway." I shake my head. Tico frowns at me.
"At least try to get to know her, you might like her." He encourages.
I don't want to get to know her, I have no inclination whatsoever.
When Tico processed that I no longer wanted to speak about the matter, he departed from me, leaving me on my own once again. I kept walking when I caught sight of a little dandelion and remembered the couple that I examined in the park earlier. I bent down and picked it, taking in the beautiful yellow-gold glow the flower petals radiated in the evening sun rays.
I always did wonder why I never caught feelings for a girl. My mother had tried to introduce me to many girls on multiple occasions, presenting me with their unique qualities, but I never seemed to be interested, not in a single one. I did feel funny around a boy one time, and I became curious, but I let the question slip as I assumed it was probably because of the copious amount of food I ate that day.
My mind was lost and wandering with questions and worries as I held on to that beautiful dandelion and thought about having to meet this girl. I can't be negative all the time, so I at least tried to hang on to what Tico said.
Maybe I finally could like a girl.
"Excuse me," a soft and frazzled voice startled me out of my thoughts, "but that's the first dandelion of the season and I was going to pick it... But it seems you have beat me to it." I glanced up to be met with a beautiful boy standing in front of me, panting.
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I suddenly felt as if someone punched me right in the stomach as hard as they could.
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Sorry that this chapter is so short, but this was all the motivation I had to write XD
