It was 1960's London and there was a man named Stanley. He lived in a single bedroom apartment in an old brick building. The building looked as if it had been unkept for quite some time. Stanley's apartment on the other hand, not a speck of dust nor grime, as he has had quite some time to himself in his small apartment. He's a 62-year-old man about as tall as any average man in his 60's, he has short brown hair with thick strung-out curls and a squared shaped face with big black bifocals to match. He hasn't had family in quite some time, seeing as he never had children or a woman to marry. The only people he sees are the neighbors in his building as he collects his mail in the morning along with his newspaper. A quick hello is the most you'll get from him before he rushes back upstairs to his room to enjoy his morning coffee with his newspaper out-fold.
Every afternoon you'll catch him at the nearest park sitting on the lone wood bench by himself either feeding the birds or just watching the day go by. Not many people come to this park, the few that do simply went past with a dog at their hip without any words. It's a peaceful little park, which is why it's Stanleys favorite. He sits contently alone each day enjoying the breeze flowing through his scraggly greying beard. Few come to sit aside Stanley on the lonesome bench, not many words are shared with the few that do. Every once in a while, there's some reticent conversation shared between the strangers before they go about their business. Although Stanley feels he's never met a true friend, he always stays confident that one day someone will come along that's different than the rest.
The day started as any other day would for Stanley. He collects his mail, grabs some newspaper, and makes his morning coffee. He stopped by his usual pet store just to buy some bird feed. Then came the afternoon as he sits upon the lonely wooden park bench. People came and went... as usual. He sits peacefully, tossing pebblets on the ground as the birds come and go. He goes to and front reading the newspaper and simply watching the sun some closer and closer to the horizon. Then, in the corner of his eye, he spots a small woman with a blue bandana wrapped around her head walking slowly towards him. Her brown skin glows as she walks past a light post. Her bright radiant gold stuns him, gold jewelry hanging from her neck and arms. Stanely suddenly feels a weakness in his knees as she comes to sit down next to him.
"Hi, how is your day" The woman says softly. Stanley immediately turns with a subtle smirk and replies, "Good, how about you?" Stanley feels his chest starts to feel lifted as he looks into the woman's big brown almond shaped eyes. The woman slowly bats her eyes as she witnesses Stanley's face become the brightest shade of pink. "My name is Alicia, what's yours?" "S-Stanley" Stanley utters nervously. The two take a moment to stare into each other's eyes, both having the complexion of twin ripe tomatoes. Off first sight they place their attraction in the depths of their heart. Silence plays as the two carry butterflies in their stomach. "So, what are you doing here?" Alicia asks. "I come to this park just about every day. I enjoy feeding the birds and watching the day pass here in this seat." Stanley places a confident grin as he talks. "I wake up every day just to come enjoy the day on this here bench. The birds have even started to recognize me here What about you?" "Oh, I've been spending my time exploring parks. I love to explore the new. Playgrounds remind me of when I was a kid, my father would take me to whatever new park he'd find just for me. He'd always find the biggest playgrounds for me to play on. What about your childhood, what did you do?" Alicia finishes and turns to Stanley gazing peacefully into her eyes. "Uh, yea ok. So, firstly I never knew my father, my mother wasn't around too much and when she was, she wasn't the nicest. As a kid I'd run away from home to the nearest park from my house. It was there that I found the greatest peace, being alone." "Well, why be alone? There are so many people in the world, you could have so many dear friends, yet you prefer to be alone?" Stanleys head droops as he listens. "Well, people never really helped me in any way. At that time, I found that I was more help to myself than anyone I had ever met. So, I stayed alone." Alicia pauses upon hearing his distraught voice. She looks upon him with an endearing look. "It sounds like maybe you've met the wrong kind of people." Alicia states as she gives him a friendly nudge. "Yea, maybe that's true. You don't seem like the other people I've met." "Well, why don't we uh, go get something to eat? Have any places in mind?" She asks in a loving tone. "I-I uh I don't really know a lot of places around here." Stanley replied. "Oh, that's alright." She stands and holds her hand out. "I know of a few." Stanley takes a deep breath and takes her hand. The two walk away together, slowly, with no specific destination, hands held tightly as if nothing else matters but being with the other. They go on to live and speak together happily.
