Lingering Among the Shadows of Trust

Enigma 2

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PART II
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THE HEAT FROM THE SUMMER sun diminishes as weeks go by. A familiar thrill from the sunrays. Like a campfire warmth. As I sat on the bench, I munched on my tuna sandwich. The hair in my skin sways from the cool breezes, while the tree behind me dances along the rhythm. Calm and serene. Just the way I like it. The crackling sounds from the branches overhead, synchronizing with the chirping melody of the birds, soothe my ears. It was a perfect. Albeit strange. The park is supposed to be crowded at this time. But not even those loud seniors were there to disrupt the ambiance. I see no other faces. For once, I was alone.

     I do remember Scott talking about the park a few days ago. According to him, it's only been visited by a few students. He also acknowledged how there's only two staffs who visit the park every other month. That's why those yews are covered in dead leaves. Too bad. It's a beautiful park. If it was properly maintained, this park would look like something you'd see in a TV show—an art piece of some kind—or something you'd read in a fantasy story—whose description of nature is unparalleled. Well, it looks a bit bare. Frankly, with it's isolation from everything else in the school, I'd understand why no one goes here that often.

     "Fancy seeing you here!" I turned my head to the familiar voice. Daphne waved her hand, encroaching from the side as she walked closer. Carrying with her a navy blue Jansport sling bag on her side, and a white tote bag resting on her left shoulder.

     "How did you find me?" I raised a brow.

     "Find you?" she shook, "This is my secret spot. You know it's always crowded in the canteen, right?"

Strange for her to say that. "It's not always full." I replied. I would've seen her here already. There's something odd about all this, the same way as how I met Scott and Cortney. Just another case of deja vu.

     "I just get lucky sometimes," she smiled. She took off her sling bag and laid it down on the bench next to me. "Mind if I sit with you?" she asked, but she sat before I could answer. Irritating. I scooted closer to the extreme edge, making quite a space between me and her. She pulled out her lunch from her tote bag, enclosed inside a plastic container. I could only picture the type of lunch she had from the crunching noise. Something crispy. But if I had to guess for someone like Daphne, a juicy fried chicken from a fancy restaurant sounds about right. I remained distant, trying not to start a conversation with her. I wouldn't be able to finish my lunch if we did start talking.

It feels so bizarre. My ears are ringing. The soft breezes are the only ones reaching me. Usually, she spoke the most around her circle of friends—I could tell by her loud voices so often—but she hasn't spoken a word after, and she's just there eating her meal. I can't wrap my head around it. Some random remote may have put her on mute and forgot to put it back.

     The silence brewed as minutes ran. We were like complete strangers. No eye contacts. Nothing. It remained like this until I finished eating, and only began speaking after I took a drink from my tumbler. I wondered why, but didn't question her. She spoke about our recent seatwork during math period, her blood boiling in his head. She didn't take it lightly. During her rant, I could only lend one-fourth of my ear. Instead I took a closer look at her lunch. Shocking. My brows tenses up. Not something I could anticipate—a fruit veggie salad—as I would like to call it. The container had separating sections in it with assorted fruits and veggies—carrots, grapes, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, olives, cucumber slices, and apple slices—all placed with gentle hands inside each section. The grapes and cherry tomatoes were almost gone, but the cucumber slices looked untouched.