Florecer

Back Again

     Freshly cut grass scented half the park, the other half tainted with plastic and formula from the dozens of children and their guardians taking a moment for relaxation and fun. Lily was used to that baby smell, but she liked the cut grass aroma stuck in her nostrils. She hunkered down and spread her arms as Danny came running at her with a sponge-foam football in his grip. She tipped to the side and fell to a knee, laughing as she caught Danny and 'tackled' him to the ground, his wiggly body rumbling with laughter as well. She sat up to be on her knees and Danny flopped over onto his butt. His breaths were heavy but the bright smile on his face said he was all too ready to keep going, perhaps until the point that he collapsed with joy. Lily rubbed a playful palm over his close cropped, prickly hair and made a funny face to make him fall back in a fit of giggles. She enjoyed his silly character and leaned over to kiss his skull. His head was perfectly round, unlike some other unlucky children, and she found that oddly beautiful.

     "Tired yet?" she breathed, moving back to rest on her heels.

     Danny shook his head and rolled over to his hands and knees before lifting to a standing position. Lily let out an ugly exhale. She was sweating and wanted at least a moment to catch her breath before returning to playtime. But she didn't want Danny to lose his momentum so she stood as well and offered him the opportunity to go play with some of the kids at the other end of the park, where the play equipment was. He happily agreed and ran off, forcing Lily to quickly grab the bag of essentials she brought and run to keep up with him. She caught him in a hug and kissed his head before releasing him to go play, calling for him to come back when he was thirsty or tired. He turned to her to nod and she pointed to a bench nearby so he knew where to come to when he was ready. He smiled to show that he understood, then ran off, going up to some kids Lily vaguely remembered.

     Wiping sweat from underneath her chin with the collar of her shirt, she moved to the bench she had pointed to and found someone already sitting there. She approached anyway, because she wanted to sit and because Danny wouldn't know where to look if she wasn't there.

     "Can I sit here?" she asked, much too out of breath for her liking.

      The woman seated looked up in surprise, her long, dark hair falling off her shoulders. Lily thought it was tinted more on the coppery side as she stared longer. "Yeah, of course," the woman said. She moved the bag beside her so Lily could sit.

     Lily plopped down and chugged from the water she brought. It spilled out of her mouth and down her chin, but it was cooling so she left it be. When she was finished she sighed in contentment and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. As she laid her arms on her bag, resting on her thighs, she saw Danny playing with another boy, the two of them messing with toy trucks.

     "So which ones yours?" she asked the woman politely. She figured since Danny probably wasn't going to burn out soon she might as well make meaningless small talk to pass the time.

     The woman smiled awkwardly and pointed across the park where a gaggle of little girls appeared to be playing tag, or hide-and-seek. Lily wasn't sure. She also wasn't sure which girl was the woman's but she nodded and smiled as though she did.

     "Hey, um." The woman looked at Lily, almost embarrassed. Lily blinked and waited. "This is going to sound weird, but do I know you? You look familiar."

     Lily chuckled breathily, pulling her shirt from her skin to get some fresh air wafting. "I don't think so."

     "Oh, well, sorry."

     "That's okay."

     There was a moment of silence. Lily calmed enough that she was breathing normally again and she didn't feel the need to gulp down the rest of the water, which she knew Danny would want when he was ready. She turned her attention to him and saw that he was still playing trucks with the same boy as before. They seemed to be having a blast.