The Boy At The Park

"Yeah Mom, bye." I mutter, shutting the door behind me. It was a cold, winter night here in New Jersey and here I was going for a walk when it was pitch black. I put my hood over my head and begin to make the familiar walk to a park, it was mostly abandoned because right near it was a lake - bodies were constantly being dumped in the musty waters meaning it wasn't safe for kids to play there anymore. It's not like Belleville wasn't exactly safe before - it's not unusual for a dead body to be found floating in the water.

The cold air freezes my breath instantly the moment I decide to breathe out of my mouth. The corner of my mouth turns into a small smile, it always amused me; watching your breath as you breathe out in the cold air. I got amused by the littlest things; nothing exciting really happened here in Belleville. I turn around a corner, the dim street lights litting up the path. Soon enough I arrived at the park, there on a swing, I saw the outline of a boy, roughly my age. I took my time and gathered enough courage to walk towards the figure, maybe it wasn't actually a person, maybe a spirit.

That wouldn't have surprised me, Belleville is haunted in certain areas, for example, this park. The boy stops swinging when I stand in front of him, I could see his breath in the cold air. The dim street lit opposing the street, cascades on half his face meaning I can only see half of his features. "Hey." He says casually, I smirk. He made this easier on me, and he probably wasn't even from around here, that would suck.

"Hey to you too." I reply, taking a seat on the empty swing next to him.

The moon glistens on the moving body of water, there's silence for a moment. "So," The boy begins, clearing his throat. "What's a girl like you doing in the most dangerous part of New Jersey?" It was funny, because here, everything was normal (for us at least) and nothing new happened. For example, if someone got caught for doing drugs in other parts of New Jersey, everyone would be shocked but here in Belleville if someone got caught doing drugs, all they got was a roll of an eye.

I take a shallow breath.

 "I live here." I swing my feet back and forth, my hands gripping tightly on the metal, chain ropes that held the swing upright. I stared beyond the trees, waiting for an answer, I saw many black figures run and disappear into the midst.

"Funny, so do I." He laughs in response, I eye the black, moving figures carefully as they walk past the largely, overgrown trees. "Oh really? Well how come I haven't seen you around here?" I asked, I felt like I needed to keep this conversation going. There was something special about him that made me wonder.

"You mean at school? Well, I don't really like going to school, I mostly ditch." I watch his shoulders sag in the dim light. "Wow, rebel. That's a bummer, I thought I would at least know one person..." I didn't know why, but I felt like this person... or thing was safe enough to trust. "Maybe I might start attending for once." He says, I see the corner of his mouth turn into a smile. "Well, now I know one person." I say.

We both stare at the lake.

I turn to face him, the swing next to me was still swaying in the air.

But he was no where to be seen.