I Now Pronounce You Forever Unstoppable

Chapter 10

Danielle always felt at peace when a camera rested in her hands. The ability to capture a moment and have it last forever was an incredible feeling for her. Whenever she was feeling down, she would grab her camera and walk a couple blocks to the nearest park. It wasn't much; just a raggedy old swingset and a bent-up slide surrounded by old oak trees, but it was her favorite place to escape.

Today in particular, she really needed the serenity that existed in the worn down wonderland known as Serenity Park. The stress and excitement of the past few months had really taken a toll on her and she needed to let go and relax.

She steadied the camera in the palm of her left hand and she adjusted the focus with her right. She zoomed in on the blue jay that had just landed on the seat of one of the old red swings. She snapped the picture, frightening the bird and causing him to fly off into the distance.

Danielle sighed and slouched down onto one of the swings. The old metal contraption squeaked from age as she slowly rocked back and forth. Her thoughts overshadowed her sense of reality and she drifted off into her own little world.

*************

Nash drove down the I-70 until he reached another exit. He'd been driving for over an hour, journeying through each of the small towns along the interstate, hoping he would find his dream girl. He knew the odds of that actually happening where slim-to-none, but he had to try. The green sign next to the road indicated that he was now entering Terre Haute. He liked the look of that name, although he wasn't quite sure how to pronounce it. He drove along down a bumpy road that lead to the town as he attempted to sound the name's syllables. Alas, he gave up. He would ask Danielle if he ever saw her again.

Nash drove past a few shelter belts next to corn field after corn field. The winding road led him past a couple neighborhoods before it finally opened up to what he assumed was the downtown district area.

"I wonder if she would be down here," he thought, then laughed, realizing that if she was, she would be a Downtown Girl. His pun amused him, and he received many strange looks as he drove through town with that cheesy grin on his face.

Not more than 5 minutes later, he was already out of the shopping district and back into neighborhoods of cul-de-sacs and laughing children. He liked the feel of this place; the sights, the smells, the sounds... He could get used to this.

His daydreaming caused him to lose focus and he ended up on some random road that seemed to run past some sort of forest. An old beat-up sign declared it as Serenity Park.

"Some park," he scoffed, but something about it sent of shiver of hope through him. He was tired of driving and didn't really see an end in sight, so he decided to stop at this so-called park and walk around for a bit, let off some steam. He contemplated bringing his guitar, but decided he would much rather just enjoy the sounds of nature, since he didn't often get to experience them in his hectic tour life.

He locked his car and started trudging through the thick trees. The smell of pine cones and fallen oak leaves filled his nostrils as he strolled along a beaten path. The sounds of cars starting and children laughing seemed so far away, almost as if they were another world away. He was starting to like this so-called park.

And that's when he saw her.