The Park

Chapter 1 - In The Beginning

DAN’S P.O.V.

“WHY? I thought you loved me!” That was the sound I woke up to this morning. Phil was banging on my bedroom door; I was sure that it would come off its hinges any second now. I unlocked the door when the incessant banging finally stopped. I saw Phil sitting there across from my door, hands holding his head and sobbing quietly.

“Phil, wake up. You’re only having a dream.” I shook him slightly, and watched as he slowly awoke from his dreamland. It always made me feel happy, watching Phil wake up. The way his head would slowly bob up and down, his groggy voice, the way he’d run his hands through his hair before a word would pass his lips. “Phil, are you ok? You were sleep walking again.” His eyes shot open when I said that he sleepwalked. Phil had it in his mind that he would one day hurt somebody that he loved. I was more concerned about his own life.

“Are you ok? Did I hurt you? Do we need to replace any furniture?” Phil got up and inspected the apartment. I followed,

“That’s one of your first thoughts? Not, what did I dream of but do I get to spend money?” He turned around sheepishly. I knew that he wouldn’t want to talk about his dream, but I would like to know.

“You want me to tell you?”

“Please. You were screaming at me that I was supposed to love you.” Phil’s face turned the deepest shade of red I had ever seen.

“I think I was at a future girlfriend’s house. She must have broken up with me in the dream.” It sounded as though he was heartbroken, over a faceless girl. “I can’t catch a break, not even in my dreams.”

“Come on Phil, I’m sure that there are girls that want to be with you. You just haven’t found each other yet.” I wanted to tell Phil that I’d found the person I wanted to be with. Since I’d met them, I knew that they were the one.

“Thanks mate. So, you want some breakfast? It’s morning.” Phil was happier now. Not filled with thoughts of ‘I’m going to be alone forever’.

“I’m going back to bed.” I turned and walked before his hand grabbed my arm. I felt a tingle where he was holding, and silently begged for it to never end.

“No, you’re getting a shower and then dressed.”

“Why? I don’t have anything important to do today.”

“You’re coming with me to the park. We are going to have fun and . . . . and . . . .” Phil had begun to look at his feet. “I thought that you might want to breathe some fresh air today, that’s all.”

“Fine, give me an hour and I’ll be ready.” Phil looked back up and smiled like a five year old at Christmas. I half expected him to skip to his room. That’s the great thing about Phil. He’s a kid at heart. Yes, he likes the idea of settling down and having a family, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of having fun and making himself happy. That’s why I love him.

PHIL’S P.O.V.

I walked to my room after convincing Dan to come to the park. I really wanted to spend the day with him, and the first thing that came to mind was the park. Swings, benches to sit on and watch the world go by, running up hills, football. The little kid inside me loves it when I just get to do something simple.

I looked back and saw Dan still standing behind me, smiling. Why couldn’t I tell him the truth? I had to lie and say that it was a girl and a house that I’d never been to? He would’ve laughed at me, left me, done something that would make me regret everything.

After getting changed into some shorts and a t-shirt, I went to the kitchen and made pancakes.

“Are those frickin’ Delia Smith pancakes?” I looked up and saw Dan sitting at the breakfast bar, watching me cook as though I had just invented bread.

“You want one, don’t you Dan?” I picked one up with the spatula and started to wave it in front of his face. I laughed as Dan moved his head from side to side, like I was hypnotising him with the smell of amazingness. Slowly, I made him nod him head, and gave him the pancake.

After a making Dan eat his weight in pancakes, I managed to get him out of the house. The park was quite a while away, but I asked him to walk.

“Why do you want to walk?”

“I want to get to know our new surroundings better, and it’ll be easier if I walk around.” After my reasoned judgement, I walked on. I knew that Dan would catch up, I would never leave him. Sure enough, Dan was soon jogging up behind me. On the way there, we talked about if there was a zoo we could visit and if there would be lions and llamas there. This lead to the idea of what other animals have a name that begins with the letter ‘L’. Dan said lamprey, and I said ladybird. I like the idea of ladybirds in captivity.

“Hey, look. There’s the park!” I was squealing like a little girl and people were starting to look, but I didn’t care. I could see the park, and I knew that I was going to tell Dan how I felt. This was it; it just felt right.