The old man had been looking at his newspaper for the past half hour, but he had not been reading it. To the unsuspecting eye, he was catching up on the latest world events, but I could tell otherwise. How does a normal man read a newspaper without moving his eyes? It was all pretence; I just don't know why.
Perhaps he was an private investigator. The old fashioned methods are undoubtedly the best. I love spy thrillers from the 1960's, with their retro gadgets, walk over the top acting and dated charm. I was almost certain he had a walkie talkie under his newspaper or a secret camera in his shirt...
His age was another factor ; surely nobody would suspect a thing when they walk by. It was similar to using children as spies: they could go unnoticed in any crowd.
I needed to know the truth. I walked past him, glancing casually over the newspaper at his glassy eyed stare. After a short time, I turned around and walked right behind the bench. To my surprise, I saw no gadgets, no secret radio not even a note pad.
My suspicion reached fewer pitch, so I picked up a nearby ball and rolled it towards the bench. The man didn't move an inch. It was the most unnatural behaviour and warranted an explanation. I walked over to the bench and gave a slight cough.
"Excuse me, sir, do you mind if I borrow your newspaper?"
"Oh , yes", said the old man, "I don't actually need it, you see. I am old and my eyesight is really poor, but you see I rather enjoy the sounds of the park. Its just a prop to help me blend in, it would be really weird if I was staring at the floor or the sky for a such long time, but I suppose someone should read it."
As he waved the newspaper in my direction, I felt my face flush.
"No, sir its perfectly fine, I'm sorry to have bothered you." I turned and quickly walked away, realising that I needed to stop watching so many spy films.
