"It's been a long time." A young man whispered to the strong, iron gate in which he stood in front of. "Too long." He looked through the bars, taking in the scene before him. Large, luminous trees with branches that reached towards the heavens stood at the back of the cemetery, and directly behind them a small Protestant church loomed in the background. The same ivy weaved in and out of the old planks of wood that made up the church, and the same fog even covered the lone window on the side. The antique, rusted cross at the steeple of the church seemed to be leaning to the side from weariness. It was all the same, except it seemed a lot smaller than it had the last time he had been there.
Mustering up what courage he had left inside of him, the man hefted his knapsack's strap higher onto his shoulder. Then he held his clean hands out in front of him and pushed with the strength from his chest and shoulders. A rusty creak escaped the gate as the hinges gave way and allowed themselves to twist, letting the gate swing open. The sound of at least a dozen black birds was heard as they escaped from the opening of the cemetery, flying off into the cloudy, gray sky. With a light frown down at his now dirt streaked hands, the man walked slowly into the cemetery. He had a casual habit of pulling at the seams of his tie and clean, pressed white shirt as he stepped over small, unreadable headstones and rocks. A pattern of kept and unkept graves spread across the small area. Very few graves had actually been visited recently; cheap or wild flowers covered their sections.
And then he saw it.
He sank to the ground in front of his destination. His gray slacks that were once clean landed with a wet sucking sound onto the dank grass. And, for the first time in ten years, he lifted his head to seek, with his now misty brown eyes, what was before him.
It was a simple grave. No headstone. No mark, save for the large boulder that had been lugged into the cemetery so long ago.
'Was it that far back in time?' the young man wondered. It seemed like yesterday. When all of his troubles seemed to be ganging up on him from behind. A numb feeling encircled his heart as his eyes seemed to fade into a flash of remembrance:
"RUN! Go get help, now! Oh, God... Ohh..."
The echo from the past seemed to boom directly from the grave in front of the lone man. With a weak gasp he fell backwards, so that his palms fell behind his shoes. A cold wind whipped across his forehead, pushing his brown, neatly styled hair away from it's trained position. For a minute, the man closely resembled the figure of his past...
~*
"Heh. Mush. Looka dat boid over dere."
"Eh wha huh muh?" Mush mumbled as he sat up from the bench in central park, on which he had been trying to take a nap on. "Didja say a goil?"
Blink's lone, blue eye rolled around in his head as he turned around and smacked his friend on one of his dark cheeks. "No, ya louse! A BOID. See dat boid?" He pointed over to a small duck pond about 3 yards away, where a little pigeon was shaking it's multi-colored tail feathers all over the place.
Mush blinked his tired brown eyes as he stared hard at the bird. It was almost as if he was trying to make the bird do something extraordinary to make up for his missing beauty sleep.
Once again, the bird began to shake his tail feathers more vigorously, forcing the rest of his little body to hop involuntarily from stone to stone.
Blink pointed at the bird again and giggled. "Wow!"
"Ya need a new hobby, Kid." Mush muttered as he lay back down on the warm bench. "Really. Ya do."
"Aww, nice to know ya care, Mushy baby." His friend crooned. With a sigh of sheer elaxation, he stretched his long and limber legs out in front of him, resting his back up against the side of the bench that Mush was laying on, before turning his attention back to his fine feathered friends.
Mush opened his mouth for a wide yawn and then licked his lips. The bright, yellow sun was shining down at the two boys through a collection of extravagant white cumulous clouds. It was all in all a nice day for lying around rather than selling papers to old women or business men. The common sounds of Central Park surrounded them as the two zoned away from each other. With a last look down at Blink's nappy head of blonde hair, Mush sighed contentedly and pushed his brown cap down over his eyes. It felt so good to just relax... and not worry about a...
"Hey, Mush, wake up!" Blink poked Mush in his side, hurriedly. "Looka dis!"
Mush groaned and pulled his cap off of his eyes as he sat up unwillingly. "Blink, if it's dat damned boid again I'se gunna... oh. Oh!"
On the other side of the duck pond, there was a group of squirrels surrounding a tall oak tree. One large, chestnut colored squirrel, who was sitting near the middle of the tree, was shaking a branch that seemed to reach out toward the pond. Little acorns dropped from the branch and fell to the ground; some even beamed a few hungry, waiting squirrels on the head!
Blink looked up from his position on the ground up at his friend, who was smiling broadly at the site. *bonk!* Another acorn fell onto of an unsuspecting squirrel's tail. He leaped up in a state of shock, squeaking in surprise. Realizing that the evil doer was merely his lunch, he snatched up the acorn and scampered off to his little hiding place.
In their state of awe, the two boys didn't notice the figure that came up behind them. It's face was shadowed from the large, black cowboy hat that rested on it's head. It watched the boys gape at scene in front of them, and then could no longer hold in a giggle.
Blink twirled around with a stunned look on his face. "Les! What're you doin' here?"
Les attempted to tip his hat up on his forehead, but being that the hat was much too large for him, it slipped right down over his eyes. He gave up trying to be suave, and settled for pulling the hat off of his head alltogether. "I'se watchin' you!" He answered defiantly.
"Watchin' us sit here?" Mush asked as he looked over his shoulder at the young boy behind him.
"Naw," A voice that came from the front of the other three boys answered for Les. "More like watchin' you two look at dose squirrels as if dey was pretty dames."
Blink grinned and winked at Jack Kelly, who smirked down at him from his casual stance. "And may I say dat dose rodents have da best lookin' tails in all of Manhattan?"
"Ya moron!" Mush exclaimed as he slapped Blink on the head with his cap. Both of their dirty cheeks flushed with color as they laughed in unison.
Les continued to look up at his hero, Jack, who stood with his crossed arms laying comfortably against his chest, as he looked down at his two friends with a sort of interest.
"Hey!" Les shouted all of a sudden. The three older boys looked over at him with confusion in their eyes.
"Huh?" The three said in unison.
"We've got a party ta go to!" The younger exclaimed, jumping around on his tiptoe.
Mush rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead, knowing he known he had forgotten something he was supposed to do. "Doh!!"
"Dats right," Jack said with a grin as he grabbed Les' cowboy hat and stuffed it over his face while he was still hopping about. "Brooklyn awaits the arrival of the Manhattan King!"
Blink leaped from his former position on the ground and slung an arm around the taller boy's shoulders. "Well, why keep 'em waitin'?" The two grinned at each other and began their walk towards Brooklyn; away from Central Park and towards the celebration for newsboys from all around the great city of New York.
"Hey, wait for me!" Les yelled after them as he fiddled with the hat on his head, trying to make it sit right. Mush smiled slightly to himself and sat straight up on a bench. Stretching his back while reaching high into the air, he waited the welcome cracks from his back. He then smacked his lips and placed his hands on his knees. As he lifted his tanned face to the sunlight, he couldn't help but think that that night would be one to remember. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the feeling left him. He swiped his dark curls with a hurried hand and then jumped from his seat with quite a lot of energy as he ran to catch up with his friends, who were already on their way to the party.
Mustering up what courage he had left inside of him, the man hefted his knapsack's strap higher onto his shoulder. Then he held his clean hands out in front of him and pushed with the strength from his chest and shoulders. A rusty creak escaped the gate as the hinges gave way and allowed themselves to twist, letting the gate swing open. The sound of at least a dozen black birds was heard as they escaped from the opening of the cemetery, flying off into the cloudy, gray sky. With a light frown down at his now dirt streaked hands, the man walked slowly into the cemetery. He had a casual habit of pulling at the seams of his tie and clean, pressed white shirt as he stepped over small, unreadable headstones and rocks. A pattern of kept and unkept graves spread across the small area. Very few graves had actually been visited recently; cheap or wild flowers covered their sections.
And then he saw it.
He sank to the ground in front of his destination. His gray slacks that were once clean landed with a wet sucking sound onto the dank grass. And, for the first time in ten years, he lifted his head to seek, with his now misty brown eyes, what was before him.
It was a simple grave. No headstone. No mark, save for the large boulder that had been lugged into the cemetery so long ago.
'Was it that far back in time?' the young man wondered. It seemed like yesterday. When all of his troubles seemed to be ganging up on him from behind. A numb feeling encircled his heart as his eyes seemed to fade into a flash of remembrance:
"RUN! Go get help, now! Oh, God... Ohh..."
The echo from the past seemed to boom directly from the grave in front of the lone man. With a weak gasp he fell backwards, so that his palms fell behind his shoes. A cold wind whipped across his forehead, pushing his brown, neatly styled hair away from it's trained position. For a minute, the man closely resembled the figure of his past...
~*
"Heh. Mush. Looka dat boid over dere."
"Eh wha huh muh?" Mush mumbled as he sat up from the bench in central park, on which he had been trying to take a nap on. "Didja say a goil?"
Blink's lone, blue eye rolled around in his head as he turned around and smacked his friend on one of his dark cheeks. "No, ya louse! A BOID. See dat boid?" He pointed over to a small duck pond about 3 yards away, where a little pigeon was shaking it's multi-colored tail feathers all over the place.
Mush blinked his tired brown eyes as he stared hard at the bird. It was almost as if he was trying to make the bird do something extraordinary to make up for his missing beauty sleep.
Once again, the bird began to shake his tail feathers more vigorously, forcing the rest of his little body to hop involuntarily from stone to stone.
Blink pointed at the bird again and giggled. "Wow!"
"Ya need a new hobby, Kid." Mush muttered as he lay back down on the warm bench. "Really. Ya do."
"Aww, nice to know ya care, Mushy baby." His friend crooned. With a sigh of sheer elaxation, he stretched his long and limber legs out in front of him, resting his back up against the side of the bench that Mush was laying on, before turning his attention back to his fine feathered friends.
Mush opened his mouth for a wide yawn and then licked his lips. The bright, yellow sun was shining down at the two boys through a collection of extravagant white cumulous clouds. It was all in all a nice day for lying around rather than selling papers to old women or business men. The common sounds of Central Park surrounded them as the two zoned away from each other. With a last look down at Blink's nappy head of blonde hair, Mush sighed contentedly and pushed his brown cap down over his eyes. It felt so good to just relax... and not worry about a...
"Hey, Mush, wake up!" Blink poked Mush in his side, hurriedly. "Looka dis!"
Mush groaned and pulled his cap off of his eyes as he sat up unwillingly. "Blink, if it's dat damned boid again I'se gunna... oh. Oh!"
On the other side of the duck pond, there was a group of squirrels surrounding a tall oak tree. One large, chestnut colored squirrel, who was sitting near the middle of the tree, was shaking a branch that seemed to reach out toward the pond. Little acorns dropped from the branch and fell to the ground; some even beamed a few hungry, waiting squirrels on the head!
Blink looked up from his position on the ground up at his friend, who was smiling broadly at the site. *bonk!* Another acorn fell onto of an unsuspecting squirrel's tail. He leaped up in a state of shock, squeaking in surprise. Realizing that the evil doer was merely his lunch, he snatched up the acorn and scampered off to his little hiding place.
In their state of awe, the two boys didn't notice the figure that came up behind them. It's face was shadowed from the large, black cowboy hat that rested on it's head. It watched the boys gape at scene in front of them, and then could no longer hold in a giggle.
Blink twirled around with a stunned look on his face. "Les! What're you doin' here?"
Les attempted to tip his hat up on his forehead, but being that the hat was much too large for him, it slipped right down over his eyes. He gave up trying to be suave, and settled for pulling the hat off of his head alltogether. "I'se watchin' you!" He answered defiantly.
"Watchin' us sit here?" Mush asked as he looked over his shoulder at the young boy behind him.
"Naw," A voice that came from the front of the other three boys answered for Les. "More like watchin' you two look at dose squirrels as if dey was pretty dames."
Blink grinned and winked at Jack Kelly, who smirked down at him from his casual stance. "And may I say dat dose rodents have da best lookin' tails in all of Manhattan?"
"Ya moron!" Mush exclaimed as he slapped Blink on the head with his cap. Both of their dirty cheeks flushed with color as they laughed in unison.
Les continued to look up at his hero, Jack, who stood with his crossed arms laying comfortably against his chest, as he looked down at his two friends with a sort of interest.
"Hey!" Les shouted all of a sudden. The three older boys looked over at him with confusion in their eyes.
"Huh?" The three said in unison.
"We've got a party ta go to!" The younger exclaimed, jumping around on his tiptoe.
Mush rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead, knowing he known he had forgotten something he was supposed to do. "Doh!!"
"Dats right," Jack said with a grin as he grabbed Les' cowboy hat and stuffed it over his face while he was still hopping about. "Brooklyn awaits the arrival of the Manhattan King!"
Blink leaped from his former position on the ground and slung an arm around the taller boy's shoulders. "Well, why keep 'em waitin'?" The two grinned at each other and began their walk towards Brooklyn; away from Central Park and towards the celebration for newsboys from all around the great city of New York.
"Hey, wait for me!" Les yelled after them as he fiddled with the hat on his head, trying to make it sit right. Mush smiled slightly to himself and sat straight up on a bench. Stretching his back while reaching high into the air, he waited the welcome cracks from his back. He then smacked his lips and placed his hands on his knees. As he lifted his tanned face to the sunlight, he couldn't help but think that that night would be one to remember. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the feeling left him. He swiped his dark curls with a hurried hand and then jumped from his seat with quite a lot of energy as he ran to catch up with his friends, who were already on their way to the party.