The woman wrapped her hands around the mug, delighting in its warmth. She lifted it to her lips and smiled gently as the warmth radiated out through her; the bittersweet aroma rising to mingle with her thoughts as they danced away with the fiery leaves on the swift autumn breeze.

"Mom? Mooooom?"

"Hmmm?" She mumbled as she came back to the here and now.

"I'm finished. Can I go now?"

A quick glance at her son's plate was all she needed to confirm his statement.

"Yes. You can go now." She said as she ran a hand through his pale hair, mussing it and straightening it at the same time – a strange talent which only mothers seem to possess. "But don't go too far. I don't want to wander the whole park looking for you when it's time to go."

"Ok."

He jumped up from his seat, grabbing his football as he did. Her gaze followed him as he ran up to the corner. She cringed when he leapt off the curb without looking. A faded silver hatchback slid to a halt just barely missing the boy. He smiled and waved at the driver, as his mother counted her lucky stars and waited for her heart to stop racing. The woman tracked her son's progress till she was sure he had made it into the park safely and in one piece.

She sighed, swirling the cup in her hand as it rose to meet her lips – her thoughts already drifting away with the crisp air. Lost in another world; the real world around her melted away.

"Ma'am? Excuse me, Ma'am?"

"Huh? Wha…?" She muttered feeling her embarrassment flushing across her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Really. I didn't. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your table with me. All the other tables are taken and I noticed you were sitting here alone and I was hoping you wouldn't mind a little company. But if I'm bothering you, I'll just go stand against the wall and wait for someone to leave. Actually, that sounds like a…"

"No. No. It's no bother at all." She interrupted. "Please. Sit."

The young man smiled at her as he pulled out the chair and sat at the table. He set his own warm mug on the table across from hers.

"Thank you," he said smiling lightly and cupping his hand on the back of his head; rubbing at it nervously. "I mean, you didn't look like you'd get all mean and nasty at me for asking. But sometimes things aren't always what they appear to be. You know what I mean? You looked nice and I figured it might be worth taking a chance. So, I'm glad you said 'yes' and I can see that I'm probably distracting you from whatever it is in the park that's caught your attention, so I should probably just…"

"Oh. No. It's ok. I'm sorry. I was just watching my son. He's over there playing football with some friends. I'm just checking to make sure he doesn't wander too far."

The young man studied the woman's face and followed her gaze. She was watching a group of children playing with a ball, chasing each other across the grass. Laughing and playing, as children should.

"Was that your son? The blond boy at the corner? He really should pay more attention to his surroundings. Not all drivers would have seen him – let alone reacted so fast. He could have been hit and that would have been awful. Really awful. Heh. I was like that when I was younger. I took the things around me for granted. I figured everything would always be the same so I didn't pay much attention to them. If I knew then what I know now…"

The woman shifted in her seat to look at the young man, and for the first time truly saw him. He was young, barely in his early 20's.

I bet he doesn't even need to shave yet… she mused and then mentally scolded herself. His hair was dark; the tips of his bangs framed his pale face and grazed the tips of his ears. When he looked up from his cup, she saw that he had the most stunning blue eyes she'd ever seen.

Almost electric… the thought whispered. And for all the warmth that his smile conveyed, it couldn't hide the pain in those beautiful eyes. He's far too young to know pain like that. No child should ever…

"Are you ok?" This time it was his turn to interrupt. "You look a little lost all of a sudden. If I'm bothering you, really, you can just tell me to go and I will. No hard feelings. I promise."

He tipped his head to the side waiting for her to tell him to beat it, all the while hoping she wouldn't. The woman smiled at him as she felt the warmth spread across her cheeks again. This seemed to becoming an awkward habit.

"It's ok. You're not bothering me. Really. I was just thinking – trying to place your accent. You're from out west maybe? I was thinking somewhere near Szombathely possibly?"

This time the fire lit across his face. He smiled and laughed lightly, bowing his head to look into his cup.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or to be embarrassed. I suppose I'll take it as a compliment – that I've learned the language well enough to pass as a local. Well. Almost a local." A small, gentle laugh escaped him as something other than pain lit his eyes. Something softer. Warmer. More human. "Truth is, I'm a long way from home. But that's a really long, really boring story. I doubt you'd want to hear it. No one ever does. They just say 'Hi. How ya doing? Good. Good. That's nice. I'll see you later.' And go on about their business. It's like they only ask cos they think it's expected of them, but they really don't care about the answer. You know? So we all do this little dance that gets us from one day to the next. We do our jobs cos we have to and cos were expected to even if it's not what we want. Life never seems to be about what we want does it? It's just about the dance. They take two steps forward. We take one step back. We take two steps forward. They take one back. And at the end of the day it's still a stalemate. No winners. No losers. We're all just there. And we're all just alone. Together alone."

He sighed as he continued to stare into his cup; his head lower than before. The woman clutched her own mug tighter, as she looked into the young man's eyes again. She saw that the light had already begun to fade from them. She watched in silence as he swirled his cup tenderly, perhaps hoping it would wash away his grief.

"Well, I really should be going, I guess. Thank you for keeping me company…"

"I wasn't much company. You did all the talking." Her words simple, but accented with a light laugh and a small smile.

"But you listened. Really. Truly. Listened. And sometimes, that's all a person needs. So. Thank you."

She watched as he rose from his seat and wrapped his dull gray wool coat tight around him; tossing one end of his red scarf over his shoulder in anticipation of the coming cold. The tender smile still graced his lips, but the light in his eyes was almost entirely gone.

He's so young - still a child really. You can't let him go like this. He needs a reason. He needs hope. He needs to know love exists.

The voice was right.

Without a second thought, she was on her feet, wrapping her arms around him, and drawing him in tight. She felt his body rigid beneath her. She clung tighter and felt his arms rise to wrap around her; pulling her closer into the embrace. He rested his cheek against her copper hair and stood fast, enveloped in a warmth he hadn't felt for so long. A warmth he'd almost forgotten existed. A warmth he'd forgotten he needed. She patted his back and rubbed it as she began to pull away from the embrace.

No! Not yet! Please! Not Yet! Please! His thoughts screamed as he felt her slipping away; the warmth with her.

Desperate blue eyes stared back at her, pleading, as her hands gently cupped either side of his pale face; her thumbs wiping invisible dirt from his cheeks. She planted a soft kiss on each cheek. That warm, loving smile spread across her face as she adjusted his scarf and tightened his coat.

"To keep you warm and protect you from the cold in your journeys – where ever they may take you." She offered while patting his chest just above his heart.

A fragile smile precariously poised on his lips, as the tiniest spark of hope lit in his eyes. He swept her up into another tight embrace, nearly lifting her off the ground. He whispered in her ear, "Thank you."

Her lip quivered as she heard the sorrow in his voice. When he set her down again, he could see the tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"I better go." His voice was little more than a whisper. He thrust his hands deep into the coat pockets, turned and headed up the street with his head hung low.

"Mom? Mom?" The woman felt a familiar tugging at her sleeve. She turned her head and looked into the still innocent eyes of her son. "Mom, who was that?"

She pulled the child tight against her as she answered, "A lost soul."

"Oh. Well, I hope he doesn't stay lost. I hope you gave him good directions and now he knows how to get where he's supposed to be."

The woman squeezed her son tighter. Her eyes, on the verge of tears only moments ago, now blazed with the child's innocent insight. "Me too," taking his hand in hers, "Me too."

Further up the street, the young man paused, and turned for one last look at the woman who had shown him such kindness. He smiled when he saw her with her son, and felt their love. He leaned over and opened the door of a faded silver hatchback and slid inside. As the car drove away down the street, the young man faded away forever.

…

…

…

A/N

I write them as they come. Sometimes the ideas come by bullet train and sometimes they are whispered in passing. This was one of the latter. From a friend, to a friend, through a friend.