1. Encounter

I am sitting on a bench in the park when a woman approaches. I watch her intently and speak up before she passes me. "Aren't you Tessa Gray?"

She stops and turns to me. "Yes. How do you know?"

"Well, you look like her."

She stares at me for a moment. "Oh. Yup. People say that. Mind you, I look like her in her younger days."

"Clare must have been a pretty 17-year-old."

"Apparently."

Tessa looks skyward and closes her eyes. Her hand outstretched, as if offering.

Presently, a flock of chickadees come to take seeds from her palm.

"Easy, love," she says to the pecking birds, with a smile. "Easy, loves." She laughs.

I stand up and hold out my own seeds to feed the birds. Half of the beaks soon come to my palm. Tessa opens her eyes and says laughing, "Thanks!"

Obviously having enough, the birds fly away. She murmurs, "Sometimes I feel like a caged bird."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

She says nothing more. Affected by her mood and trying to offer some comfort, I say, "So you're back with Jem."

Tessa closes her eyes again and takes a deep breath, saying nothing. "How I love the sunshine! And being free" Then, she smiles radiantly and exclaims, "Here's my man!"

I turn to see the man approaching. He's not Jem.

They hold hands, beaming at each other.

"Oh," Tessa says, turning to me. "This is Yves."

"Hi, Yves."

He shakes hands with me. He has a cute smile. I like him instantly.

"Huh, I forgot to ask for your name," Tessa looks slightly embarrassed.

"It's Nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you can call me Nothing."

"What a peculiar name!"

"Yup." Seeing that they are ready to leave, I say, "I guess I'll see you around. And hear your story."

"Maybe."

Yves says to me, "It's nice to have met you."

"Same here."

Tessa walks away with her man. I am surprised that he is ordinary-looking. Nothing like Will and Jem.