Meeting in the Park
By: Joker is Poker with a J
Summary: They met in Battery Park, a quiet, placid place with a network of paths and walkways. Every morning he'd sell his papes, and every morning she'd stand along the bank of the lake, watching the Ducks. One-Shot.
Note From Joker: Hello, again! Another one-shot! I enjoy these tremendously! But, don't worry, for those that read my other stories, I will update. I'm just kinda busy, so I only type a little bit at a time for my chapters. Except my Fire starter one. I'm practically finished with it. I just gotta send the chapters to the Beta Reader. I'll probably have a story that's a spin off...but, I don't know. So I own nothing u recognize, Please review, and mostly Enjoy.
They met in Battery Park, a quiet, placid place with a network of paths and walkways. Every morning he'd sell his papes, and every morning she'd stand along the bank of the lake, watching the ducks.
But, on one special morning, he decided to talk to her. Just a whimsical idea, more like urge. To the east, beyond Brooklyn, the sun was caught, rising as a giant pink ball, rays like search lights scaring away the last shadows of night.
She came walking by him, not even sparing him a glance, or anyone else for that matter. Walking in long, graceful strides, Black cloak billowing and hugging her at the same time. Her chestnut hair, framing her perfectly etched face. She walked through the gates, straying off paths, making a beeline for the lake.
The water looked clear as glass, the hues of blue barely rippling as the fog cleared away. Coming to a halt, she stood, staring with unseen eyes as nature unfolded around her.
Calling out a headline, Spot watched her. Watched the sadness, the loneliness, creep its way into those blue eyes that matched the lake.
He watched her all day, just stand there, as if the world had crumbled all around her, as if no one cared, and she was wondering why she hadn't died, why she didn't just throw herself into this lake.
At noon, two ducks climbed out of the lake, and slowly, the girl bent down. She pulled out a loaf of bread, breaking it into pieces and fed the ducks. They quacked happily, and nudged her hand. Like everything she did, the smile appeared slowly. Just barely.
By then he had finished selling, and was just sitting on a close bench and watching her. After a while, she stood and looked over at him. Her eyes showed shock, but the rest of her stayed indifferent.
Standing, he walked up next to her, watching her watch him the entire time.
"Nice Ducks." He commented.
She studied him, studied him in a way that made him feel...feel as if, as if he hid the world at his back she was trying to figure how he did it. As if he knew everything, as if he had felt everything and she wanted to feel it, too. It made him uncomfortable. But, somehow, it gave him a giddy feeling.
Finally, she turned away, pointing her finger to the duck closest, the yellow duck, she said, "His name is Hamlet," And then she pointed to the one with the shiny, iridescent neck, "And that's Lysander."
"Well, I'm Spot. Spot Conlon." He introduced.
"I'm Rosalind. Rosalind Veaga."
They stood there in silence, but that was all they needed. For, they both felt something inside them stir, something neither one could explain. But, they let the feeling go, because neither had felt anything in a long time.
They met each other on that bench, at the bank of that lake, everyday. Right after she fed Hamlet and Lysander, and right after he sold all his papes.
They'd sit there, side by side, and occasionally talk. But, mostly just sat there, enjoying the feeling of being with the other person.
One day, about a month later, Rosalind turned to Spot, "I have to go, Spot." She told him, something sparking in her eyes.
"Do you have to? Ok, well, see ya tomorrow."
She shook her head, "No, I gotta get outta here. Outta this city."
Spot sat up, "What? Youse's leavin' New Yoik?"
Nodding, she told him finally, "Spot...I can't stay here. There's nothing here for me. My family, they, they were in that fire two months ago."
"But, you have Lysander, and Hamlet, and...me." But, she shook her head. And he remembered, remembered the horrific scene that had been painted into his memory by the photograph on the front page. It was of really rich family who had come from Paris to stay for vacation, and had all perished in a horrible fire.
"Youse's isn't French, doe." He said.
"No. My mom was a kitchen maid, my dad the butler, and my older brother was the landscaper. My parents got stuck in there, and my brother went in there after them. They all died."
Spot watched her turn away from him, gazing back at the ducks, "Where youse gonna go?" He asked.
"I don't know. Wherever my heart takes me." She stood, then turned back to him. "Can you do me a favor, Spot?"
"What?" He asked, standing up and towering her small figure.
"Can you take care of Lysander and Hamlet...and yourself? I raised them from when they were babies. I don't want them to miss me too much."
Spot slowly nodded his head, wondering how this had happened so fast.
Rosalind then reached up and gave him a hug, "Thank you. You've been a good friend."
And she left. Just like that.
Four months later, Spot was crouched down by the shore, feeding a bit of bread to Lysander and Hamlet. They hadn't liked him much, at first, or at least didn't trust him, but slowly they excepted him. They took much longer then their last human friend did to accept him.
He took a step back, and watched them slide back into the water. He stood there for a while, thoughts of Rosalind making him feel so sad.
"Look at the nice Ducks!" Someone said behind him, he turned slightly, and then turned back when he realized it was just a couple walking through the park.
"Nice Ducks." He remembered saying that to Rosalind...wait...did someone just say that aloud?
Spot spun around, and came face to face with a certain someone. "Nugget! Don't scare me like dat!" He said, glaring at a rather sarcastic friend of his.
"Woah! Calm it, Spot. Just commenting on the nice ducks. Geez." Nugget turned away, "Just saw you standing there all by yourself, thought you'd want some company." And he walked away.
"I don't need company." Spot said to himself, quietly.
"You don't? Then I should go." Spot turned around for the third time.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, breathlessly. She looked more beautiful then the day she left.
"I said I'd go where my heart led me." She gave a small, crooked smile, "It led me here."
Spot picked her up in his arms, and kissed her fiercely.
A/N: Hope ya'll liked! Please review. I probably won't get anything up this weekend. I have to go to a competition. (Unless you know what NJROTC is, don't ask :) Thank you!