Artemis PoV:
The first time I visited the park I was anxious to finally see with my own eyes what every kid my age wished to do every Saturday. I was nine, a perfect age to share this experience with my family. But it was midnight the day I saw the park for the first time and I was alone. The ice on the sidewalk and the life less trees weren't inviting either. The freezing wind blew frighteningly and the night was dark and moonless. That night only became part of the memories I wanted to erase. I remember sitting in a cold bench with my winter coat dripping wet from the icicles melting from it. I was running away again but this time I went to a place no one would think of. Mom was getting beaten up again and Jade was never at home. I started to realize she didn't see that place as a home and neither did I. My nose was red and constipated and my fingers were numb, my skin was pale but I was not going back. I remembered clutching tightly to teddy as I let myself dream about wonderland. After that everything went pitch black and I woke up again in mom's apartment.
Six years later I visited the park again. It was midnight too but I wasn't scared. And for a strange reason I noticed a certain beauty in that park I couldn't see when I was nine. The frosted lampposts, the soft humming of cars, a cool and relaxing breeze that sent chills in my spine made this park special. He made it special. We were walking as I tugged on my short jacket. I can't remember what magical reason had made Wally West invite me for a midnight walk at the park. I thought he had a severe insomnia case immediately after he proposed that. After that all I remembered was his soft red hair lighted by the lampposts. I remembered his smile as he talked about boring atoms and ions and stuff I didn't bother to care as we sat on a wet bench. I remembered how his hand fit perfectly into mine just as his lips did. And it was the perfect taste, feeling, sight and smell. When we broke apart he looked at me with his curios green eyes and told me that he loved me and I nodded accepting but not admitting my own love.
Three years later we were at that same park again. And he wasn't flushed from a hot make out session but from the excruciating pain from his left ribs and the fever that was affecting his body. Blood dotted the pure white snow and he dragged his pale body to sit up. I watched expressionless as he crawled to get to me. But I was already gone and had to get the job done. That night I remembered my arrow painted carmine from his warm blood. I remembered every night I spent in this same park alone or with him. I figured out both of us knew this day would come. The enemy rose to a battle stance but we both knew he wouldn't attack, he couldn't hurt me, he was acting and I hated it. I hated how I got so close to him I could read him so fast. I tightened the arrow I had been aiming for him and shot.
After I entered the hall and left my report I went to the same park. I knew he wasn't dead because I aimed for a non vital point. At that moment I hated what Wally West could do to me without saying a word. He would never see me again though. And the beauty of the park was lost. This time I wouldn't heal I would just move on. The last image I had from the park was two beautiful emerald orbs no longer vibrant and optimistic but painful and grieving. He accepted me as well and I realized Artemis Crock was a conformist for letting him go away.
