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next chapter.
Apparitions from the Past
After work, exhausted and weary, I come home to find that Jenny left to go to the gym and left me supper in the fridge, which is not that uncommon anymore. Leaving my briefcase by the door with a thump, I trudge over to the fridge about to dive into my cold dinner when I hear a little squeak coming from the back of the house. "Daddy?! Is that you?" Her small voice echoes throughout the bare walls of the house and greets me with a welcoming smile. "Yes. How are you my princess?" I turn around forgetting about the unwanted dinner in the fridge and see Sydney struggling to get up on the revolving bar stool. After several attempts of offering my assistance (all of which she declines immediately), she sits comfortably on the high stool and stares at me through her wide eyes. "Good. Bored from all of my homework." She gives me a tiny smirk and starts to swing the chair back and forth as if she were on an amusement park ride.
"That, I can tell." I act as if I have no clue as to what she is getting at but then give in to her spontaneous giggles. "Let me guess what you are thinking?" She furiously nods her head and waits impatiently for my guess. Instantly I know what she is thinking, everyday she comes racing to me with this simple plea. "Hmmm let me see..would it by any chance be a quick trip to the park?" "You got it!" She squeals and almost falls off the stool." "Go get your tennis shoes and then we will leave." She scatters off without protest. Usually, she ends up begging for me to take her to the park. But after a day like today, fresh air and just plain fun sounds exactly what I need. In record speed she comes flying past me and runs out the door. "Come on Dad, hurry up!" Quickly discarding my suit jacket due to the fact that the mid-day heat in LA is at its high today, I high tail it so that I catch up with her two houses down. Our house is only two blocks away from the nearest park. On days like today, its pastures are filled with hyper children with their best friends playing tag, Frisbee, or just running in circles to get rid of all their excess energy. It is the same park that is roughly a mile away from headquarters where I would sometimes find a past love of mine jogging. Every time I take my daughter there, as I sit at the nearest bench watching her swing higher and higher into the trees, I find myself searching the track for the bounce of her ponytail or the sound of her sneakers hitting the pavement over and over in a steady perfected rhythm. The sun weaves in and out of the brightly colored inner tubes and slides making an intricate pattern on the grass. I find myself in a slight trance almost forcing myself to think of anything but the sound of her steady breaths around the track. But no matter how hard I try to stare intently at the ground, she appears before me. Her hair is longer but has more life and volume than ever as it swings from side to side with her every move. She is chasing a small boy back up the large red slide. She giggles carelessly as she trips and not so gracefully falls down and around to the ground landing in a heap. She sits there staring up at the boy whose curly golden tresses dangle in front of his eyes. She glares up at him as if daring him to trip more absurdly than she did. I call out to her and she quickly turns her head and it's like she never left. She slowly picks herself up while brushing off the dirt on her clothes and allows her perfect dimples show through her smile. I want to say something, anything that will make her stay her with me. But I can't speak let alone breathe. All of a sudden the apparition of Sydney Bristow disappears in a blur of sunlight as a child races through her without even noticing it. I feel a light tap on the back of my shoulder. "Dad? Why do you look like you are about to cry?" Sydney, my daughter, gradually strolls around the bench to face me and her face holds such worry that I don't even know what to tell her. I am tired of lying to her all the time because I know she is smart enough now to know when the truth is being told and when it is not. Yet, I know I can not tell her what is really bothering me. "Oh, Dad is just having some problems right now. Don't worry, everything will be alright. You go on and play now." I place my hand on top of her head and spin her around and around then send her off towards the swing set before she has time to reply. As she breaks into a run with occasional skips here and there, I decide to steer my wandering thoughts on people- watching. I bypass the many mothers trying, and failing, at attempting to calm down their toddlers who do not want to leave or dropped their ice cream cone in the sand pit once again. I get too exhausted watching them and also become annoyed with the endless droning of incessant whining. I also bypass the joggers for obvious reasons. Scanning the park for any one looking suspicious, the spy in me coming out, or anyone who looks like they have a plateful on their mind, I gaze at all the cars passing in a blur. I wonder if Sydney passed by here before she decided to end her life. Just then a taxi cab pulls up to the side of the road nearest the swings. The back door swings opens and a woman extends a very long leg and gracefully strides out of the cab. Her back is still facing me but I have some sense that I know her. After paying the driver, she turns around but is now too far away for me to make any distinction of who it might be. She comes a little closer but she is hidden in the shade of the large oak trees scattered throughout the park. Her eyes drenched with sorrow and longing, wander over the bustling crowd of screaming children, searching for someone. I can't help thinking that I know those eyes. Her self assured strides leave me in a state of confusion and disbelief. It couldn't possibly be? Could it? I shake my head trying to get this hallucination out of my mind and head off to find my daughter. As I usher my pouting daughter out of the park, I look back to where the woman was, hoping for a better look or to even see if she was just another daydream. She is gone, lost amidst the sunlight and laughter. Just as I thought.
*So.how did you like it?! I hope it was good..if you didn't like it please tell me, but be kind and constructive about it! If you did like it, then I want to hear about that even more so. So go hit that little button and review, thanks!
Apparitions from the Past
After work, exhausted and weary, I come home to find that Jenny left to go to the gym and left me supper in the fridge, which is not that uncommon anymore. Leaving my briefcase by the door with a thump, I trudge over to the fridge about to dive into my cold dinner when I hear a little squeak coming from the back of the house. "Daddy?! Is that you?" Her small voice echoes throughout the bare walls of the house and greets me with a welcoming smile. "Yes. How are you my princess?" I turn around forgetting about the unwanted dinner in the fridge and see Sydney struggling to get up on the revolving bar stool. After several attempts of offering my assistance (all of which she declines immediately), she sits comfortably on the high stool and stares at me through her wide eyes. "Good. Bored from all of my homework." She gives me a tiny smirk and starts to swing the chair back and forth as if she were on an amusement park ride.
"That, I can tell." I act as if I have no clue as to what she is getting at but then give in to her spontaneous giggles. "Let me guess what you are thinking?" She furiously nods her head and waits impatiently for my guess. Instantly I know what she is thinking, everyday she comes racing to me with this simple plea. "Hmmm let me see..would it by any chance be a quick trip to the park?" "You got it!" She squeals and almost falls off the stool." "Go get your tennis shoes and then we will leave." She scatters off without protest. Usually, she ends up begging for me to take her to the park. But after a day like today, fresh air and just plain fun sounds exactly what I need. In record speed she comes flying past me and runs out the door. "Come on Dad, hurry up!" Quickly discarding my suit jacket due to the fact that the mid-day heat in LA is at its high today, I high tail it so that I catch up with her two houses down. Our house is only two blocks away from the nearest park. On days like today, its pastures are filled with hyper children with their best friends playing tag, Frisbee, or just running in circles to get rid of all their excess energy. It is the same park that is roughly a mile away from headquarters where I would sometimes find a past love of mine jogging. Every time I take my daughter there, as I sit at the nearest bench watching her swing higher and higher into the trees, I find myself searching the track for the bounce of her ponytail or the sound of her sneakers hitting the pavement over and over in a steady perfected rhythm. The sun weaves in and out of the brightly colored inner tubes and slides making an intricate pattern on the grass. I find myself in a slight trance almost forcing myself to think of anything but the sound of her steady breaths around the track. But no matter how hard I try to stare intently at the ground, she appears before me. Her hair is longer but has more life and volume than ever as it swings from side to side with her every move. She is chasing a small boy back up the large red slide. She giggles carelessly as she trips and not so gracefully falls down and around to the ground landing in a heap. She sits there staring up at the boy whose curly golden tresses dangle in front of his eyes. She glares up at him as if daring him to trip more absurdly than she did. I call out to her and she quickly turns her head and it's like she never left. She slowly picks herself up while brushing off the dirt on her clothes and allows her perfect dimples show through her smile. I want to say something, anything that will make her stay her with me. But I can't speak let alone breathe. All of a sudden the apparition of Sydney Bristow disappears in a blur of sunlight as a child races through her without even noticing it. I feel a light tap on the back of my shoulder. "Dad? Why do you look like you are about to cry?" Sydney, my daughter, gradually strolls around the bench to face me and her face holds such worry that I don't even know what to tell her. I am tired of lying to her all the time because I know she is smart enough now to know when the truth is being told and when it is not. Yet, I know I can not tell her what is really bothering me. "Oh, Dad is just having some problems right now. Don't worry, everything will be alright. You go on and play now." I place my hand on top of her head and spin her around and around then send her off towards the swing set before she has time to reply. As she breaks into a run with occasional skips here and there, I decide to steer my wandering thoughts on people- watching. I bypass the many mothers trying, and failing, at attempting to calm down their toddlers who do not want to leave or dropped their ice cream cone in the sand pit once again. I get too exhausted watching them and also become annoyed with the endless droning of incessant whining. I also bypass the joggers for obvious reasons. Scanning the park for any one looking suspicious, the spy in me coming out, or anyone who looks like they have a plateful on their mind, I gaze at all the cars passing in a blur. I wonder if Sydney passed by here before she decided to end her life. Just then a taxi cab pulls up to the side of the road nearest the swings. The back door swings opens and a woman extends a very long leg and gracefully strides out of the cab. Her back is still facing me but I have some sense that I know her. After paying the driver, she turns around but is now too far away for me to make any distinction of who it might be. She comes a little closer but she is hidden in the shade of the large oak trees scattered throughout the park. Her eyes drenched with sorrow and longing, wander over the bustling crowd of screaming children, searching for someone. I can't help thinking that I know those eyes. Her self assured strides leave me in a state of confusion and disbelief. It couldn't possibly be? Could it? I shake my head trying to get this hallucination out of my mind and head off to find my daughter. As I usher my pouting daughter out of the park, I look back to where the woman was, hoping for a better look or to even see if she was just another daydream. She is gone, lost amidst the sunlight and laughter. Just as I thought.
*So.how did you like it?! I hope it was good..if you didn't like it please tell me, but be kind and constructive about it! If you did like it, then I want to hear about that even more so. So go hit that little button and review, thanks!