There was nothing more that eight year old Tom Reeves enjoyed more than coming to the playground in Forest Hills Park. Sure, the swings were better in other places he was taken to, but as a whole he loved it here. He never wanted to leave. It wasnt often that it was quiet here, but it was today. Today was perfect. There were no other kids around so he could do exactly what he wanted. He stood looking around, unsure what he should ride on next.
Swings or slide. Or both...is Dad ready to leave yet ? Have I got time ?
He looked over towards his father, sitting alone on a nearby bench, hunched over concentrating on his mobile phone.
Definitely got time for both...and maybe even more than once if I'm lucky.
Yes. Today was a good day. Tom smirked and started to run towards the brightly coloured slides on the right hand side of the playground. A butterfly fluttered in front of his face as he ran, causing him to stop in surprise. He waved his arms towards it as it continued on its oblivious erratic way. He let out a small giggle as he watched the small insect, concentrating fully on it. The butterfly moved away from Tom slightly before darting back on itself until it momentarily hovered above him.
Tom looked straight up towards the sky, arms outstretched trying to catch the butterfly. As he watched it, a white shape moved in a straight line beyond the winged insect, to Tom it seemed impossibility high in the sky.
A plane !
If the playground was Tom's favourite thing then aeroplanes were a close second. He spent hours looking at planes, taking pride that he knew the names of all of the different types. Immediately forgetting about the butterfly, he now stared intently at the plane passing overhead, visible in the summer sky.
Two engines ? No. Four. That has to be a 747... can't quite see the colour scheme...
Tom smiled as he continued to look up, the white metal object moving gracefully and steadily through the atmosphere, a sharp contrast to the butterfly from moments ago. As he watched he saw it head into a small fluffy cloud, momentarily obscuring it from view.
Ah man. Just my luck. One cloud in the whole sky and the plane has to go into it...
Tom continued to watch, anticipating the spot where the plane would reappear in a second or two. He had never been on a plane, but he had always tried to imagine what clouds looked like from the inside. He waited, not taking his eyes off the small cloud. He waited. Unconsciously a frown formed on his face. He waited, confused. He scanned the sky, sure that he couldn't have missed where the plane had gone, but he checked the whole sky anyway. Nothing. He waited. Staring, unmoving, at the sky.
Tom became aware of his dad's voice calling to him.
"Tom, you alright buddy ? Have one last go eh ? It's nearly time to go home."
Tom finally looked away from the sky. He saw his father waving as he kindly smiled over towards him.
Tom looked horrified as he raised one arm upwards. "Dad...dad !!! The plane ! Its gone !!!"
"What's that bud?" his father called back, confused.
Tom looked back up at the sky as he answered his parent "the plane dad...it was there, and now its..."
His words tailed off as he looked back over towards the now empty bench.
"...gone...?"