My inspiration this time (freely): "Information Please" by Paul Villard, Originally published June, 1966 Readers Digest.
BiaZor-El, as always thank you for being so kind helping, reading, suggesting, encouraging and correcting my lousy English. You have been so pacient. Obrigada sempre.
Warning: All mistakes are mine :p
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: Supergirl belongs do DC, CW and WB. (Did I forget something or somebody?)
The one which orbits around her
Do you know a person that doesn't belong to your world, but in some point of your life he or she orbits around it even for a while? The baker that greets you every day, the salesperson, the driver or regular passenger of the bus you take when you're going to work and with whom you talk before take your path. The child that pass by you when going to the school and with who you exchange a nod and a smile and when you don't find them in the usual places you find yourself asking what happened? This story is about two people that, for some time, orbited on each other's world.
Kara needed space and time. The last weeks had been like an emotional roller-coaster. The situation with the parasite, when she knew, for the first time, that a life was lost by her hands using the plutonium to defeat him, becoming Mon-El's mentor, being captured by Cadmus, finding Jeremiah and leaving him behind, discovering that, like her mother, her father wasn't who she had imagined. In lunch time, she went to the park. She wanted to walk. Slowly, no hurry, like ordinary people and, like ordinary people she stepped up when noticing an old man in front of her trying to balance his purchases.
"Let me help you." She offered, already handing him the bag. The man accepted willingly at the same time the girl caught the apples that almost felt to the ground. They sat down on the closest bench.
"Thank you. I think I bought more than I can handle."
"If you pack it a little bit it's going to fit. May I?"
The man smiled accepting her offer.
"Perfect!" He concluded. "Without a doubt, you do it much better than me."
"Oh, it was nothing."
"Ah! You saved me from an embarrassing situation." he took two apples inside the bag giving one to the girl and keeping the other. "For Celtics, apples were a symbol of immortality and spirituality. So, as a sign of my gratitude, my wish is that your spirit becomes immortal."
"Thank you, but let me return the kindness of the gift." Kara opened the paper bag that she brought giving the man half of sandwich and keeping the other half. "I think it doesn't mean anything, but I'd like you to accept it."
"You're wrong. It has a precious meaning. Share. By the way, people call me Doctor. Doc."
"Are you a medical doctor?"
"No. I just like to fix things, and they gave me that nickname when I was a boy. But only friends call me like this." he winked, and she smiled.
"Kara, my name is Kara."
"You don't usually come here, do you?"
"Nope."
"I suggest you come more often. It's an excellent place to get some fresh air."
"Good idea!"
The young woman and the man stayed there for several minutes eating and enjoying the soft breeze until he got up.
"I have to go. My bus should be arriving soon."
"I'm going to help you." Kara followed him to the bus stop.
"Nice to meet you, Kara. I hope to see you soon."
"Me too, Doc. Me too."
The day after, Kara came back to the park, and the day after that, and the day after, until she finally met her new friend again.
"Good morning, Doc!" she greeted him. "No bags today?"
"Good morning, Kara!" he opened the paper bag. "Only apples. And look! I brought two."
"What a coincidence, isn't it?" she replied. "Because I have two sandwiches."
Since then whenever possible, in lunchtime, the girl walked around the park looking for the man and he seemed to do the same, and they met each other frequently. Usually, called for DEO or CatCO, Kara stayed just for a while, or she tried to stop by at least to say 'hi.'
When with her unexpected friend, Kara didn't have the weight of the world that she felt most of the time on her shoulders, Supergirl didn't exist and having super powers didn't mean anything.
She took lattes, doughnuts, sandwiches or at least chocolates to their meetings. He took fruits, nuts, a small thermos bottle with tea and sometimes even salad.
"This is not food, Doc." laughing she pretended to complain.
"I'll teach you to eat properly."
"And I'll teach you to eat junk food."
"It's fair. Give me a doughnut, and I give you a lettuce."
Usually, they just seated on the bench, walked around or went to the street market near the park, where Doctor showed his knowledge choosing fresh food.
"Doc, the scar on your arm, how did you get it?" Kara asked.
"This one?"
"Yes."
The man laughed. "Actually; it's a very embarrassing story."
"Tell me."
"Let's make a deal. First, you tell me about the scar on your forehead."
"No big deal. I was playing with my aunt, running around the bedroom, I fell and pow... forehead against the corner of the table."
"Ouch! My turn."
Doc thought for a while before taking a trip down memory lane.
"I was about eleven, twelve years old... no, ten. A neighbor had a garden. He was a grumpy man. Some boys called my two brothers and me to take some apples. We didn't have anything to do so the adventure seemed to be interesting. Of course, if my father knew, he would use the belt in all of us."
"Was he a strict dad?"
"He pretended to be. He always tried to be careful and hit more the armchair than us. And my mother was always our refuge." smiling he stopped for a while. He didn't have recalled this for a long time, and he was happy for having this opportunity. "Anyway, we went to the orchard, jumped the fence and when we were going down the tree, we saw four huge dogs coming to us, followed by the owner of the property, that had a salt shotgun."
"Salt shotgun?"
"As the name says, it fires rock salt instead of bullets. Very painful. Anyway, I took a shot just behind my... you know where."
"You're kidding!" Kara laughed heartily, "Then what?"
"It burned a lot, and I had a hole in my pants, the dogs still running behind us. When we arrived at the wire fence, I don't know how I jumped. Only then, on the way back home, I noticed the wound on my arm. I had some stitches, patch in the pants and some good slaps in the behind. My father took my brothers and me to the property, and we had to apologize, besides offering our services for one week, to pay the damage of the apples that we dropped."
"Go on."
"Well, we spent some time in the garden, and the owner was very generous. Every day we went back home with a bag of apples, my mother did delicious applesauce, jams, pies and we loved it. Do you like apple pie, Kara?"
"I love pies, potstickers, pizza, ice cream. Well, I love food. You know that."
"I surely do," he laughed.
When they met each other, they shared the joy and happiness of small and extraordinary moments.
"Are you listening to the saxophone, Kara?"
"Yes. It's the guy that is always near the park gateway playing for some money."
Doc got up holding out a hand for the girl.
"Dance with me young lady?"
"Here?" she smiled.
"Why not? Technically you can consider it a date. We have food, good music, dance floor and excellent company. What do you say?"
"I say, 'as you wish', Doc." she got up and took his hand.
"'As you wish', Kara." (*)
Ignoring the people that passed by them, Doc and Kara danced hearing the sound of the distant music.
They didn't know almost anything about each other; they didn't know their surnames, they didn't speak about problems, and they didn't try to find solutions for them. They told stories, they read, they taught, and they learned together. Doc liked poetry. Kara loved the stars. He liked jazz and classic movies; Kara liked romantic music and films. They talked about everything and nothing. They both felt to be in another world. And in that world sadness or tears didn't exist because there, only Doc and Kara existed.
Kara went to the park, but Doc wasn't there. She came back the next day waiting alone on the bench and once again he didn't come, nor the other day, nor in the other, nor in the other. Rain or shine she always came back looking for him. Two weeks later she walked to the bus stop and asked the bus driver to take her to where her friend always got off. For the next three days, she wandered around hoping to find something. In the fourth day, already very discouraged she heard somebody calling her name.
"Kara?"
The girl turned around while a middle aged man came towards her.
"How do you know my name?"
"I think we have a mutual friend. My name is Wilson, and I manage a shelter near here."
They shook hands, and he noticed Kara's confused look.
"If you come with me I'll tell you everything."
They walked for two blocks until they got to an old building behind the main street. Kara observed the people.
"This is a reception center. Many of those people have jobs, but they can't afford a place to live, then they come here to sleep until they can establish themselves. We also have technical courses, bank food; we try to help as much as we can." They got in a small and very simple office. Three chairs, a table and a steel cabinet.
"Doc was a volunteer here. He was very sick, and he knew it. Then weeks ago his health condition worsened, and he didn't make it. It was very fast."
The news hit Kara very hard, and she just remained in silence trying to assimilate what she had just heard.
"You asked me how I knew who you are." the man opened a drawer from where he took a small framework that he gave to the girl. Kara felt the knot in her throat pressing tighter when she saw the beautiful and detailed pencil drawing framed with recycled wood. An old man and a young lady sat down on a bench in National City Park. Their private world.
"Did he do it?" Kara could hardly articulate the words.
"Yes. And he also asked me to give it to the lady of the drawing if she arrived here. And that's why I knew your name." He said handing her a letter.
She took the envelope the man gave her, slowly caressing the white paper where her name was carefully written. She stopped for a while. Everything was so unexpected. She finally opened and read.
"For instance, if you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three. The closer it gets to four, the happier I'll feel. By four I'll be excited and worried; I'll discover what it costs to be happy! (Saint-Exupéry)"
The young woman gave a faint smile while her tears wetted the paper. She felt exactly like that when she went to the park.
"If you want to ask anything about him I'll be glad to tell you."
"Thank you, but there is nothing that I need to know." she was just going out when she stopped "Yes, there is just one thing I need to know. Where is he?"
Kara took an apple and put it in the tombstone.
"One day I'll meet you in the Rao's light, my dear friend."
Author's note:
(*) As usual, I love references, so here another one: "As you wish" means "I love you". The Princess Bride (Directed by Rob Reiner, 1987)
"That's all folks."
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