Maple leaves announced the arrival of spring. Their vivid colors made me want to run naked through the streets in celebration of summer's end. But I contained myself, barely. I watched the leaves fall rustle on the tree, threatening to all fall down at once. That would cause mass demoralization of the surrounding trees. How could they compete with such a show?
Sitting on the park bench at noon was a rather amusing novelty to me. Usually I had my lunch in the office, but I was tired of seeing the same walls and ventured out. I tried to count the sparkles that danced across the water of the fountain that I was sitting by, but I kept losing count after 19 winks.
I was sipping the last of my coffee, when the wind suddenly whirled a bunch of leaves and debris into a mini tornado that died at my feet. A torn photograph caught my eye. The wind must have unearthed the picture, hidden under the weight of the leaves.
It was a sepia toned print. The smiling WWII soldier dated the picture. Someone had lost a memory. I flipped the photo over and tried to read a faded name scribbled in pencil. But I couldn't make out all the letters.
"What have you got, Miss?" A voice from behind asked.
"Oh, you startled me," I said, clutching the photo to my breast.
A young man, barely out of his teens was peeping over my shoulder. A shock of blonde highlighted hair fell across one eye. "Sorry," he apologized, sheepishly. A sparkle caught my eye as he spoke, "I saw the whirlwind dump its crap all over you. What a bummer! Then when you picked up that picture, I noticed it zapped your attention and I had to come peep it out."
He had a pierced tongue. The silver ball flashed with every syllable. To cover my silence, he continued, "Wow, do you mind if I look at it? Isn't that a soldier? He looks ancient, like my great-grandpa."
"I think it was taken sometime during WWII. Someone probably lost it somewhere and the wind's been tossing it from here to there."
"You're new. This your first visit to the park?" He asked.
"I work in gray building a block away and decided to have lunch in the park."