Daisy in a Meadow

23 - Park

Tiny snowflakes sprinkled over my curly hair. It was the first snowfall of the season, and everyone in town was certainly enjoying the scene.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't have anything to worry about—no assignment, no shift at the diner, no electricity bill to pay, nothing of the sort. Quietly sitting on a lonesome park bench, I observed the people around me for a moment. A group of children with red cheeks were making snow angels on the hill. A married couple strolled through the park with linked arms, smiling and giggling amongst one another. A father was pushing his daughter on the swing, and the daughter, no older than the age of five, was laughing and screaming at her father to push her harder.

I gave the father and daughter a bittersweet smile, as I was reminded of what could've been. It was sad to think I'd never gotten to experience that.

Just as I was getting engrossed in my thoughts, a pair of children hastily approached me. It was a little boy and a little girl. They both had dirty blond hair, and they looked quite young. I briefly wondered what they were doing all alone, without a parent or guardian with them.

"E-Excuse me miss," spoke the little girl, stammering as tears streamed down her face. "Could you help us?"

My eyes widened at the clearly distressed child. "Of course, what's wrong?"

The boy shyly tugged on the girl's jacket sleeve. "We're not supposed to talk to strangers," he whispered, peering at me with mistrusting brown eyes.

Those dark eyes of his felt oddly familiar, although I wasn't sure why.

Nonetheless, the little girl ignored the boy and spoke to me in a frantic tone. "Our brother took us to the park, but we can't find him and now we're lost!"

"Oh goodness, I'll help you guys find him," I got up at once. "What does he look like?"

"He's really tall and he has messy brown hair. Mommy always tells him to comb it, but he never listens," she innocently replied.

I chuckled. "Okay, let's go look for him."

I took both of their hands and we began to search through the park. However, our search proved futile, as we were unable to find their older brother. The children were getting scared, I was getting nervous, and we were all getting cold—especially me. I was only wearing a thin sweater, as I wasn't able to afford a proper winter jacket.

"Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Daisy. What are your names?" I asked the pair of youngsters, trying to distract them.

"I'm Alex," the girl beamed up at me, revealing a pair of missing teeth. "And this is my brother, Rocky."

"Aww, such lovely names," I smiled back at her. "Are you guys twins?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Alex gasped.

"You look nearly identical. How old are you two?"

"We're both eight years old, but Rocky's older," Alex sounded a bit sad.

"Only by eight minutes," Rocky quietly whispered. When I glanced at him, he blushed and turned away.

"That's awesome," I smiled. "I'm seventeen."

"Cool, that's the same age as our brother!" exclaimed Alex.

"Really? What's his name? Maybe I know him."

Just as Alex opened her mouth, a shout caused all three of us to turn around.

"Rocky! Alex!" a guy shouted.

My heart skipped a beat, for I could recognize that voice from a mile away.

"There you little demons are," he panted, grasping the pair in a tight hug. As the twins giggled, he gave them a scolding look. "I told you guys not to wander off."