Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

When we arrive at the park Rachel smiles and asks

"When did you come here? How did you meet your wife?

My mind easily slips back to the day I met her. Even my eyes sparkle at the mere thought of her. I speak easily

"I met her at the airport. She was behind me in line waiting to go home to New York. I was on my way home to Ohio. Our flight got delayed and we wound up sitting in the coffee bar just talking until our plane was ready."

I stop a moment and look around the park. Despite the anger and sadness of the world around us, this park remains a place of peace. It's placid lake holds the colors of the burning sky. The tress sway gently in the strong winds. A mighty pine which I climbed many times, stays strong and hardly moves. I make my way to the pine and find at its base the rock with her name on it. Rachel is looking on from behind me. She startled me with her speaking because in the moment, I only saw my wife.

"Why not carve your initials in the tree like so many others?"

"Rachel and I are big environmentalists. Carving into a tree is a big no no."

I laugh as I recall painting the rock and placing it there. In truth I'm surprised it is still there after all these years. A strong winds shakes the pine and a pine cone falls upon my head. It reminds me of those times we had pine cone fights. Then we'd paint them and give them away.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted. Onto the story. After a few months of talking back and forth long distance and seeing each other on multiple occasions, we decided to get together. I quit my job and moved to New York to be with her. Make a long story short, we were married a year later. Happily over 15 years. Then cancer took her from me."

Rachel lays her hand on my shoulder as I realize I'm leaning on the pine quite heavily. We move to sit on a bench by the calm lake. It is growing darker and the breeze is cooler as we sit there. She says nothing. The night fully comes and the stars shatter the overwhelming darkness. Rachel leans close and touches my leg. She whispers

"Anthony, why don't we go to your home and get out of the cold. Dawn is a long ways off."

I nod, hardly thinking as we stand and head towards the house I shared with my wife. All the while thinking

"It's the end of the world, what am I doing?"