What happened after 'Papertowns'.
~1~
"...that's...it."
I blinked. Once. Twice. I had a stinging in my eyes, and my throat felt raw from all the talking. I wondered what time it was. Five? Six? During my story, I somehow had completely lost track of time. I took a swig from the almost still full bottle of water and took in the scenery around me.
The sun over Central Park had started to set a while ago, painting the autumn leaves on the trees around us in bright colors. Overhead, crows flew all over the sky, on their way to the south to find a winter habitat. Their screams sounded shrill in my ears after the silence that had greeted me from the girl that sat next to me on the now cool grass. She had pulled her knees up to her chest with her arms crossed above them and her chin resting on her forearms, which made her look a lot younger than twenty-six.
"Uhm..." I started, turning to her and realizing for the first time that there was a sparkle in her eyes that did not seem to originate from the stars overhead.
"Are you okay?"
Despite the fact that I was way out of my High School years, even with twenty-seven I seemed incapable of acting accordingly to men-women-relationship-etiquette. I blamed Ben, my best friend.
For a moment, Riley just stared at me, her blue eyes slightly watering, but her mind obviously
somewhere else. Then something snapped inside of her. She blinked and put on the kind of smile that got me every time I saw it.
"Of course I am, dumbo," she said, punching my shoulder. I'd probably have a bruise there later, I gathered.
"Oh, well," I said, flabbergasted. "I just thought...you know. You've let me talk for the past...what? Three hours? And now that I'm done, you're still quiet. It kinda freaked me out."
She laughed, throwing her head back. It was a full-on laugh, with her mouth wide open and the corners of it spread widely. Her long, dark blond her fell down on her back, swaying in the small breeze.
"You know I love to freak you out, Q," Riley replied, and the mention of my old nickname stung for no apparent reason. Or maybe there was a reason. Only one girl had ever called me that nickname. And I hadn't seen her for over eight years.
"Uhm...alright."
Another one of her contagious laughs.
"Okay, I'll stop teasing you now. It has gotten pretty late and I should head home soon anyways," she said, looking straight at me, and this time, her entire attention was with me, with this time and this place right in this second. She unfolded her arms and spread out her legs so that our feet touched. Then she put a hand on my thigh.
"First of all, thanks for sharing that story with me. I get that it wasn't easy remembering everything, or even thinking about it, and I feel honored you'd did it anyways, despite how hard it must've been for you."
I stared at her, only one thought in my head. How easy it had been remembering everything I had just told her about my childhood in Florida, and especially, my senior year at High School. Some things you never forget. Some people you never forget, no matter how hard you try.
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