It was the middle of the summer but the wind rattled the hairs on the nape of my neck. I enjoyed sitting on the swings during the evening time. As interaction was never in my best interest, I found pleasure in the intrigue that strangers manifested in the normalcy that is nature. The park hosted many on this particular evening, faces with traces of times and places. Made you wonder, made you curios, made you paranoid. Or at least it made me paranoid.
A child with glee bouncing off her cheeks came tumbling towards me, there was snot bubbling out of her nose and her hands were stained with dirt. I beckoned her closer with the most welcoming smile I could muster then swung forward, stretched my feet out and kicked her right in the face.
The mortification that complimented her reddened face was priceless. She looked as if she wasn't sure if she was supposed to cry or ask me why I did it. Then came the screaming, i'd grown to like the sound of other's screaming. Screaming held so much emotion. My mother screamed pretty often. I'd try to reciprocate since I realized it was her normal way of communicating but I found it so tiring. She fell to the grass beneath her, tears plastering her hair to her face as her snot doubled and the sobbing tripled. Still, It took a couple verses worth of wailing before the adults abandoned their phones and took notice.
People always see stuff, but no one says anything, no one takes the initiative. Humans are like that, I figured. When I was three, I remember distinctly seeing a guy strategically remove my mom's purse from her bag. I got a good look at his face and everything. He had a scar beneath his eye and a missing ear. I could've done more to help her when she freaked out thinking she lost it. But at the time I didn't see how it would benefit me, helping her find her purse. I was craving mac and cheese and wanted to go home. I figured all humans were like that.
I guess I could've just told the kid not to touch me, or just walked away. But then I wouldn't have benefited from the swarm of human reaction that took place before me. They tried talking to her but she was battling for air and coughing and screaming and discarding of a lung, basking in the attention she got. To sweeten the tea even greater there were three trickles of blood that left her almost equally Rudolph inspired nose. Of course the panic around her skyrocketed, that tiny red speckle followed by a few minuscule streams led to a hefty run by a hefty lady who was sweating severely at the pits. If only she'd fall, I'd become a diabetic.
"I hope she's okay" a lanky guy with a rusty beard said looking on at the jiggling lady.
"So do I" another said.
"Did you see what happened?" curious beard asked.
I decided to take my leave then because confrontation wasn't on my agenda today and the person with the most time to waste would surely pop up, confess and inconvenience my peaceful evening.
"I saw you" as expected, I'm a prophet.
"I don't care" I said.
"But you should because i'm gonna tell" she appeared before me, an inconvenience sporting red shorts and a smirk.
Her back was turned to the street as I crossed the road. I was hoping for a car. It'd be ideal to trip her seconds before it hit and run off claiming panic.
"I'm gonna tell" she repeated.
"I'm going home" I stated simply.
But then she started doing that obscene thing where you don't let the person standing before you pass by. I moved to the left and so did she, I moved to the right and so did she. I tried to push her but she was stronger and taller which I hadn't noticed until I was feeding on asphalt.
"You should apologize to that little girl!" she kept yelling, and I was insulted.
How dare she touch me? Who provided her with the audacity to put me in such a vulnerable position? I wriggled and struggled, but my puny muscle deficient body put me at a disadvantage.
"Apologize!" She pressed harder.
"I have no reason to" I sputtered, and she laughed like I'd been tampering with her funny bone.
"You kicked a kid in the face!"
But much as I anticipated there was a car reversing out of its parking spot and it all went uphill from there. She got up quick and I laid there. I played bait. When she looked back she was drenched in fright, she came running back into the street and I felt triumph brewing in my knees. She grabbed my shirt trying to pull me up and I reached for her hand, hauling her down.
I practically flew off seconds before the car attempted to stop but failed right on her back. She skidded forward, and rolled somewhat, pretty dramatic for an accident that didn't end in death.
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