Three Blonde Wishes

Chapter 17- Places we don't belong

Farris

Why do we usually find happiness in places we don't belong?

It was a chirpy morning. I was out with Adam in the city park. I regularly hung out with him in this park. I swung him on the swings gently but every time I went a little faster he would let out a funny giggle. I knew my boy was like me, he enjoyed taking risks and loved adventure. He then ran towards the slides and, his caretaker, Mrs.Susan accompanied him as he played. I sat on the bench that faced toward the slide and watched him play. He has not been keeping well lately and I saw how he had lost weight. But he smiled like the happiest kid in the world. It was his smile that kept me going. I smiled as I watched him play. Moments later, I noticed Aarzoo walking in my direction while looking at Adam. She smiled as she watched him play. She sat next to me on the bench and exhaled deeply.
'What are you doing here?' I asked her as I kept my face straight.
'I went to the office. Lawrence told me you were here with Adam and so I came here to see him' She spoke while still looking at Adam and smiling.
I moved my gaze away from her and looked at him too. Moments passed as we watched him play in the slides until he got back to the swings again.
'What are you thinking about?' She asked.
I raised both my eyebrows and smiled. 'Well, it's quite rare to find you so calm' she responded.
'I'm thinking about the day he was born' I replied.

'I remember how I rushed to take my wife to the hospital. My legs couldn't stop tapping the floor throughout. I waited outside the operation theatre. When the nurse said 'It's a little baby boy' I was on the ninth cloud. And the first time I held him in my arms I was on a cloud higher than the ninth. I knew that this boy was more precious than my own life. I'd use myself as a human shield to protect him from anything that tried harming him' I said as I smiled.
'He really is precious' She told me. And I nodded agreeing with her.
'She took her hand outside her pocket in a fist and opened her palm in front of me. 'Here' she said and I saw my button on her palm. 'Take it, it's yours'

'Get it stitched to your shirt'

'It's weird to see a well-dressed lawyer with a button missing' She added.
'How can you be so sure it's mine?' I asked her with a sarcastic smirk.
'I know it's yours' she said.

'It's not mine' I lied.
'You know, you're a very bad liar to be a lawyer' She responded and I chuckled.
I looked into her eyes and found her already looking into mine. 'I saw you that day' She said smiling. 'I remember; it was you' she added as she stopped smiling. We looked at each other until she handed the button to me.
'I know it was you, thank you for helping me that day' She said to me very politely. I nodded my head gesturing that it was okay. She then left me to myself on the bench alone and went to play with Adam. I looked at them for a while and opened my fist and looked at the button. I sighed as I recalled that day. 

The day I saw Aarzoo for the first time. It was a beautiful day. I was with my Adam in the city park like always. It's his favorite place to play. I had promised him a picnic that day and I was there with him when I got a call from Drevis. He had called to inform me about one of his friends from work who wanted to get a divorce. While I was speaking to him I noticed a girl sitting on the bench in the middle of nowhere. She looked like she had cried her eyes out. She was completely zoned out as she ignored every person who walked passed her. The moment I looked at her, my legs stopped walking and soon enough I almost stopped listening to what Drevis was talking about. My gaze was stuck on her as I instantly felt something unusual. It felt like she was known to me.

After talking for minutes 'Farris are you listening?' He called out to confirm if I was still on call.
'Yes-yes Drevis, go on' I lied
'So can I pass on your number to my friend?' He asked. 'Yes please do, I'll look into the matter' I told him still looking at her. I watched her while she remained still like a statue staring at the ground.
Eventually, I got back to my son as I promised to be with him the entire day. We had an amazing day as we played, had snacks, and read stories all day. It was post-dawn and I was taking Adam back to my car when he noticed someone. Without wasting a moment, he mumbled mom looking at someone and my neck couldn't resist but look in the direction he was looking at. It was the same girl. Still in the same place and in the same position. For someone with mental health like Adam, it was surprising to see him behave like he knew someone when he has difficulty recognizing the known. I was beyond shocked to hear him call someone mom as he has never done that so far.
'Mom!' Adam yelled again and this time his scream brought her back to reality. She looked around analyzing where she was. Mrs.Susan immediately grabbed him and picked him up preventing him from running toward a stranger. She stood up from the bench and by the looks of it, I could tell that she was not okay. I knew she was going to collapse on the road in the middle of nowhere. I walked behind to make sure she reaches safely to her destination. Suddenly she stopped walking, and l immediately knew I was right when I saw her lose balance and fall towards the ground. Somehow I was prepared for this and so I grabbed her just at the right time. I felt her lose body on mine. I held her by her shoulders while resting her back on my chest. It was the first time that I looked at her. She looked back at me with eyes full of tears before closing them. Just then a man approached us screaming 'Aarzoo'
I picked her up and took her home as the man guided the way. I notice the house was a mess as I stepped on scattered pieces of glass that were scattered on the floor and a liquid that was either tea or coffee stuck on my shoe. The consistency of it stated that it was spilled hours ago. When I placed her on the bed, the button of my shirt was tangled in the wool of her sweater. It got off before I could do something about it. Looking at her anyone could tell her blood pressure was low due to not eating for several hours. I told the man that, who seemed to be her husband. I walked out immediately upon realizing my son was waiting for me. I left without informing him as I thought it was not important to me at that point.