Him.

Chapter II

"Haya?"

"Yes?" She said, pulling around a bag with her, one that she looked ready to leave with.

"I'm going to go for a walk, alright?" He asked her for some asinine reason. It was his flat, it wasn't as if he needed her permission.

"Sure... When you come back I shall most probably be leaving." Her face was melancholy, "I hope you enjoy the weather, it is very nice."

Erik left after he said his salutations and immediately headed for the park. It was a neutral area he'd always enjoyed, and there was nothing there that reminded him of anything. Just a few lonely days during the winter filled his mind as he paced through the rather kind weather.

Erik took to watching his feet, his pristine shoes waltzing in front of him and keeping his steps quiet. He was so focused that when he saw the skirts of a woman, it was too late to stop from running into the poor girl.

"Oh, My!" The girl said and pulled herself up from the ground a little, looking at Erik with a sloppy grin.

"I'm sorry, Mademoiselle, I wasn't watching where I was going."

Erik brushed himself off and fully lifted the girl from the walkway, helping her gain her balance. He was mortified she would soon be scared out of her mind, as human contact was not what he'd planned. Then again, she hadn't run yet.

"Thank you for that..." She offered her hand and reached for his name.

"Erik Destler. You are?" He asked her and kissed her hand, noticing she was alone as he glanced around them both. His eyebrows were furrowed, and she seemed to giggle at his confusion. Apparently his mask and gangly frame caused her no discomfort.

"My name is Philippa."

Erik noticed the few gray strands in her hair, but that didn't mean she wasn't pretty. Probably encroaching her forties, Erik could also see that she was far more age appropriate than Haya was. And then he scorned himself for thinking of Philippa that way and thinking of Haya at all.

"I came from your way, but would you mind if I went back... With you?" She asked, pushing a stray piece of her blonde and silver hair behind her ear.

"Surely," Erik said with a grin, offering her his arm,

She wasn't very short, and he could see why not many men had picked her from the bunch. Philippa was only a few inches shorter than him, and he knew well she was wearing flat shoes. Her long hair was beautifully threaded into an up-do that made her look younger, actually, and Erik liked the look of her green eyes. He hated to say it, but she was attractive to him.

"So what brought you to the park?" Philippa asked him.

He looked at her with a hollow laugh and replied gently, "Lots of things on the mind, not enough space in my flat to get rid of them. I came to walk it all off," he said.

"That's better than drinking, I guess."

"Far better," Erik agreed, liking the blush arising to her cheeks.

"This seems rather forward, but what is your age?" She inquired.

"Ah," Erik said and looked down to the ground, "that question. Why don't you guess?"