Eden (Re-write in Progress)

Chapter 2

 “…she’s here again. I’ve never– hey, are you listening to me? Saul?”

            “What?” Saul replied, only half paying attention to his friend Scott. Saul was kneeling down on the field untying his soccer shoes.  He didn’t look up at Scott, who continued to talk, “I said, that one girl is here again.  I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game where I didn’t see her.” Saul did not reply.  He finished untying his shoe and looked up.  He was startled to see Scott kneeling directly in front of him.  Scott’s dark brown eyes looked right at him.  He looked serious at first, but then a slight smirk emerged.  “You know,” he said, “you really need to get better at listening.  You’re lucky I’m patient.”  Saul smiled back and said, in a half-amused tone, “Alright, Scott, who are you talking about?”  Scott pointed discreetly at the stands.  Saul surveyed what was left of the once crowded audience.  It was only a few moments after his team had one the game, and the stands were only now starting to empty.  There were quite a few girls in the crowd, but it only took him a second to find the one Scott was talking about.

            He first noticed her a couple months ago at the first home game.  He happened to look into the bleachers at the same moment that the sun pierced the clouds and illuminated her; she was reading a book waiting for the game to begin.  The sun shone upon her hair, turning it a radiant gold.  It seemed to shimmer in a way that he felt privileged to witness.  She had been at every game since then.  Sometimes he couldn’t find her in the stands, but he would see her leaving, in the parking lot, or she would be seen sitting in the stands after almost everyone was gone.  She was doing that a lot as of late; she would just sit there and stare at the empty field.  Actually, it seemed to him that she was focusing on something beyond the field, something in the distance that he was not aware of.  The last rays of sunlight began to retreat behind the horizon and the bleachers were now almost empty.  When he looked to Scott again, Scott was standing next to him now, looking down.  Saul began to collect his things.  When he stood up, he looked back at the bleachers; they were now empty.  Everyone was either down on the field or making their way out to the parking lot.  She was gone.