Memories

Fifteen

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Tom sitting up a little straighter, putting on his glasses again and smiling bitterly. "Being a psychologist is hard sometimes. You're busy helping others, reaching out to them, listening and taking in whatever they have to say. And at the end of the day, no one remembers to ask if I'm okay.

"I needed someone to talk to, or just their presence would be enough. I didn't want to be alone with all my thoughts. You're my first patient to ever cared. That's why I called." Tom turned to me, flashing me a genuine smile, even if it was just a small one.

I smiled back, accepting his unspoken gratitude.

***

It's quite ironic how life works.

When we were young and full of life, there was nothing we couldn't do. We rushed to do everything we wanted and achieved all our goals, constantly worried over how little time we were left with in this world.

But as we aged, we slowed down. As our time ran out, we decided that taking our time to have a closer look at the things and people around us were much more important. And when you are old, with nothing left to excite you, and no people to look forward to meeting, surprisingly life started to seem really long. Time passed by so slowly, yet at the same time, the days went by faster than you could realize it.

Such is life.

"Oof!" I heard a yelp and felt something collide against me.

My body jerked up reflexively and I found a young boy who had tripped over my legs.

I got up from the bench, picked him up and placed him on my seat as I checked if he had any injuries. He turned out to be fine except for a few light scratches on his face.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" I asked, but there was no answer.

Even as I was patting off the dust and dirt off of him, he only stared at me quietly.

He was most likely a shy child. Kind of like Erik when he was younger. Except he was less curious, more anxious and wouldn't just let a stranger just talk to or help him if this happened when he was a child.

I expected the boy to run off soon since he didn't react much. But surprisingly, he stayed and smiled at me instead.

"Thank you." He said softly.

"You're welcome." I smiled back and ruffled his hair a little. What an adorable kid.

"Where's your parents?" I asked, since I couldn't possibly look after him for long.

He shook his head.

I arched an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

He nodded.

"Well then...shall we go look for them?" I got up from crouching on the ground but at the same time I hear heavy footsteps closing in. Glancing at the direction they were coming from, I saw a young couple running towards me.

They came to a stop in front of me -- still panting a little hard -- as their gazes went from me to the little boy. I took a step back, watching how the look in their eyes hardened as anger swept passed their faces for a brief moment before they sighed in relief. Their tensed shoulders dropped but their gazes on the little boy didn't.

"Zack, we told you to never run off on your own, didn't we?" The young lady reprimanded the little boy, Zack, with a frown.

Frustration and exhaustion. I understood that. Running around frantically like someone out of their mind with only one aim, one person to find. Mind filled with all the worst possible outcomes and then you found him. Relief floods you so suddenly that you just end up standing in defeat.