Chapter 3

      The sun was bright in his eyes. Erick winced and winked at the harsh light. He sat up and stretched. He took a look around, as if he had no idea of where he was. "Here, now. In this room." Shards of dream-like memory pierced his heart. He stood and gathered clothes from the floor and threw them on. Sitting back on his bed, he leaned down to slid his shoes on his feet. An odd thought invaded his mind. "Shoes. They serve a big purpose. To protect, Yet all we do is plant their faces into the earth over and over again. Well, everything has a purpose, I suppose. Some of us just get our faces in the dirt. People like me." He raised his head and took a look at his bedroom door. "I need to get out of here before they wake." It was Sunday, and both his parents would be home. Much like eating at a table with them, staying in a house with them all day long would be the end of him. He stood and walked out his room, past the kitchen, past the front door and now he stood outside in the early morning. He closed his eyes as a soft breeze grazed his face. It was soft, it was cool and comforting. "This is what happy feels like." At the thought of being "happy" his mind shut down and screamed, "HAPPY! SHUT THE F**K UP! PURPOSE? WHAT PURPOSE? YOUR SHOE HAS PURPOSE, BUT YOU DON'T!" Pain pulsed through his body. "What was i thinking?" 

      Erick had no problem figuring out where he was going to go. The park was close by and he knew his bench would be waiting on him like the loyal friend it was. Friend. It seemed absurd, yes. An inanimate object a friend? Yes, that what it was. Not like a blanky or a teddy bear when you're a child, but a true friend. Something that's always there for him. It was a sad concept. He had to consider those objects his friends because he had nothing else. Keeping his head down, he stared down at his feet and thought about his shoes. Looking back up, he saw the park and, behold, his dearest friend. he hurried his pace, following the small sidewalk and approached the bench and had a seat. "Hello, bench," he says, laughing at himself. His smile slowly disappeared as he looked ahead of himself. "And......hello swingset."The lonely swings. Everything here was as it usually was. Quiet. Lonely. The way he always felt in his heart. He liked the quiet here. Soon, it be time for the busy traffic to run along the street not to far from where he sat. Church goers. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in a church. Not that he didn't believe in God or anything, his family just wasn't the church going type. The entire congregation would probably go into cardiac arrest if they saw them in church anyway. 

      Erick heard the wind blowing through the nearby trees and he thought about how he had felt this morning when he first felt the breeze. A completely opposite thought punched him in the gut and he looked straight down at the ground. He saw his shoes. "That feeling this morning? Don't think about it again. Shoes, remember?" He looked back up to the swingset. "I'll have a walk around." Erick stood on the sidewalk and began his walk around the park. The walkway went all the way around. It was very scenic this time of the season. The trees were all tall and full. Squirrels were running about. Erick took his time on the walk. Taking everything in. While he was in the park, he didn't look down. He would keep his head up. Erick was safe here. 

      It was beautiful and peaceful all around. He often wondered why more people didn't visit the park. Then again, if more people were here he'd have to find a new spot. Another odd thing, he never saw a groundskeeper or landscaper. Maybe this place was naturally beautiful. He began making his way around the lonely swingset in the middle of the park. Odd sorrow filled in his heart. "I know how you feel," he says to himself. Since the place wasn't very large, he made his way back to his seat without to much time passing by, but by the time he had come back to the bench, church goer cars were passing up and down the nearby street. He looked out over the street to watch them pass. Cars filled with happy families. Families that go to baseball games and church, families that come home and have a home-cooked meal in a safe house. Erick's mind, once again, was filled with dark clouds and terrible memories of the life he lived. The cold feeling slid up his spin and wrapped it's hands around Erick's throat. It leaned in a whispered a most awful idea into his ear. "Hey, Erick, buddy! Just walk into traffic." He thought about it for a few minutes that seemed like hours. A different feeling began to fill his body. Fear. He then realized he wasn't brave enough to take the final step of his life, yet it didn's stop him from wondering, "How could i muster such heart?"

Reviews

[falling_toxic_rain]

Different word play.
Erik has an ibterstubg perspective, taking in everything that everyone else doesnt.
He seems to be notice everythings meaning, admire and intake every little detail.
The shoe part shows how he just so desperately, it seems, that he us searching for self meaning, an objective, motive in life.
Once again he is faced with an easy way out and doesn't take it. Another cliff hanger.
Nice write