Chapter 4

            One night, on his exercise route near his house, Kris sees a weird person. The person is seating on a bench at the park that he usually run for exercising. The person is covered with fallen leaves in the autumn. The person does not bother to take the leaves out, so he or she is looked like a stone covered with dead leaves. While he looks at the person, he does not see the person move at all.

Is the person dead? He wonders. He comes closer and sees that there were few empty shochu wine bottles near the person. Kris worries that the person might pass out, so he calls that person to wake up. When he sees the person’s face, he recognizes the person is the girl whom he tries to avoid from last meeting. She is wearing few jackets to avoid the cold of last few day of autumn. Her face is red caused by wine or just the coldness.

Kris asks,

“ what the heck are you here for at this moment? Do you not work today? And why are you so drunk?”

She opens her tired eyes, and she says with broken voice,

“ Is it matter for me to come here to remember my happy moment from my childhood few times per year. I remember clearly that my dad usually took my mom and me to come here because my mom could not go anywhere far from the hospital. Ha, my dad packed us some rice balls and kimpack. We were seating at this same bench and happily eating our lunch. My mom even sung some joyful songs for us. We were smiling the whole time when we were together. Then, my mom came back to the hospital, and my father and I went home. Because of my mom’s sickness, we only did the picnic for few times per year, but it was the happiest moment in my life. Why did they have to die?”

Tears are falling down from her eyes, but she wipes them immediately. She laughs loudly like nothing she says matter. She even sings quietly, stands up, throws the bottles in the trash can, and walk away without a word. Kris is stunned with his friend feelings, so she does have feeling. She does want to have a happy family. She does look back to her past. Most at all, she does feel lonely.