FIRST&  LAST

Suzy sat at the bench waiting and pondering, her phone vibrated on her lap and she flipped her phone open. It was a text from her boyfriend.

Sorry I’ll be a bit late; I’ll be there in a bit! I love you!

She smiled at her phone and closed it, placing it back onto her lap she looked out pass the busy road she smiled when her eyes lingered on a particular and familiar spot. It was a book store with a bright crimson bench in front of it. Standing up she checked her watch and walked towards the book store.

“It’s the same as it was before” she said to herself as she looked through the store window, turning around her eyes widened at the bench. “They re-painted this” she nodded seeing how no flakes of paint fell off. Sitting down she made herself comfortable and began to get lost in her memories.

Suzy always walked the same route to her university, she’d walk pass the old library, the café, the Laundromat and then later the bookstore that had a red bench in front of it. Every day she’d take this route but one day something changed, instead of walking in front of an empty bench she walked passed a man lying flat down with a newspaper covering his face.

She didn’t find it unusual at first, since the public was free to use the bench as a resting spot but what did become unusual was that she’d see him every day. Day after day he’d be in the same position, in the same clothes, unmoving. At one stage she thought he was dead, scared that she walked passed a corpse everyday she screamed.

The man on the bench shot up and looked at her. She widened her eyes and gave a sigh of relief. “Sorry… I thought you were dead…” she said slowly quietening at each word. He furrowed his eyebrows and gave a grunt. About to leave she bowed and stopped in her steps when she heard a fierce growl, looking at the flustered man she smiled.

“Here” she said as she pulled out her sandwich from her bag. “Take this as an apology for waking you up” she said sitting down beside him. The man took the food and gave her a bewildered look as he stood up and distanced himself away from her. Shoving his face with the sandwich he started to cough, Suzy shot up and pulled her water bottle out. “Ah, mister!” she said as she patted his back. “Drink this!” she said as she fed him the water.

He sighed in relief and slouched back into the bench. “Thanks for that” he muttered as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Suzy smiled but jumped up when she heard her cell ring.

“Suzy! Where are you?” a voice screamed from her cell.
“Ah um…” Suzy started to cough hysterically, “I think I’m sick” she said as she snapped her cell closed.

Turning around to the man she found him chuckling. “Woah, mister you look nice smiling” she said giving him the thumbs up. He stopped smiling and coughed awkwardly. The two sat at the bench in silence, they both just listened to the busy road with each other as company.

☓☓☓

Every day when Suzy walked she’d get excited, she’d make two sandwiches, one for herself and one for the man she didn’t know. Sometimes he would be sleeping in his position and sometimes he’d be wide awake waiting for her to walk on pass, if he was asleep she’d place the wrapped sandwich beside him with a bottle of water, and if he was awake she’d sit beside him and she’d watch him eat.

Weeks went on like this; she found out that he had run away from his house due to pressure from his family and that he was 23; two years older than herself and even though she didn’t know the man well; she felt as if she was tied with him. She had grown an attachment towards him, sometimes she’d tell him things even her friends didn’t know and he’d sit there listening.

One day he surprised her with a smile and a wave, her eyebrows perked up and she returned the smile. “Good morning mister!” she beamed. She heard him chuckled and sensed warmth surround her. When Suzy sat down listening to the busy road she finally realized something. She didn’t know his name yet.

Looking at him she tilted her head. “What do I call you mister?” his eyes widened and he pulled back a bit from the closeness of her face. “U-uh… L, just call me L” he said coughing and then resuming back to his food. Suzy nodded, “L is a lovely letter” she smiled.

He blushed and looked at her, why was she so kind to him even though he looked like this? Why did she approach him? Looking at the girl he gulped down his last bite.

“I might not be here for long” he started and he unscrewed the bottle cap. Suzy frowned and looked at him. “What? Where are you going?” she asked shocked. She knew he wasn’t going to always be at the one bench all the time, she knew he was going to leave sometime. L bit the inside of his mouth.

“I’m going to go back home… I think it’s time I apologized to my parents” he nodded. Suzy clenched her fists, “am I going to see you again?” she pressed. He looked at her and smiled, “of course”.

☓☓☓

The next day when Suzy walked to the bench she felt her heart drop. He wasn’t there where he was usually, he wasn’t there sleeping or waving at her. He was gone.

Looking around hoping to see a glimpse of him she frowned, tears formed in her eyes and she collapsed into the bench. “Idiot… How are we going to meet each other?” she cried out loud, “you don’t even know my name” she continued. Pulling the spare sandwich out, she threw it to the ground. “You’re an idiot L!” she screamed in her cries.

As she sobbed and wiped her tears away she felt a shadow cast above her. Not caring about who was about to comfort her she continued to cry in her hands, she felt someone place something on her lap and she looked down to see her sandwich. Still crying she picked it up and looked up to drop it again.

L stood there, well groomed, in a tie and suit. Wiping her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things dropped open. “L?” she questioned standing up. “God miss, you’re hysterical” he laughed. She frowned, her tears still dripping down her face.

Suzy snapped out of ponders and shook her head. Looking at her watch again she frowned. “Where is he?” she asked herself. She heard pants beside her and she looked up to see her boyfriend. “S-Sorry… I was getting these” he said as he lifted a bouqet of flowers up. She smiled and embraced him and he did the same.

Both now sitting on the bench he grabbed her hand and asked, “Suzy what were you doing here?” she let out a small giggle and patted the bench. “I was remembering the time when I first met you here Myungsoo” she smiled.