"Pass! Pass!"
"Over here! Kick the ball!"
A young man with brown hair sat on a bench before a pristine park.
Flowers grew amidst the grass, children played to their glee.
He reached out with his mind and watched as they slowed down and became downcast, then sped up in frantic joy.
Morning sunlight delicately rained through the gaps of the lush leaves above him.
Embraced by the warmth of the sun, he laid back on the wooden bench and closed his eyes.
'What a great place.'
In the northern district lay a resplendent park at a spot that lay just outside the sky of smog. While Mark would have been jealous that such a luxury only belonged to the rich, he changed his mind after having come a few times himself.
Less visitors meant a cleaner, more peaceful place. And that was the greatest allure this park had.
His mind buzzed with relaxation- the sun seemingly having set a sleeping spell on him.
Thoughts scattered and blew away with the wind…
'Hm?'
Two delicate hands gently placed themselves on his shoulder. They began to rub and massage in a relaxing fashion.
Opening his eyes, he saw the radiant rays of the sun fall onto an alluring woman, illuminating her with a tantalizing hue.
She smirked.
"You sure like this place, having come here so early."
Mark looked at the stunning brunette, not knowing whether to be happy or annoyed with her sudden interruption.
It had been a few weeks, maybe months since Mark had started living at her house in the northern district.
And while being with the brunette was always a delight, it was just as tiring to get dragged around the city in her seemingly relentless pursuit of adventure.
He sighed.
"It's too early to be dealing with you. Spare me your mischief for a bit."
She lightly chuckled, its melody flowing with the wind and into his ears.
How nice the breeze was under this sunny sky.
"If you ever want to rest, just tell me. I'll make sure to provide you the most comfortable places."
Mark raised one brow.
"And where would that be?"
She stopped massaging his shoulders and sat down next to him.
"Guess~"
The brunette threw him a wink.
'Not this again.'
The past few days, she had been going on about using her lap as a pillow. And while the offer was slightly appealing, it felt weird nevertheless.
Mark closed his eyes once more, trying to enjoy the warm sunlight.
"Let's not do that. Also, what am I calling you today?"
His shoulders loosened just as an arm wrapped around his back.
"It's up to you."
He slightly squirmed.
'How lazy.'
She had been making him come up with names recently.
While he had no problem with that, it was still weird to forget about the things he created.
Her ability truly is unrivaled in potency.
"Then… How about Clara?"
Mark might as well stick to names that start with a 'c'. After all, it is what she does… right?
He felt himself get gently pulled.
"Sounds good!"
Clara now held him in a delicate embrace. While he wanted to leave, there was no energy nor point to try and get out.
Besides, now he had something soft to rest his head on. A much better improvement from the rigid wooden bench.
So, in a homely hug, Mark slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
The sun continued on its relentless journey.
The wind blew with unrestricted freedom.
The children played to their unbridled elation.
And eventually, Mark stirred.
He was welcomed by the sensation of mellow light weightlessly pressing down on his eyelids.
That, and the sensation of having his hair stroked, along with the feeling of lying upward on the bench.
His eyes fluttered open, meeting two peach pearls that blocked a bit of the sky.
Mark felt his eye twitch.
"Goddamn it C… what was it again?"
He rose to a sitting position while she smiled, regret seemingly lingering on the precipice of her lips.
"It's Clara."
Mark yawned while rubbing some crust from his eyelids.
"Right."
He honestly didn't know.
Looking around, he saw the kids still playing while the sun looked to be relatively in the same place. It seems he wasn't out for too long, or he could have slept for a whole day, but Mark was inclined to believe the former.
He yawned once more and glanced at Clara.
"Was there something you wanted to do today?"
She nodded.
"There's this place I wanted to try out. It's not too far from here and apparently the food is good."
Mark tilted his head
"Who did you hear that from?"
Clara rose and stretched a bit. Mark found himself slightly distracted by her movements before he pulled his eyes away.
"One of my friends from university."
She extended her hand and Mark took hold of it as he pulled up from the bench.
"Sounds good, let's go!"
After all, he wasn't the one paying.
No matter what, the policy of free food remained upright!
They both departed under the shining blue sky- an accompanying warm breeze following in their wake.
Soon enough, Mark stood before a modest establishment.
To his relief, they were still beyond the barrier of smog with the sun lighting the place in a welcoming hue.
As if expecting such an environment, the structure and design of the building seemed tailored to the genial radiance that the sun brought to it.
They both entered, where Mark was surprised to see that the place doubled as both a cafe and a sandwich shop.
He ordered a mortadella and a cappuccino, not knowing what either of the two meant.
All he knew is that they both sounded pretty cool!
Perhaps one of the things he enjoyed most about wandering with the brunette is that he discovered new places like these, constantly widening his perspective.
Never before would he have been able to do such things.
After receiving their orders, the two sat outside.
The meal seemed enchanted by a solar splendor.
Taking a sip of the drink, he was taken back by its creamy texture. His idea of coffee was of a black liquid filth that tasted bitter and downright horrid. But this seemed almost like a treat in comparison to that sludge.
'Good stuff!'
He looked over at Clara, who had already began to feast.
"Your friend has good taste."
She smiled in return.
"I know right! Leave it to her unending appetite to find a place like this."
While she spoke, Mark noticed a few crumbs dropping from her face onto her clothes.
The slight slightly irked him, so he picked up his napkin and reached over the table to wipe her.
"You have stuff on your face."
The brunette seemed slightly taken aback by his sudden action.
"Thanks."
He smiled.
"No problem. By the way, you never told my about your university."
Clara took a sip of her drink before setting it back down. Wistfully looking at the milky-white beverage.
"I mostly focused on psychology. It seemed the most related to my ability."
Mark's eyes lit up.
"Same here! It really is an interesting field…"
They slowly grew enamored in yet another of their many conversations.
Any onlookers would have seen these young adults and thought of them as a couple fated by the stars. The two simply seemed to have an invisible yet passionate synergy, unobstructed by anything else.
Mark knew otherwise.
While the brunette had a natural allure, he couldn't reciprocate that himself. It seemed as if he would only be able to keep up with her by constantly using his ability. Which in itself was quite a draining feat.
Nevertheless, he always found himself enjoying her company no matter the place or time.
It was simply a pleasure to be with her, and he hoped she felt the same.
Time flew by as the two kept each other company, slightly reminding Mark of how various groups that entered his bar seemed to make hours shrink into seconds with the way they occupied themselves.
So before he knew it, his plate and mug had been empty with his sandwich and cappuccino seemingly having disappeared into thin air.
The sudden revelation took him out of his short reverie.
'Shoot, what were we talking about again?'
He looked at the brunette who returned with a questioning glance of her own.
Mark simply shrugged befor looking up at the sky.
"We've stayed here long enough, I need to start heading to work."
The sun seemed to have started to decline, right after having reached its zenith.
Clara nodded.
Then suddenly she stretched her arm.
"Wait!"
Mark paused and watched as she grabbed her spoon.
She brought it to his face and gently scraped it.
"There's some cream."
Then he watched as the brunette brought the spoon to her mouth with joy written across her face.
It was a stunning sight.
He looked up at the sky.
The heavens seemed everlastingly radiant.