Enigma
Swings
“Where now?” I asked as we walked along the quiet streets.
He slipped his hand into mine as we walked, “Your wish is my command.” He smiled down at me and squeezed my hand.
I thought for a moment, watching the green grass sway in the breeze. “I actually would really like some tea.”
“Tea it is then.”
We walked along in companionable silence until we reached the café. David ordered while I went and sat in a cosy booth near one of the windows. I always like to sit beside a window – on a plane, in a car, on a train, in a café or restaurant. I just liked to watch what was happening on the other side.
“So, did you learn anything new at the hospital?” David asked as he sat opposite me, placing the two steaming cups on the table.
I rolled my eyes and wrapped my fingers around the warm ceramic. “Dr. Stepp droned endlessly about enzymes and how they are supposed to work, why I shouldn’t work and why she was so interested in me.” I grimaced and looked down at the brown liquid. “I just don’t understand why I need to go through all this. It’s been worked out that people like us are odd, why can’t they just leave it at that?” I looked up at him and shrugged.
“Because they are people,” David smirked. “Humans can’t leave anything alone. If there is something new then we have to know everything there is to know about it.” He lifted his tea to his lips and sipped at it. “Don’t you ever feel like that? Like you just have to know all about it?” He laughed quietly. “I know I feel that way sometimes.”
I wrinkled my nose and looked out the window as I thought. I honestly couldn’t remember a time when I had been insatiably curious. I just wasn’t that sort of person. I felt that if something works, it just does and we should leave it at that. I told David this and he pulled a face.
“But if we don’t know how something works, then how can you fix it if something goes wrong.” He paused and looked around the room as if searching for inspiration. “Say you found out you were dying because of who, what you are. Wouldn’t you want the doctors to know as much about you as possible so that they could find a way to stop you from dying?”
“Well,” I spoke slowly, “I guess.” I shrugged and drank some tea. “But I still just want to be left alone. Or at least not have to go to hospital quite as often. It would be nice to have a slightly more ‘normal’ life.” I laughed ruefully. “As close to normal as I can get.”
David grinned at me over his cup of tea. I looked out the window and saw people from my year at school walking around together, talking and laughing. I bit my lip and cocked my head to one side. No matter how many times I told myself they didn’t matter, I still wanted them to like me, to want me to be their friend.
David followed my gaze. “Friends of yours?”
I looked back at him and raised my eyebrows. “Never. They wouldn’t be seen dead with me.”
David frowned and set his cup down on the table. “Yeah, I know how you feel. But I have managed to make some good friends.”
“Not me,” I drained my cup and breathed deeply. “I’m too different for them.” I laughed at the irony. Everyone wanted to stand out and be an individual. But it was me, the true individual, who was outcast for not being normal enough.
David smiled at me and finished his tea. “Come on. I saw a park on the way here.” He held out his hand and I took it as I slid from the booth. “I don’t know about you, but I never got over my childhood obsession with swings.”
I laughed as we walked from the café and hurried to the park on the other side of the road. I grinned and completely forgot about the people from school as David pushed me down into the swing. He stood behind me and pushed. I laughed as the swing moved, slowly at first, but quickly gathering speed and height.
David stopped after a few minutes and sat on another swing. He quickly pushed himself up to the height that I was swinging and grinned over at me.
I laughed loudly again as the wind whistled past me, blowing my hair everywhere. And I had to admit to myself, this was the most fun I had had in a long time.
He slipped his hand into mine as we walked, “Your wish is my command.” He smiled down at me and squeezed my hand.
I thought for a moment, watching the green grass sway in the breeze. “I actually would really like some tea.”
“Tea it is then.”
We walked along in companionable silence until we reached the café. David ordered while I went and sat in a cosy booth near one of the windows. I always like to sit beside a window – on a plane, in a car, on a train, in a café or restaurant. I just liked to watch what was happening on the other side.
“So, did you learn anything new at the hospital?” David asked as he sat opposite me, placing the two steaming cups on the table.
I rolled my eyes and wrapped my fingers around the warm ceramic. “Dr. Stepp droned endlessly about enzymes and how they are supposed to work, why I shouldn’t work and why she was so interested in me.” I grimaced and looked down at the brown liquid. “I just don’t understand why I need to go through all this. It’s been worked out that people like us are odd, why can’t they just leave it at that?” I looked up at him and shrugged.
“Because they are people,” David smirked. “Humans can’t leave anything alone. If there is something new then we have to know everything there is to know about it.” He lifted his tea to his lips and sipped at it. “Don’t you ever feel like that? Like you just have to know all about it?” He laughed quietly. “I know I feel that way sometimes.”
I wrinkled my nose and looked out the window as I thought. I honestly couldn’t remember a time when I had been insatiably curious. I just wasn’t that sort of person. I felt that if something works, it just does and we should leave it at that. I told David this and he pulled a face.
“But if we don’t know how something works, then how can you fix it if something goes wrong.” He paused and looked around the room as if searching for inspiration. “Say you found out you were dying because of who, what you are. Wouldn’t you want the doctors to know as much about you as possible so that they could find a way to stop you from dying?”
“Well,” I spoke slowly, “I guess.” I shrugged and drank some tea. “But I still just want to be left alone. Or at least not have to go to hospital quite as often. It would be nice to have a slightly more ‘normal’ life.” I laughed ruefully. “As close to normal as I can get.”
David grinned at me over his cup of tea. I looked out the window and saw people from my year at school walking around together, talking and laughing. I bit my lip and cocked my head to one side. No matter how many times I told myself they didn’t matter, I still wanted them to like me, to want me to be their friend.
David followed my gaze. “Friends of yours?”
I looked back at him and raised my eyebrows. “Never. They wouldn’t be seen dead with me.”
David frowned and set his cup down on the table. “Yeah, I know how you feel. But I have managed to make some good friends.”
“Not me,” I drained my cup and breathed deeply. “I’m too different for them.” I laughed at the irony. Everyone wanted to stand out and be an individual. But it was me, the true individual, who was outcast for not being normal enough.
David smiled at me and finished his tea. “Come on. I saw a park on the way here.” He held out his hand and I took it as I slid from the booth. “I don’t know about you, but I never got over my childhood obsession with swings.”
I laughed as we walked from the café and hurried to the park on the other side of the road. I grinned and completely forgot about the people from school as David pushed me down into the swing. He stood behind me and pushed. I laughed as the swing moved, slowly at first, but quickly gathering speed and height.
David stopped after a few minutes and sat on another swing. He quickly pushed himself up to the height that I was swinging and grinned over at me.
I laughed loudly again as the wind whistled past me, blowing my hair everywhere. And I had to admit to myself, this was the most fun I had had in a long time.