"This is disgusting."
Malani stood in the middle of what she assumed used to be a nice park beside the local lake. The whole place was completely trashed- graffiti was spray painted on the crumbling walls of tan old building; a wooden shed was toppled over, its wood moldy and decomposing; toilet paper was strewn everywhere, bits and pieces stuck in trees or wrapped around the small, rusty old jungle gym.
"It is a shame."
Malani heard glass crunch as a stranger stepped up behind her. She turned around to see an old man, his hair silver as a bullet, his face wrinkled, stooped over and leaning on a cane. His eyes held such a sadness that bore resemblance to the remorse of one who has lost something dear to him.
"I remember what this park used to be," he closed his eyes in memory. His voice shook, but whether from age or grief Malani could not tell. "The lake behind us, the one that's a muck yellow color, used to be such a radiant blue! And those rusty poles over there, they used to be swings. I remember when my whole family would come here for an afternoon picnic. Children laughing and playing all around us, the sun on my skin, the fresh breeze from the lake in my hair." There was a longing in his voice as he sighed. "Nothing but sweet memories of the past. No one cares for the park anymore. The children grew up to be adults who couldn't be bothered to take their children to the park. Instead lonesome teenagers destroyed the place." He turned to look up at the gray clouds above them. "If only it could go back to the way it was before."
"W-why doesn't anyone do anything?" Malani asked tentatively.
He laughed hoarsely. "A good question with no good answer. These days no one cares about what they do or how they treat their world. And my time here on this earth is almost up," the bitterness in his voice was apparent. Then he turned to me and his voice took a lighter tone. "But maybe it's not too late for you, kid. If you could get your friends to instead of wasting their lives in some video game or in the TV, come back here and use the park..."he trailed off. "If you can restore this park back to what it used to be, " he looked me in the eyes. "Well, if you can do that, then maybe there'll be hope for you after all."
Slowly, the man turned and walked away as the first drops of the coming storm fell on Malani's face. Only later would Malani realize she had never learned the name of the old man who had changed her life.
« return.