The Park
Bench
Shiro peddled furiously, letting the
world melt behind him as tears ran down his pale face. It wasn't fair, he thought, why
do I look like this?!? abruptly he stopped, taking in the scene behind him,
he was back at the park. By sheer memory, he guided himself along the paths,
finally making it to the place he thought he might have been coming to. He now
stood next to an old green bench, the paint barely showing through the
scratches and carvings. He sat down, the old bench creaking and sighing over
the sudden weight. As he sat there, memories flooded past him, filling his mind
with things he didn't necessarily want to remember. He gave into the memories,
and was dragged inside them.
It had been almost ten years ago,
before he had found his beloved home, when he was still a little boy of seven
living beside an old oak tree deep within the park, stealing scraps from the
trash cans for food. She had found him there, shivering alone by the very same
park bench, upset at the world for shutting him out from the kind and caring
love of a family. She had sat beside him on the bench, and comforted him with
words of love, the first words of that kind given to him since his mother had
died. She even gave him a small piece of bread that she was going to feed the
ducks with. Sitting there, he spilled out his story to the old woman, who
nodded and listened to all that he had to say. Sitting on the bench, tears now
rolling down his face, Shiro flinched as he remembered telling her how he hated
the world, and how he hated everyone who had ever been mean to him.
Then she told him something that
changed his life forever.
"You know," she said, "I used to feel the
same way. I was mad at the world for kicking me and my grandson out of our
house. But do you know why I don't hate them now?"Shiro frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I trust the Lord to do
what's right. Do you know the Lord- What's your name again?"
He looked at his feet.
"Freak." He muttered. The old woman gasped.
"Well we can't have that name,
now can we? Hmm… Let's see... Ah! I know! When I was visiting a friend in
Japan, I met a little boy named Shiro. That can be your new name! Do you like
that?" Shiro, grinned, then paused.
“All right, then who is the
Lord?"
"The Lord is the one who made
the earth, who made you, and who loves all of us, even the bad people"
"Even the bad people?"
"Especially the bad people. You
see, God loves all sinners..."
Right there in that park, the old woman had led him to Christ. Unknowingly
giving him the best joy he had ever had. The two of them later met, once a week
at the park. The woman always managed to bring a loaf of bread, or some water
with her, and often brought her little grandson with her. The little boy, Mark,
scarcely one year old, had taken to Shiro quickly; but it was still surprise
when the old woman, Shiro never learned her name; showed up at the bench and
set him down lightly next to Shiro.
There was a frantic look in her
eyes, as she kissed both of them lightly on the head. "Goodbye, my little
ones. Shiro, remember what I have taught you, and teach it to Mark when he
grows older." She then turned and ran, and as she did, her necklace charm,
a beautiful piece of amber, fell from its chain into the thick grass.
"Wait!" Shiro had
squeaked, "Where are you going??" He stood up to follow her, but she had
already disappeared into the night. Shiro bent down and picked up the amber,
already guessing that the woman would not be returning. Tears ran down his
face, past and present, as he sat back down beside Mark on the bench.
They stayed by that bench for three
days, all day Shiro and Mark would sit, looking for the kind elderly figure to
come climbing up the hill, but she never came. Soon they ran out of food and
had to move on. Shiro found an old, out-dated toy wagon, with a bad paint job
and rusty, squeaky wheels that provided a way for him to take little Mark with
him. Together they roamed, scavenging for food, and living in alley ways.
Nearly a month later, Shiro pulled the wagon
into an old, abandoned, dump, and began digging around for something to eat.
Suddenly, his fingers met hard concrete, and he pulled back his hand in pain.
Puzzled, Shiro began to push the slightly molded garbage away from the
concrete, and was surprised to find a circular escape hatch imbedded in the
ground. The letters on it were faded and dirty, but Shiro managed to read, 'turn
handle and pull to open,' written around the metal casing. Shiro braced himself
and grabbed the handle, and with all his might, turned it. Gasping for breath,
Shiro pushed the grate sideways, revealing a dark hole in the ground.
Shiro breathed in the air from the vents, and
was surprised to find that the air was clean and cool. He reached back and
grabbed a stone. Holding it over the hole, Shiro prayed to God with all his
heart that it would land on dry ground, that it wasn't too far down. About five
seconds after he dropped it, Shiro heard a solid "clank"
Grinning like an idiot, Shiro
grabbed an old rope, fished the batteries out of a stuffed pig and popped them
into a flashlight. To his half surprise half relief, the flashlight turned on
with a dull glare that made him jump for joy. Turning to Mark, he plopped him
down in an old doll crib, and left the gurgling toddler to his own devices
while he checked out the hole.
Shiro secured a rope around a large
bench and shined his light into the gap. He was surprised to find that the hole
led into a large room, which appeared to be some sort of storage place. As he
lowered himself down, his foot bumped into an overhanging light, whose bulb
turned just slightly enough so that it clicked into place. Shiro turned his
body on the rope, swaying hazardously over the floor, which was but a few feet
below him.
The walls were lined with rows of
goods, all kinds of bike parts. Shiro tested the floor carefully, before
letting go of the rope, and stepping onto the cold tile. His bare feet made a
slapping noise as ran over to a large box on one of the shelves. As he ran his
hands over it, Dust flew off and he saw that
the box said the words: light bulbs, but since he didn't trust words, the young boy
decidedly ripped open the package. In it he found enough light bulbs to light
this room for years. In another box he found a dozen or so electrical blankets.
But Shiro soon noticed that this wasn't the only room in this underground
building. Shiro saw a small door on the far side of the room, and cautiously
opened it.
Instead of dirt packed up to the
ceiling, Shiro found that he was in what looked from what he could see from his
flashlight, like a small bike store. Shiro was thrilled. He had found a place
where he and Mark could live. Suddenly Shiro paused, Mark! He thought. I should go
get him. As Shiro climbed up the rope, he was suddenly aware of voices from
above. He stopped half-way up, and tried to hear what they were saying. The
voices stopped and there were the sounds of a baby crying. Mark!
Shiro shot out of the hole, his eyes
blazing with anger.
"Leave him alone you-"
Shiro broke off with a look of disbelief on his face. Standing by the doll crib
was a young girl who looked tall enough to be eight or nine, but was very
skinny, and looked like she had been crying. Her face and arms were covered in
scratches and cuts. She held what looked like a large bundle in her arms. The kids
stared at each other for a moment, then the girl looked up at the sky.
"Umm... my brother is hurt...
do you have any blankets?" The girl asked cautiously, gripping the bundle
in her hands. She was dressed in a thin shirt and pants, while the bundle,
which Shiro guessed was her brother, seemed to be wrapped in a ragged blanket.
A crackling of dead leaves brought Shiro
out of his memories. He whipped around and saw a teenage girl standing beside
him. She was wrapped in a small brown poncho, with matching hat and gloves. Her
brown eyes sparkled in the moonlight.
"Oh. Hi Acorn." Shiro
sighed, relaxing as she sat beside him on the bench.
"Are
you ok Shiro?"She looked worried. "Why are you sitting out here in
the cold?" Shiro sighed and closed his eyes.
"I found a new girl today...
She was nearly frozen solid by the gate... I-I forgot to tell Asa to brief
her... she screamed." Shiro choked on his words. Acorn gasped. She put an
arm around Shiro. He stiffened, but he didn't push it away.
"She’ll get used to you-"
"And then what? If any one sees
me they think I am a ghost..."
"Appearances don't matter
Shiro!" Shiro was silent. Staring out across the park, he suddenly stood
up.
"We should get back. The others
will start to worry." Acorn sighed. Once again, Shiro's feelings had
vanished, leaving Shiro the leader standing determinedly before her.
Trudging back through the snow to
find her bike, Acorn thought over what she had just seen.
~K
~A
~H
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