Born To Write

Bradley felt nothing but gratitude in his heart. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. He was so delighted in the day that he started whistling ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor’ from his childhood friend Mr. Roger.

He felt light on his feet, and as he walked past the small park, he saw the children playing. The mothers were there watching them, and everyone looked so happy. It made him feel like he could play again, so he made his way to the park.

Bradley found an empty bench and picked out a child just as one of the mothers came over and sat down next to him.

“Which one is yours?” she asked.

He pointed to the little dark-haired boy he had picked out and said, “That one.”

They sat and conversed for a little while. He felt comfortable and knew he had a new playmate, but he needed to lure her away from the park. He just had to figure out her weakness as her little girl fell off the jungle gym and began to cry.

She ran over to her and picked her up; she was bleeding on her knee. He walked up behind her and told her his house wasn’t too far away and they could clean her up there and get her a Band-Aid.

“You are so kind, but what about your boy?” she said.

“I know how it is. My friend over there can watch him.” He waved, and the person waved back; thank god for friendly neighborhoods.

She smiled and told him that would be nice, and they began walking to his apartment. He couldn’t help but whistle; he was going to be able to play again today.

When they approached his door, she thanked him again, and he opened the door for her. He took her to the bathroom with her daughter to get her wound washed out and bandage her up.

He became excited at the blood that was flowing down her knee. He was going to get two today to play with. After they finished cleaning up her daughter, they walked back into the kitchen, and that is when things turned.

She told her daughter to go outside, and as soon as the door shut, she came up close to him. He could feel her breath as she leaned in…he thought for sure she was going to kiss him, and that is when he felt the blade enter his gut. The dull, aching pain as he pulled back and she rushed him.

He wasn’t prepared for this, and she was on him quicker than he could have thought. She kept stabbing him over and over. He could feel himself slipping away when she got off of him.

“You thought we were going to play, didn’t you? Well, we played alright.”

Lying on the floor in his own blood, he watched her walk out the door with a calmness he could only dream of having. He was in awe of this woman, but knew he would never play again.