Chapter 10
525 Words
Ken was startled by the unfamiliar voice. Looking up, he now saw a woman in her early twenties standing across the way. She gazed at him with intent, but for what reason he did not know. Looking back at her, Ken’s typical awkwardness began to kick in, as he could see that she was quite beautiful. Dressed warmly in a black winter coat and blue jeans, she wore a grey knit cap over her long blonde hair. Upon first glance, she appeared to be of some sort of Scandinavian descent, or perhaps German, though Ken couldn’t be sure. His mouth went dry as he tried to find the words to speak.
“Everything ok?” she asked.
“Uh… f-fine. W-why do you, um… why do you ask?”
Smiling, she replied, “I saw you over on the green, watching the movie. By the look on your face, you were having a tough time with it. When I saw you walk off towards the park, I felt I should come and see if anything was wrong.”
“N-no, nothing’s wrong…”
“Good. Then I shouldn’t be concerned about the way you’re looking at that knife of yours, right?”
Shaking his head, Ken answered, “I’m not going to hurt you. Promise.”
“That’s not what I’m concerned about.”
“Wha… what do you mean?” Ken asked, his eyes growing wide.
“I’ve seen that look before,” she said, taking a couple of steps closer. “I am, sadly, all too familiar with it. You were about to hurt yourself, weren’t you?”
“You don’t know a thing about me, lady,” Ken muttered, preparing to leave.
“I don’t have to know anything about you to be concerned,” she fired back.
“Concerned,” Ken snorted. “How could you be concerned about me? You don’t even know me!”
“Easily rectified. Gabrielle Libertine. My friends call me Gabby,” she said, sticking out her hand with a warm smile. When he didn’t respond, she smirked and continued, “This is the part where you tell me your name.”
Sighing, he replied, “Ken. Ken Dix.”
“A pleasure, Ken,” she said as they shook hands.
“So… Gabrielle, eh? You supposed to be my Clarence or something?”
With a playful gasp, she responded, “Oh my God! Does that mean you’re Jimmy Stewart?! I’ve had the biggest crush on you for YEARS!!!”
Ken gave a nervous laugh. “Alright, alright, I walked into that one. But in all seriousness.”
“No, I’m not a Guardian Angel or the Word of God or anything like that. Just an average person like you.” Motioning to the bench, she asked, “May I?”
“S-sure, I guess,” Ken answered, scooting to the edge.
“Thanks.” Taking a seat, she continued, “So tell me this, Ken: why would you want to hurt, maybe kill yourself?”
His face twisted in pain. “You don’t want to know…”
“I do. Believe me, I do.”
- Writer
