Open Mic Week 74 featuring Jessypt: The Bright Side of Blight

Jessypt is our guest author for Open Mic Sunday for this week. If you would like to participate in an Open Mic Sunday, contact me via twitter @burntcore or email me at burntcore@gmail.com.

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Jessypt's Choice: 2

Title: The Bright Side of Blight

“Race ya!” Cass shouted over her shoulder as she sprinted out the door and onto the sidewalk. Her feet pounded the pavement, slipping into an easy rhythm, as she ran as fast as she could.

She could hear him gaining on her, and even though she was running hard, she knew he would pass her. He always did.

“Is that the best you’ve got, hot stuff?” Jack sassed as he tugged her ponytail, smacked her spandex-covered bottom, and passed her easily.

She growled and pushed herself harder. She hated losing.

They ran like that, teasing and shouting, him slowing enough to let her catch up and then speeding up to give them both a little push.

As they rounded the bend, almost at the two-mile mark, she called out. “I gotta slow down.” Her breath was coming hard, and her heart was beating wildly. She slowed to a jog and then a walk, and Jack immediately circled back to her.

He looked at her in concern. She rarely walked during their runs. “You okay, baby?” he asked as he fell in step beside her.

“Yeah. Just- got a stitch in my side,” she said, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees. After taking a few deep breaths, she stretched her arms over head and started walking, bringing her heart rate down and getting her breathing under control.

He bumped his shoulder against hers and grinned. “Is that the best you could come up with?” he asked. “I know you hate losing, but geez.”

Her fist connected with his shoulder, and she glared.

“Ow. You don’t have to get violent.” He rubbed his hand over the spot she’d hit and then quickly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back against him.

She smiled, leaning into him, and kept walking, him wrapped around her, until he let go and moved back in step with her.

It was the same game they’d played for years – her throwing down a challenge, him beating her, her beating him, and then him groveling his way back into her good graces – and it never got old. Nothing between them did.

They walked at a casual clip, hand in hand, enjoying the cool fall air and the chance to take in the nature around them; it was different than the dry heat they were used to in South Texas. They’d moved to Boulder just over three months ago, and in many ways it felt like they’d been there forever. Things were comfortable and familiar but still unknown.

“Check that out,” Cass said, pointing to an overgrown path leading through the trees.

Jack could see the familiar glint of adventure in her eyes and couldn’t help but smile. He loved her free spirit; it was one of the things that had made him fall in love with her when they were just kids.

“Let’s go,” he said, tugging her towards the path. He pushed aside tree limbs and sidestepped the debris scattered along the path. He took in the way the dirt was heavily packed, even though it was covered in old leaves, sticks, and rocks. It was clear it used to be well traveled, and something about that got his adrenaline flowing.

He looked back at Cass as she trudged along. She seemed content and thrilled all at the same time. She loved being outdoors, and he was glad they’d decided to take the plunge and move. The prospect of leaving their family and friends behind to start anew had been daunting, but it all seemed worth it as he took in the pink flush of her cheeks and the brightness in her eyes. He was still baffled how he’d gotten so lucky, but he wasn’t going to overthink it. She was his, and he’d do anything for her.

When they got to the top of the path, they both stopped.

“Wow,” Cass breathed. She took in the rundown playground in front of her. An old slide was laying on its side, its metal legs long rusted and bent. A dilapidated blue and red merry go round sat on the far side near a large tree, and a teeter-totter with no seats rested with one end haphazardly in the air. But it was the swing set that caught and held her attention. It was tall and covered in rust and graffiti. The chains holding the swings were knotted in a precarious mess.

Everything about this place screamed desolate, empty, and long forgotten, but there was an undercurrent of life, as well.

This place had a story. Many stories.

Cass looked over at Jack, lost in thought, and slowly made her way across the playground. As she passed each item, memories of her own childhood flooded her mind.

She and Jack, along with each of their siblings and friends, had played at the neighborhood park, similar in many ways to the one they were standing in, practically every day for years.

In their park, they had experienced the highs and lows of childhood. It was the place where Jack had pulled her pigtails, and she’d started crying. He had gotten in so much trouble. His mother made him color a picture and give it to her the next day.

Of course, he wasn’t the only mischievous one. She’d pushed him down and stolen his bucket and shovel when he wouldn’t let her play with it. That time, she was the one that had to apologize, and it wasn’t a picture but a plate of cookies.

She chuckled at how that plate of cookies had led to Jack’s life long obsession of finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie. He was still looking. She was still trying.

They had cried and laughed so many times in their park. In some ways it had became sort of a second home – their safe place. It was the place where she’d first realized he really liked her. He was hanging upside down on the monkey bars, calling her name and doing flips and other tricks. He was such a showoff. She’d rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop smiling. She could feel her cheeks heating, just remembering the way he’d made her feel even then.

When she’d finally gone over, he’d touched her burning cheek and told her she was pretty. She’d told him he was being silly, and with a playful growl, he’d wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to lift her up. Caught off guard, she pulled back; he’d lost his balance, fallen off the monkey bars, and broken his arm. He’d tried to be brave, but she could tell he was in pain. Using all the strength she’d possessed, she’d wrapped her arms around his waist, letting his weight rest heavily against hers, and walked him home.

He got another plate of chocolate chip cookies out of that, she mused as she looked over at the man she’d loved her entire life. A light breeze stirred and ruffled his blond hair.

She looked at the tall oak tree on the far side of the park. Its leaves had just begun to change, and the reds, oranges, and yellows were stunning in the morning sun. It was under a similar tree in their park that he’d held her, running his fingers through her hair, after her dad had walked out on her and her mom. It was the place he’d asked her to the freshman dance, where they’d shared their first kiss after he’d asked her to be his girlfriend.

She felt warm arms envelope her, and she instantly leaned into him, wrapping her own arms around his.

He brushed his lips against her temple, and she shivered. “Are you thinking about our park?” he asked softly, his voice almost dream-like.

She nodded, her ponytail brushing his chin as she bobbed it up and down.

“Me, too. I miss it.”

They stood like that – together, wrapped in their thoughts and each other – until Cass broke the silence.

“It’s such a shame.”

Jack didn’t respond right away. “Maybe. But maybe it was just waiting for us.”

She turned around inside his arms and looked up at him, her head cocked slightly to the side. “What do you mean?”

He smiled softly, his lips turning up in that perfectly familiar way. “I just mean, maybe it just needs someone to care, to fix it up.”

She turned back around and surveyed the grounds and then to face him again. Her arms slid around his waist and she grinned. “I like that.”

They stayed for another hour, talking and dreaming, planning and scheming. They talked of clearing out the path, planting flowers along the way, and getting new playground equipment. They wanted it to be brightly colored just like theirs had been.

“Maybe we can even have a smaller play area for little kids,” Jack said, waggling his eyebrows before winking at her.

She arched her own eyebrow, putting on her best stern face. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

He grinned. “Only with you, baby,” he said as he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.

She giggled. “Someday.”

As the sun rose higher in the sky and their bellies rumbled, they made their way back down the path. They paused at the end and looked back, big smiles plastered across their faces. They were ready to build a new park, place of their own in this new little town, and something about that felt right… perfect.