She came to sit on this bench every day. She always brought her book and lunch in a brown paper bag, sorting everything to a certain place. In the fall she always wore a brown sweater that looked a bit large, perhaps it was her father’s or one she found in a sale bin at the general store. Today she wore it loosely wrapped around her shoulders.
She came here every day at noon always bringing sunflower seeds for the birds and calling to some of them by name. When she read certain lines she would laugh, closing the book and just sitting quietly with a tranquil smile on her face. She would always say hello and offer some treats that she kept in a small mason jar.
She didn’t come here today, nor the next few days… The birds and squirrels sat on her bench waiting yet she never came again. Often as I approached the park I would think I saw her but no it was not her. After many years passed I still thought of her often and wondered what happened to my friend, but she never came back.
Then one fall afternoon I saw a man walking toward her bench and I knew that today I would find out what happened to my friend. It was an older man in a uniform with a plaque in one hand and flowers in the other that came today. He screwed the plaque onto the bench and I could see tears in his eyes.
The plaque said she came here every day at noon for many years. The old soldier smiled at me and said she was his wife but passed many years ago. He said he still brought flowers on their anniversary. This was where we got married. He smiled and slowly walked toward his car.
I sat there for a while and for a moment I could almost see her sitting there feeding the birds. I knew it was time to close the book on this day and start a new day tomorrow. I will always remember her kindness, her sharing sandwiches with me when I had no money for lunch, and her love for the birds.
