Returning to his stool, he felt refreshed. Soon he would need to move on from this place, soon the owners of this house would return and he must be gone by the time they did. For today, however, he relished in the energy and life flowing through his body like an electric current. He picked up a book from his bag and opened it; inside the front cover, and inscription was written in elegant script.

“To my Leopold,
You will eternally be in my heart, my dearest friend.
I will miss you dreadfully,
Emmeline”

He smiled. Emmeline had been his favorite. In another town, she had shown up on his bench. Her head did not lull to the side, and she did not relax like usual, for some reason, he did not want her to that day. Sitting next to her, he had told her his name was Leopold, and they had spent hours talking there. Although he was beginning to tire, he did not try to hold her hand, not that day. She came back for months and he became slowly weaker until he could barely stand. The second to last time he saw her, he told her he was going far away. Begging to join him, she confessed that she was terribly sad where she was. The boy told her no and that he would be leaving that night. The next day, he sadly watched as she walked to their bench and sat down. Gazing at her, he waited until her body relaxed and she slumped slightly to one side. He struggled outside and fell to the ground at her feet. Pulling himself up to his knees and resting his arms on the bench, the boy reached out his hand. He said her name in one long jagged sigh and watched her waste away. The book had been sitting open on her lap, he’d taken it to remember her by.

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