a story, part 1

Elaine reached into her pocket and pulled out her cherry chapstick and began to run her fingers over the ridges at the bottom of the tube. It was super hot out and she decided to move herself out of the sun and under the shade of a park tree. She could feel teensy beads of sweat gathering on her nose like dewdrops. With her non-chapstick-holding hand, she wipes the sweat on her face and leans hard against the tree. She steels herself for the impending waiting game. As the sun goes higher, Elaine surveys the scope of the pond, searching for a sign; some indication of where her mysterious friends might appear.

"Those ducks will be the death of me!," Elaine mutters under her breath, swatting a mosquito away from her neck.

It had been two long years since Elaine had started visiting the ducks at Rocky Bottom Pond. Her first visit was an accident. She had been on a "date" with Ron, a former co-worker from the nearby Safeway supermarket. They went to dinner at Olive Garden and then decided to take an evening stroll down by the pond. Ron had attempted to make out with Elaine, but his steely silver mustache made her think of her father and she asked if he could walk her home. He said he was "much obliged."

They were on their way down Miller's Trail when she spotted them. They were spectacular at night; yellows and greens and blues, multi-colored feathers glowing like neon. The ducks seem to glide faster than regular ducks, moving with more intensity; spirographs tracing brilliant designs onto the surface of the pond. Ron hadn't even cared to look at them. He had been too busy putting the moves on Elaine, trying to kiss her neck and whispering weird lines into her ear. "Shut up!," she hissed, "Quit it, Ron!" She was spellbound. These ducks were electric and Elaine never forgot the rush of joy she felt upon first viewing these supernatural fowl. At that moment, Ron and the entire world dropped away, leaving only Elaine and the ducks.

Her second encounter came soon after the botched date with Safeway Ron. Her sister Teresa had just announced her engagement during a big Labor Day bash and Elaine desperately needed some air. She was very upset. Elain walked down close to the pond, looking up toward the sky to hold the tears in her eyes. She told herself if they didn't fall down onto her face, then she wasn't really crying. She told herself this out loud a few times. It was helping to calm her down. Then startled by a strange, zipping sound, Elaine turned toward the pond. There were her friends, speeding and swerving, so happy to be alive! Those beauties reminded Elaine how quickly life was passing her by; that it didn't matter that her younger sister was getting married before she was. It didn't matter that she lived in the apartment building directly across the street from her aging parents. It didn't matter that she was 42, lonely and really needing a friend. She called out to the ducks, naming each one she saw: Calliope, Sarah, Mudface, Skippy, Corset, Butterball! There were so many and they were so fast, she did her best to name them all. After she was finished, she walked back toward the party, feeling better than she did when the whole day began.

A year and half passed, with no sign of Elaine's new friends. She had taken to visiting the pond once or twice a week. She purchased some used books on ducks and one romance novel to read while waiting for the ducks. Armed with binoculars, her books and a sack lunch, Elaine stationed herself at Rocky Bottom Pond every Friday (her day off from the pet shop). Every Friday she visited and every Friday she saw nothing. Months passed and no sign, not a feather. Elaine grew weary and disillusioned, wondering if she was crazy. She started thinking she had imagined the ducks and began to question her own sanity. Elaine took a break when the air began to bite and the pond got frosty. Winter came and went, spring sprung and the pond came alive once again. Out of habit, she picked up her Friday visits once again, hoping to confirm her sanity with a glimpse of those ducks.

To be continued...