The Dawn of Something New

CHAPTER: 2

He jolted awake at 5 in the morning, he was shaking even though his body was covered in sweat. He bit his lip and curled his hands into fists, trying to stop the tears from leaking out. After two normal and peaceful weeks, his nightmares were back, worse than ever. He dreamt of his fall from the train, Steve's voice calling out for him, being dragged back to Zola, his arm, the wiping, all of it. Just when he thought it was getting better.

He reached over and turned on the light, looking around his semi-clean room calmed him down a little but his heart was still aching. He finally sighed and got out of bed, unwilling to stew in misery any longer.

Just as he started climbing down the stairs, he heard one of the apartment doors open. It was five fifteen in the morning, no one except him left the house as this ungodly hour. Turning around, he saw Brooke locking her front door. She had her hair up in a half ponytail. She wore a light pink tank top and black leggings.

She turned around and spotted Bucky, frozen on the first step. She seemed as surprised to see him as he was to see her. She smiled and gave him a small wave.

Bucky forced a smile and asked, "Going on a run?"

She laughed softly "I hate running, going for a walk and then yoga." She replied pointing at a rolled-up mat leaning against the door frame– a yoga mat. Bucky read about yoga on the internet. "What about you?"

"I love running." He replied simply.

They quietly climbed down the stairs side by side until they reached the lobby. She turned to the right and Bucky turned to the left.

"Do you not go to the park nearby?"

"No. I like city jogging."

"Hmmm you should check out the park at least once. It's gorgeous at sunrise."

Bucky looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting lighter. It looked an interesting blueish-grey colour. His usual response would have been to nod and continue on his way. But with the remnants of the haunting dream still echoing in his mind, he felt compelled to see something beautiful and honestly, he wanted the company.

"Lead the way."

She smiled and this was a smile Bucky hadn't seen yet. It was pure joy. As they walked, neither of them said a word. The only sounds they could hear was the crunching of their shoes on the ground and their own quiet breathing. She didn't seem to feel the need to fill the silence. He was grateful for that. When they finally reached the park, Bucky thought that the word gorgeous was the most appropriate word to describe the sight in front of him. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen something that beautiful.

The park had neatly trimmed grass on either side of a stone path and bushes with wild flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Butterflies of were flitting around the various plants and trees as if they were playing hide and seek. A little pond at the centre was filled with ducks and little sparrows were singing from the trees overhead. As if to complete this picturesque sight, the sky was the most beautiful thing imaginable. With the sun coming up, the sky was splashed with colours, white, blue, red, orange and yellow. It looked like the whole world was awakening for the day.

He wanted to stay like that forever. He felt so peaceful and calm, for the first time in a long time, he prayed to God. He prayed that he could remember this moment, this feeling for the rest of his life. He turned around to see Brooke staring at the sky too. With the sunlight on her, it looked like her hair was threaded with gold and her skin was infused with glitter.

"Told you." She said without turning around.

"It's beautiful." Bucky was usually awake at this time in the morning, he couldn't believe that he had never stopped to watch the sunrise. It had always been more of an afterthought.

An hour later, they were walking back to their apartment together, there were a lot more people around and both of them fell into easy conversation.

"James, have we met before? I thought you looked familiar from the moment I saw you."

Bucky tried hard to not freeze or show any kind of emotion.

"Not that I know of." He said as casually as he could.

"Hmm.. must be thinking of someone else."

"So, are you always up so early?" he asked her, attempting to turn the conversation to less volatile topics.

"Usually. I couldn't for the last few days, I was too jetlagged and I had to catch up on work."

"What do you do?"

"Biomedical informatics. I develop technology that would be useful in medical care." She explained at his confused expression.

"That's impressive." He said, thinking about his arm.

"Thank you. What do you do?"

Bucky should have expected this question. "I am figuring it out. My life has been crazy so I am taking some time to re-evaluate."

"A lot of people are in the same boat. My company decided to take me back after I came back, but not everyone got that lucky."

It took a second for Bucky to realise that she was talking about the blip.

"So, is this your first time in New York?"

"No, I grew up here. I was away for a few years and then moved back about a year ago. A lot of memories here." He said the last part to himself but she seemed to have heard it.

"What's your favourite spot?"

"It changes all the time."

"What's your favourite at this moment?"

"The park." He replied without hesitation.

She smiled very wide at that.

"Mine too."