Oh, Dakota

31- It Ends Tonight

“Hi, Fred.”

“Hello, Dakota.”

“How are you today, Fred?”

“I’ll make it out alive,” He shrugged. “What about yourself?”

“The lunch today wasn’t very tasty,” I informed him. “Have you had lunch yet?”

Fred shook his head. “Nope. I’ve been looking at the birds all morning.”

“You have to eat, Fred,” I informed him. “Or they’ll think that you’re anorexic.”

“I’m not anorexic,” He denied. “I’m a drug addict. You’re the anorexic.”

“Touché, Fred,” I laughed, sitting down on the metal bench beside the old man. I mean, he wasn’t that old, he was only like, 45 I think but he looked a lot older than he really was. We were outside in the courtyard of the rehabilitation place where I liked to spend my afternoons after I’d eaten lunch. It was a big courtyard and there were a lot of people out there, enjoying the sunlight. There were a lot of benches and there was actually even a swing set that nobody ever used except for me sometimes. There were nurses walking around too, helping out with the patients who got angry or decided to try and kill themselves- which happens a lot.

“Did you save me your pudding cup?”

“No,” I scoffed. “They had chocolate today.”

“Maybe I’ll go get some lunch then,” He sighed, looking longingly at the doors that led into the main area of the center which held the cafeteria and doctor offices and then hallways that led to elevators and stairs that took you up to where all of our rooms were. It was like a nice hotel that you couldn’t leave and that served crappy food and required two therapy sessions a day.

“It might just be worth it,” I smiled at him. “I think I might almost miss the pudding here.”

“Are you leaving soon?” He asked me abruptly.

I nodded. “Yeah. They’re freeing me on Saturday, so tomorrow’s my last full day.”

“That’s a pity,” He sighed sadly. “I’ll miss you around here.”

“You’ll get out too someday, Fred,” I assured him.

He shook his head in the negative. “Nah, I like drugs too much.”

“Then why are you here?” I laughed.

“Court ordered,” He sighed. “It’s either this or jail, and they have pudding cups here.”

“Were you a drug dealer, Fred?” I wondered curiously as I started kicking around a rock that was resting peacefully under the bench that we were sitting on.

“Yep,” He confirmed, looking up at the tree that towered over the bench where there were a few birds dancing around the branches. It was March, so spring was starting and there were a lot of birds flying around and for some reason, Fred loved birds.

“Did you ever kill anybody?”

He nodded again. “Yep.”

“More than one person?”

He shook his head that time. “Nope, just one. I’m not a monster or anything, Dakota, I just like drugs.”

“Have you ever fallen in love, Fred?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” He sighed. “But she’s dead now.”

“Did you kill her?” I wondered with a gasp.