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by MISSHEYHIHO

by MISSHEYHIHO

The howling of the wind and the creaking of the swings were the only sounds I heard when I made my way to Greendale's only Park in existence. Much of Greendale consisted of overpriced Shopping centers that attracted the likes of teenagers, grey, dull factories that added to the city's growing pollution and cheap car lots that sold used broken down cars. The park was our Safe Haven. The park had been mine and Cassie's favorite place since our adolescence. The park was the place where we first met. Cassie was five and I was six, we were the only kids playing in the sandbox. All the other kids were preoccupied with the swing set and the slides. Our mums sat on an old wooden bench, they giggled together as they watched me approach Cassie.

Cassidy was the prettiest girl I'd ever laid my eyes on. I still remember the polka dotted lilac dress she wore that day in the Park. That was the last time I ever saw her in a dress.

Her hair was a mousy brown mess on top of her head as she pulled the sleeves of her dress up in concentration. She was building a sand castle. Being the copy cat that I was, I immediately got on my knees and began to built an identical sand castle to Cassie. Lacking a pail and a bucket, I approached Cassie and asked if she could share.

Cassie was spanked in front of all the other children by her mum. I received the death glare from her the entire day. After I had asked her if she could share her bucket with me, she eyed my sandcastle and proceeded to call me a copy cat. I denied the accusations, and she threw sand in my hair.

Cassie's mum forced Cassie to apologize to me the next day. From that day forth, Cassie no longer saw me as a enemy, but as a friend.

9 years later
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Present Day:
The howling of the wind and the creaking of the swings were the only sounds I heard when I made my way to Greendale's only Park in existence. I sat at the bench behind the sandbox, the same sandbox Cassie and I met all those years ago. My pockets began to vibrate, indicating that I got a new text from someone. Cassie.
Cassie: where r u?
Me: At the park...
Cassie: WTF r u doing there?
Me: To reminisce about the old times
*Cassie is typing.*
Shit, she's gonna lash out on me.
Cassie: You promised me that you'd meet me at the mall, Harry.
Cassie: The Halloween party is in a week and we have no costumes.
Me: Cassie, I'm sorry:(
Don't be mad at me.

*Cassie is typing*

Ten minutes go by and not a single text from Cassie. She stopped typing seven minutes ago. As I sit alone on the old wooden bench of Greendale's only park, my thoughts immediately go back to Cassie. I am such an asshole to Cassie. She's my best friend and I know for a fact that I would go to extreme lengths just to protect her. Cassie, the girl who stole my heart and almost ruined my hair. I laugh as the nostalgic memory invades my mind. My mum, sitting on the tile floor of the upstair's bathroom as she scrubbed the sand out of my curly hair. That was the day I first met Cassie. Images of her brown locks and her old lilac polka dotted dress keep me company, instead of the usual feeling of loneliness that revisit me during the Fall season.

Me: Cassie...
Cassie: Harry...
Me: Are you mad?
Cassie: I dunno.
Not mad, just disappointed.
Me: I'm sorry Cassie. How bout we rain check? I'll even pay for your costume...
Cassie: Bribery at it's finest, Mr. Styles
Cassie: Hey douchebag, look up from your phone for a minute and enjoy the view.
Me: WTF Cassie

"Harry?" I look up from the park bench to see my Cassidy sitting on the ledge of the sand box, becking me to come join her. "Cassidy," I say in a voice below a whisper. I take a seat on the ledge of the sandbox next to her and wait for her to continue. "Hi," she says after a few awkward glances. "Hi," I reply back.

I'm the first one to break the silence after the awkward exchanges I shared with Cassie. She's pissed at me. Whenever she's pissed at me, she gives me the silence treatment, while either rolling her eyes at me or sending me a death glare.

"Cassie, please talk to me," I say with the best puppy dog look I could muster. It worked when I was six, what much has changed in the past nine years?
She takes a deep breath or a sigh. Hell, I can't tell the difference between the two. "My mum is unwell. I mean, she's been unwell since dad left us, but this week is different. I'm scared Harry. She refuses to take her meds. She's been going out almost every night this week, getting high or wasted" Cassie says with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Before, she used to hide her addictions. She'd never dare come home high or trashed. I don't know how to help her anymore, Harry. I don't know what to do" Cassie says. More tears stream down her cheeks, and before I can help myself, I pull her to my chest and engulf her in a hug. She cried into my shoulder as I patted her head and whispered things into her ear. I assured Cassidy that everything would be alright in the end. I didn't know until now how far that was from the truth.

"What College do you want to go to?" I ask her. She looks at me from where she sits on the swing and uses her foot to play with the dirt below her. "Penn State" she replies. "Penn State?" I repeat while looking at her, waiting for her to continue. "That's the college my parents attended. They met and fell in love at Penn State." Cassie clarifies. "Oh" is all I say. I wanted to entirely avoid the subject of her parents for her sake, but being the idiot that I am, I always bring it up, someway or another.

We sit on the swings in undisturbed silence, until the sound of thunder and tiny raindrops disturb the peace. "Shit" we both say at the same time. "I'll walk you home," I tell her as she stands up and pull the hood of her jacket over her hair. "Can I stay over at your home? I'm not ready to go back there just yet" she asks. I nod my head in approval and place my hand behind her back, guiding her through the darkness that plagued the skies.