People Watching

I am a peoplewatcher. It is the cornerstone of my career, such as it is, as a writer. Sometimes, I will sit in public places and watch people go by, while making up conversations in my head about what they are thinking or what two people are talking about. My friends get a kick out of this game but it's not a game to me. I get some of my best ideas for characters and stories. Normally, I watch people from afar and rarely get close enough to actually hear their conversations except for that fateful day when I overstepped the boundaries and lived to regret it.

It was a wonderfully bright and breezy day as I sat on a bench at the park. This park was complete with a duck pond, and a waterfall. My senses were in overload as I watched many people enjoying the sunshine and cool whisps from the fountain. As I sat, basking in the glow of the sun, I worked on my next story; making-up characters and possible plots to my heart's delight. Suddenly, my trance is interrupted by the arrival of a loud car, spewing polution from it's behind. I frowned and thought mean-spirited words at the irresponsilibity of Me-generation today, as a couple of young girls got out of the car. I found myself straining to hear their words. Luckily, they were headed in my direction, so I acted casual when underneath my imagination was going into overdrive as I made up several conversations in different scenarios. I was so caught up in my mind that I didn't realize how close they had gotten until they were seated on a bench directly behind me. I froze as I fought off the feelings of guilt; giving into the temptation to listen to their private dialogue. Both girls were in their early twenties; one was blonde and the other was a red-head.

Red-Head said, "It was the most horrible night of my life!"

Blonde patted her friend's hand and said, "Come on, what could have been so terrible? What happened?"

"Randy! He's dead?" Red-Head said in a hushed voice.

I perked up and strained to catch every word. My heart started racing.

"Dead? What happened?" Blonde cried.

"I had no other choice but to kill him."

Blonde put her arm around her friend and several tearful muffled words were exchanged. I was so enthralled by them that I was actually turning to the side and leaning. They were so tuned into themselves that they did't notice me.

Blonde suddenly pulled away from her weeping friend and started to pace a small path in front of her. Her ranting against the deceased was apalling. I heard such things as, "He was a stinky old thing with an evil disposition." and "You did a service to the community getting rid of that nusiance."

I am now leaning so far over in their direction that I fall off the bench. They stop and look in my direction. Jumping up quickly, I immediately start doing stretches as if I'm getting ready to jog. I am not a jogger, so my leg revolts against the assault with a tightening cramp of pure fire. Smiling, though screaming within, I continue my charade until they both turn away. Safe from their gaze, I walk in circles, cursing under my breath at the pain. Needless to say, I couldn't hear the redheads full confession but when my leg gave up it's protest, I managed to get enough to be certain that she was a heartless killer.

"Jeffrey wanted me to kill him! I could see it in his eyes, pleading, so I did it. It was the hardest thing..."