"Hey, Mr Henry! Want to play catch with us?" A little boy in the park of about seven years called out to old Mr Henry.
"No, I don't, kid. Maybe another time." Henry said in a shaky voice forcing a fake smile.
"But that's what you said yesterday and the day before that," the disappointed boy said.
Henry didn't reply, instead, he had his hands propping up his chin with a distant look in his eyes. The little boy stood for some seconds and when he realised a play wasn't forthcoming from Henry, he shrugged his shoulders and ran back to his friends.
"You know you can't keep saying no to their request" a soft feminine familiar voice said to him, breaking his reverie.
Mr Henry looked up. It was Clara, the kind woman who ran the small café nearby. She had two cups of coffee with her. Mr Henry deepened his cheeks taking a smile.
"Hello Henry" she greeted
"Hello Clara"
"Mind if I sit?" She asked, looking at the space on the bench he sat on.
"Yeah, sure"
Clara sat down beside him, holding out a cup of steaming coffee. "Thank you. So, I thought you might like this. You know it's a bit chilly today."
Henry smiled "Thank you" he said and accepted the coffee with a nod.
There was silence for a while. Then Clara asked
"How have you been?"
"Great! Great" Henry replied looking from his coffee cup to Clara and back to his coffee cup. He was trying to hide the pain in his eye.
"You know you can talk about it if you want," Clara said with sympathy and a card in her voice.
"Trust me I'm fine" Henry replied with a voice that betrayed him.
He tried to speak again but the words couldn't come. He sat there with his mouth wide open looking for the right word. Then he sighed deeply, the sound a perfect echo to the heaviness in his heart. His mind drifted back to memories of his own family. His son Tommy and his wife Sarah. Down came a tear trickling down his pale face, he looked to the floor and Clara
"No, I'm not. I'm not fine Clara. My wife and I used to come to this very park with Tommy. I played baseball back and forth with him and the kids, laughing together. Can you believe we came here a few days before the accident?" He tried controlling his tears but they were stronger.
Clara reached out, placing her soft gentle hand on his arm. "To be honest, I can't imagine the pain you're passing through. But Henry. you don't have to carry it alone. Some people care about you. I care about you"
"Thank you, Clara. It's just that... Some days, it just feels harder to survive than others." Henry said, turning to her with a mixture of sorrow and appreciation in his eyes.
"Hey I know, Sarah was my best friend too, remember?" She asked
Henry nodded.
There was silence again.
"How about you come by the café later? I'm making pie. I can save you a slice. We can chat, or whatever you wanna do. Just to keep you company."
"I don't know if that's a good idea. I can be boring these days" Henry tried declining, looking at the coffee cup, steams escaping in curls.
"Thank God I can be fun. See you later" Clara didn't wait for him to reply again. She stood up and matched her way off the park.