A warm spring day

It is said, A person knows the four seasons only after meeting them. Even people you've known for more than four seasons grow distant and become strangers if you don't meet them. It's been several years since we've had a book club held over Zoom. I don't know much about the new members. Old members are also gradually being forgotten. We go on a picnic every season to keep our spirits up. I always attend picnics.

I looked out the car window. ‘Has winter really gone?’ With a scared and doubtful gesture, As I watched the road narrow and disappear into the distance, I fell into a state of wistfulness. When I was a child walking down a country road, smelling acacia, I remembered the warmth of a large rock that I used to dry my wet clothes while playing by the stream at my country house. When the car stopped, the film of memories was cut off, as if I was being pushed back into the cruel darkness trapped inside a New York building.

 

Parked the car at Tallman Mountain State Park overlooking the Hudson River. There were three or four benches with Korean names engraved on them. It was donated to a place the deceased often visited. I googled it. A Central Park bench can be adopted with a donation of $10,000. Riverside Park is $7,500. Sitting on a donated chair and looking down at the river below the cliff

“Let’s meet when spring comes when we can lean back on chairs warmed by the sun.”

My friend’s words came to mind.

I have a bad habit. It's a habit that's been with me all my life and I've never tried to fix it. I don't call my friends, my sisters, my kids, my husband, unless it's really urgent. When the phone rings, I answer it graciously. I'm often criticized for my non-calling habit. They send me YouTube videos of negative characteristics of people they don't call often..

Spring has arrived like a promise. I made up my mind and called her. I wouldn’t have called to meet her if she hadn’t said those tantalizing words, ‘leaning back on a warm bench.’

Riverside Park, a bench marked 'Maggie Smith,' I leaned back in the chair and waited for her. It's warm. It's the warmth I felt when I was a child, going into my mother's bed and smelling mother's scent.

"how have you been doing? Why is it so hard to see your face? Why are you calling me? Isn’t there something going on at home? “I was surprised to get a call from you, who you’ve never called."

“Let’s meet on a spring day when we can lean on the bench warmed by the sunlight. I couldn’t ignore what you said."