Emanuel "Sandy" Sanderson

she remembered days in her youth where she would sometimes stop to stare at flowers. if in the spring, it was how vibrant the colors were. the petals shining underneath the sun's rays as they sang and joy with the new season. how they seemed to glow with vitality in an area where they could thrive.

if it was in winter, she remembered how barren the lands were, and yet some flora seemed to endure the harsh season. with frost along its branches, snow covering the ground and chilling it to its roots. they had quiet subtle strength to survive the winter. despite the odds, here they were persevering.

it was admirable some days. other days-

carmine remembered being abandoned in the woods. being told by an associate of her father's that she needed to find her way back home. it was the middle of the evening- no moon, no stars to guide her. Not even a weapon to help herself with. The associate left soon after and she was left trying to navigate her way back home with nothing to her name.

her father loved doing that to his children. they had to learn independence. self sufficiency. they had to be able to hold their own before they could contribute to the family.

she loathed nature in those moments. those training grounds meant to harden her spirit- prepare her for the worst and learn to be a weapon.

olympian gardens seemed to hold the spirit of both, carmine thought as she walked through it. there was serenity and stillness here- the anticipation of something while holding everything else at bay outside of those brushes. carmine wasn't sure how to feel about it, but her granny had told her to go talk a walk and she hardly had a chance to argue before she was practically thrown out the door by the old woman.

her senses were still sharp- still too aware of the world around her. she had initially wanted to pretend she hadn't seen the person on the bench. they stay to their business, and she stay to theirs. but they acknowledged her first. moving to the side and offering up a space on the bench. her instincts warred within her, but her grandmother's teachings of respect won out.

"excuse me," she mumbled, taking a seat and trying to figure out if she was meant to talk to this person- a random stranger. did stranger danger apply to adults? "i can leave," carmine offered, turning to the other, "if you were having a moment of... uh... reading?"

"Don't worry about it! No need to leave. :-)"

But he notices her fidgeting, on edge, hyper aware of her surroundings... Clearly something was bothering her. Perhaps he was the problem? The young man never knew a day where he was described as threatening but he was no stranger to the day to day most women faced... Emanuel understood completely.

"Would you like me to leave? I understand!"

He remains seated but he shifts as if ready to get up, his worried eyes fixated on her. The last thing he'd ever want is to cause her any more distress. In fact, if she needed anything from him, he was ready to attend to it immediately! Hoping to appease her, Emanuel gives her a reassuring smile and a nod.

She's suggested doing a charity drive for heart health after reading up on it in her biology classes, and Emanuel had let her run free with the idea. With plenty of his help, of course!

"This isn't redeemable, right?" It felt like a stupid question, but Sloane hadn't ever run one of these things before. The sopping wet dollar bill that surfer dude had pulled out of his swim trunks was half torn, so she removed it from the charity bucket with care.

@faithinthemoon

Emanuel had offered free coffee to visitors, they had sold various trinkets and foods to try and help the cause. It was a relative success but it would be bad practice to celebrate too early. For now, anticipation dominated the room.

He sets down two cups of tea at their table and sits across from her. Manny looks at her with concern but offers her a smile to drive up optimism.

He noticed the man on the bench where he usually sat with his sketches, and the way he was reading with intense focus. The sudden, almost guilty movement to hide his book took Haneul off guard. He recognised it, though. He had seen it in artists who were ridiculed rather than celebrated for their works and interests. He always found it dumb how quick people were to judge others’ interests.

When the man gestured for him to join, Haneul offered a polite nod of his head and a genuine smile. He settled on the bench, keeping a respectable distance between the two of them as they were still strangers. “Thank you,” he said, setting his sketchbook down on his lap. His eyes moved towards the other again, curious about what he had been reading, but he didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t want to make the man feel like he was judged or watched. That feeling came all too easily in Godscobh anyway, he didn’t need to add to it. 

“Sorry to disturb your peace,” he said politely, flipping open his sketchbook. It was a sketch he had been working on for a while, which was why he kept returning to this particular spot. He wanted to get the details right.  He pulled out a pencil from his bag, and leaned back in his seat. “I’m Haneul, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met? Have I seen you around the town before?” 

As Emanuel settled into his shared seating position, he couldn't help but take a peak at the stranger's sketch book. Although it was a sketch, the talent was undeniable! He could recognize that the drawing illustrated the plants ahead of them. Recognizing his hypocrisy for looking while wanting to hide away his book, Manny tentatively lowers his walls. He opts to do the same as his visitor and lays the dream dictionary onto his lap, cover up so he could see what he was reading. Perhaps, there was no reason to be afraid after all!

Emanuel lifts his finger; asking for a moment before pulling out his phone. He types quickly and turns his screen to the artist.

"Nice to meet you, Haneul! I'm Emanuel. You may have seen me at Ambrosia? I'm the manager. ☕"

He gives Haneul a friendly nod when their eyes meet. Emanuel then points to the sketchbook and offers him a candid thumbs up, mouthing "wow" and nodding in approval.

"Do you do this for work?"

she had the perfect place in mind that didn't involve her usual day of listening to screaming children playing, it's why she picked the gardens. it was much more peaceful. her steps slowed when she noticed him reading, humming skipping for a moment out of curiosity.

when he moved to let her take a seat, shook her head. hand raising from her bag strap to deny the offer. "no, i'm good," she gave a weak laugh as her lips curled up awkwardly. "i was just curious about what you were reading. i didn't mean to interrupt."

"Looking for answers. Been having strange dreams these days!"

Bashful, he can't help but avoid her gaze. The anticipation of a weirded out response leaving him small under the standing woman. His interest in dreams was a bit like admitting he believed in Astrology... Generally, it was perceived as odd and honestly a little embarrassing for a man to admit.

As he looks to the ground for some safety, he notices she's not wearing her shoes. "Free spirited." He thinks to himself. This almost comforts him. Usually, the no shoes in the park type of people vibed pretty well with "I decipher my dreams every morning" types. Well, as far as he knew...

He flashes her his phone once more.

Thea wouldn't say she's a rigid personality. She's actually quite adept at reacting when situations change. Of course, most of the time she has at least one back-up plan but that's besides the point. So, she shouldn't feel this paralyzed by a change in her routine right?

She's familiar with the garden's busy times and when it's virtually if not completely empty. She prefers those times to get out of her office and soak up some summer sun. But there's someone here. And they're sitting at her preferred bench.

She's thrown off. She can't explain it. Of all the things in her life to be thrown off by...

But the man is gesturing for her to sit down. Clearly he's not that thrown off by her, so she shouldn't be either.

"Apologies," she says, taking a seat. "Just wasn't expecting another person here today. At this time."

She regains her composure, straightening her back, rolling back her shoulders, and tilting her chin up slightly. Calm, collected, unfazed.

Besides, how else could he react to Honorable Chief Judge Pallas materializing herself, dead set on occupying his favorite bench. He respected her deeply. Though he assumed that surely she must have forgotten they'd crossed paths 10 years prior when the Patriaca famila attempted to murder him by way of... crushing him with a car. Judge Pallas had served as prosecutor on the case at the time. The mobster who didn't die on impact unfortunately landed himself a hefty sentence. All thanks to her diligent work and strong sense of justice. Something Emanuel would be eternally grateful for.

Waiting for her to take his invitation to sit by his side, he takes out his cellphone and begins typing.

"Best seat in the gardens, right?"

He waits a moment, making sure she read the entire message then returns the screen towards himself to add.

"Is this bench two small for the two of us? 🤠"