Starter | Peculiar Interests
Where: Olympian gardens | When: mid-day | Whom: open to all
Today is a day off for Emanuel. He seldom gets the chance to stop and rest. For the occasion, the young manager chose to go to one of his favourite places, Olympian Gardens. At a slow pace, he makes his way to a bench. In truth, he would be tempted to claim it was "his" bench. After all, he never saw anyone else sit there and coming to this spot has become a bit of a ritual during his few days of rest.
A tranquil and quiet stroll. Always stopping to smell the fresh air when it hit the various flowers of the garden. Taking in every bit of nature he can as if uncertain he'd get the chance to do so any time soon. Once he'd sufficiently reconnected with the elements, he proceeds to his final destination: the bench! A quiet groan escapes him as he sits down. Tired wasn't enough to describe the pains in his body from standing long hours at the Ambrosia. The weight of keeping the establishment open was definitely starting to take a toll but Emanuel never once considered leaving. In fact, he almost felt guilty to be away from his post. Surely a bit of administration was left to be done. What of the day old pastries? Would his worker remember to give them away? Did-- "Never mind all that, Emanuel!" he thinks to himself. He takes a deep inhale to recenter himself. In actuality, Emanuel had come with a purpose beyond relaxation this time. He had brought a book... a dream dictionary! Which he opens almost impatiently moments after settling down. The young manager begins reading with intent, deeply focused. Last night he had a weird dream and he's keen on deciphering.
A wheat field. A golden sunset. A child running away from him. Always out of reach. The child disappears into the foliage only to emerge as a flock of doves...
Just as he begins to find keywords and definitions, he hears the sound of gravel cracking under the weight of someone approaching. Emanuel moves to close the book half way, almost instinctively hiding it from prying eyes. He's aware of the oddity of his... peculiar interest in dreams. Being mute, he has very few options in ways to explain away his odd choice of literature. Should they have noticed the book, he can only hope the other is open minded enough not to mock him. Then again, it's not like it would have been the first time. With a brother like his...
Emanuel looks up, squinting slightly as the sun rays light up his face. He smiles awkwardly and nods in acknowledgement, waiting for his judgment. A quiet moment passes... Suddenly, it hits him. Perhaps they wanted to sit there as well and he had selfishly taken up all the space available! He hurriedly shifts aside, leaving a space available by his side. With an inviting gesture and a reassuring nod, he indicates to the stranger that he's free to join him.
her trip through the garden was peaceful. softly humming as she walked without a thought of anyone else around her. flats carried in one hand while she held the strap of her tote bag in the other. clearly with a purpose even she didn't really know if she had.
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."
