the sky was a consuming pale blue, it wasn't bright but seemed to have a radiant quality to it. maybe it was because of the lack of clouds, leaving the blue to span uninterrupted from horizon to horizon. Jill lay back on the grass and took in the view, enjoying the opportunity for her mind to run around and play in the sunlight as it wished without the usual vivid visual stimuli of everything else. she liked the blue, it was a very nice blue. it would go really well in her kitchen instead of the checkered tiles. she was so sick of those tiles, glaring at her like she was meant to have more sophistication than one who would leave crumbs and used knives on the bread board. it was a trait that no one would put up with in a housemate and easily avoided by not having housemates, but to have the house itself judging you for it was another matter, it begged for change. as she was thinking these simply paranoid ideas of a scrutinizing decor, a humming tune filled her ears. yesterday, the Beatles, she cringed slightly.
"depressing much?" her mind whinged as it jumped back into her head, surprisingly in a much similar tone of that of the kitchen tiles. she sat up a looked around. about five metres away, which she felt was invading personal space given the park was huge, a man was standing staring at the same sky. as if he knew she was looking at him he turned his head to her and smiled. it was as if the smile came with sound effects, chimes and bells ringing through her ears enticing her to smile too, but leaving her metaphorically jaw-dropped and apparently dazed by the moment.
"nice sky today eh?" she blurted trying to escape the stunned mullet mentality.
"it's a awful" he said, returning his gaze to the sky.
"i quite like it," she answered, standing up and brushing the stray blades of grass from her back and bottom. "i was thinking of having the blue for my kitchen"
"i just think it seems terribly lonely," he paused as if searching the sky for something and then laughed, "sorry, didn't mean to make your kitchen's future sound depressing."
"oh it judges me anyway," she said bluntly, suddenly aware that the sky did look lonely, detached from the rest of the landscape.
"at least your bathroom doesn't" he laughed, but it was comfortable and not directed at her, like he had accepted the fact the rooms have personalities long ago. there was a long pause as the two just stared up, almost expecting to see a change.
"it does seem lonely" she whispered
"you seem lonely" he answered in the same tone
there was another long pause as Jill managed to swallow her pride.
"my names Jill" she held out her hand.
"Jack" he said with that smile, taking her hand and firmly shaking it.
it took a moment before the combination of their names registered and they laughed. the laughter carried a great deal of relief and something close to hope, echoing out into the rest of the park like good friends reunited on slightly elevated ground.


sometimes the only way out is through, to live is to change