A Quest For Love - S01 E03

Story 1 week ago

A Quest For Love - S01 E03

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 3

A Quest For Love

The air in the park felt very heavy and thick. It was the kind of feeling you get just before a big summer storm starts. The sun was still shining, but it did not feel warm to Leo anymore. He stayed very still behind the big oak tree. His heart was beating so hard that he thought the tree might feel it. He watched the man in the shiny dark suit. The man did not look like he belonged in a park with grass and trees. He looked like he belonged in a tall building with glass walls and cold floors. He walked straight to Mr. Okafor. He did not say hello. He did not ask how Mr. Okafor was doing. He just started talking in a very loud and very angry way.

The two men began to argue. They did not shout at the top of their lungs, but their voices were sharp. They were speaking in loud, angry whispers that traveled through the quiet air. Leo moved a little bit closer. He moved like a little cat, being very careful not to step on any dry leaves or twigs that might go snap. He wanted to hear what they were saying. He felt that if he could understand the mystery of the angry man, he could help Mr. Okafor.

"You cannot stay here forever, Father," the man in the suit snapped.

Leo gasped. He almost let go of the tree trunk. The angry man was Mr. Okafor’s son! Leo had never thought about Mr. Okafor having a family. He had always thought of the old man as someone who lived all by himself in a world of silence. But here was a son, and he was very, very upset.

"The house is sold," the son said. He waved his hand around as if the whole world was something he wanted to throw away. "Everything is finished here. There is nothing left for you in this small town. You need to move to the city with us. We have a place for you. You cannot keep sitting on this old bench in this old park. It is not healthy. It is not right."

Mr. Okafor did not look at his son. He kept his eyes fixed on the red swing. He shook his head slowly. He looked very stubborn, like a goat that refuses to move from the middle of the road. His hands, which were still tucked into his pockets, seemed to grip something tightly. Leo knew it was the yellow flower.

"I am not leaving," Mr. Okafor whispered. His voice was low, but it was very firm. "I am not leaving until he comes back."

The son let out a very loud groan. He looked up at the sky as if he were asking the clouds for help. "He is not coming back, Father! How many times do we have to tell you? It has been years. You are waiting for a ghost. You are wasting your life sitting here."

Mr. Okafor pointed a long, shaking finger at the empty swing. "He promised," he said. "He told me to wait right here. If I leave, and he comes back, he will find the bench empty. He will think I forgot him. I will never let him think I forgot him."

The son shook his head. He looked tired now, rather than just angry. He looked like he had said these same words a thousand times before. He turned around without saying goodbye. He walked back to his big black car. He got inside and slammed the door. The sound was like a small explosion. Then, he drove away with a loud screech of tires that left a smell of burnt rubber in the air.

Leo felt a deep shiver of sadness go through his whole body. It was a cold feeling that started in his toes and went all the way to his head. Who was Mr. Okafor waiting for? Was it another son? Was it a grandson? And why was his own son so angry about it? It seemed very sad that a father and a son could not talk without whispering angry words. Leo stayed behind the tree for a long time after the car was gone. He watched Mr. Okafor sit back down. The old man looked smaller than before. He looked like a candle that was slowly burning down to nothing.

That night, Leo could not stop thinking about the word promised. A promise was a very big thing. In Leo’s world, a promise meant you had to do what you said you would do. If he promised his mom he would clean his room, he did it. If he promised his friend he would share his snacks, he did it. Mr. Okafor was keeping a promise, even if it made him sad. Leo decided he wanted to give Mr. Okafor something special. He wanted to show the old man that someone else cared about the park too.

The next day, Leo did not look for flowers. Instead, he went to his desk and took out a large sheet of white paper. He took out his box of sixty-four crayons. He spent a very long time drawing. He drew the big oak trees with their green leaves. He drew the blue pond with the yellow ducks. He drew the sun looking like a big gold coin in the sky. And in the middle of the drawing, he drew the wooden bench and the red swing. He even drew a little yellow flower sitting on the bench. He worked very hard to make sure the colors were bright and happy. He wanted the drawing to look like a place where good things happen.

When four o'clock came, Leo felt a little bit of butterflies in his stomach. But he was not as scared as he was on the first day. He knew that Mr. Okafor had a secret, and secrets are often just things that people are too sad to talk about. Leo walked into the park. He saw the old man already sitting there. The park was empty of other children, as usual. Everyone was still afraid of the man who scared the sun.

Leo did not hide behind the tree this time. He walked straight up to the bench. His shoes made a soft crunching sound on the path. Mr. Okafor heard him and turned his head. His face was still hard, but his eyes did not look as cold as before. He saw Leo holding the piece of paper.

Leo reached out and handed the drawing to Mr. Okafor. "This is for you," Leo said. His voice was small, but it was clear.

The old man did not yell. He did not growl. He did not tell Leo to go away. Instead, he reached out his shaking hands and took the paper. He held it by the corners very carefully. He looked at the bright green trees. He looked at the golden sun. He looked at the little yellow flower he had drawn on the bench. He looked at the drawing for a very long time. It was so quiet that Leo could hear a bee buzzing near a clover patch.

Finally, Mr. Okafor looked up at Leo. His face was full of questions. "Why are you doing this, boy?" he asked. His voice was not like rocks rubbing together this time. It was soft, like an old book being opened. "Why do you keep coming back? I was mean to you. I told you to stay away. Why are you giving me flowers and pictures?"

Leo looked into the old man's eyes. He saw the sadness there, but he also saw a little bit of hope. Leo smiled as bravely as he could. It was a big, wide smile that showed his teeth. "Because everyone needs a friend," Leo said. "And I think you have been waiting a long time for one."

For just a second, something wonderful happened. Mr. Okafor’s face softened. The deep lines around his mouth seemed to relax. His eyes looked a little bit brighter. It looked like he was about to say something kind. It looked like the heart of stone was finally starting to crack open to let the light in. Leo felt like he had won a great prize. He had found the love that was hiding inside.

But then, everything changed in a heartbeat.

Mr. Okafor’s eyes suddenly went very wide. The softness disappeared and was replaced by a look of pure, sharp fear. He was not looking at Leo anymore. He was looking at something behind Leo. His face went as white as a sheet of paper. He gripped the edges of Leo’s drawing so hard that the paper wrinkled.

Mr. Okafor stood up so fast that the bench creaked loudly. He pointed a long, trembling finger over Leo’s shoulder. His voice came out in a loud, sharp shout that echoed off the trees and the pond.

"Look out!" he screamed.

Leo’s heart stopped. He felt a cold wind brush past the back of his neck. He began to turn around, his eyes wide with wonder and terror. What was behind him? Was it the angry son? Was it something from the shadows of the park? Was the secret of the red swing finally coming to light?

Leo turned his head, but before he could see what was there, a shadow fell over him, and the world seemed to go very, very dark.

Who do you think Mr. Okafor is waiting for at the red swing, and why does he believe they will come back?

Why is the son so angry about his father staying in the town? Is he trying to be helpful, or is he being selfish?

Leo said that "everyone needs a friend." Do you think a child can really be friends with someone as old and grumpy as Mr. Okafor?

What do you think Mr. Okafor saw behind Leo that made him scream so loudly?

If you were Leo, would you have stayed to talk to Mr. Okafor, or would you have been too scared by his son’s visit?