Greeting the elusive winter sun with a grateful smile, he rested his well-moisturised elbows on the railings of his balcony. Down there, through the filigree of leaves and branches, he could see and hear a group of teenage boys playing ball in the park.
He could identify many of them. A pair of twins who had been his ex-students. A pair of siblings who had recently enrolled into his classes. A tall boy with a croaky voice who seemed to be the leader of the group by the virtue of how confidently he croaked and dismissed his playmates.
There was tension between the two teams down there - heated arguments over fouls and the ball-throwing prowess of certain playmates. It seemed so real and important and serious to those teenagers. But he, from his vantage point, knew that this was just play. It didn't really matter. When these boys would grow up, they would look back, laugh at themselves (and harder at their playmates) and see how silly and pointless and blown-out-of-proportion those squabbles in the park had been.
And then, he suddenly became aware that he was being Watched too, from another vantage point. Being thought of exactly as he was thinking about the boys. He burst into a loud laughter, embarrassed. Then he looked at the softly-glowing sun in the sky briefly. Then he hung his head low, nodded a couple of times before turning around and shutting the balcony door behind him.
He could identify many of them. A pair of twins who had been his ex-students. A pair of siblings who had recently enrolled into his classes. A tall boy with a croaky voice who seemed to be the leader of the group by the virtue of how confidently he croaked and dismissed his playmates.
There was tension between the two teams down there - heated arguments over fouls and the ball-throwing prowess of certain playmates. It seemed so real and important and serious to those teenagers. But he, from his vantage point, knew that this was just play. It didn't really matter. When these boys would grow up, they would look back, laugh at themselves (and harder at their playmates) and see how silly and pointless and blown-out-of-proportion those squabbles in the park had been.
And then, he suddenly became aware that he was being Watched too, from another vantage point. Being thought of exactly as he was thinking about the boys. He burst into a loud laughter, embarrassed. Then he looked at the softly-glowing sun in the sky briefly. Then he hung his head low, nodded a couple of times before turning around and shutting the balcony door behind him.
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