Pastimes

Before.

When she thought of her life before. She tried not to, many days she hadn’t even the faintest pull to the past but then there would come a day like today. A day when the past blew through the molecules of her body and she collapsed in on herself. An implosion is how she thought of it, at least with a nuclear attack she’d get a three-minute warning before it was all over.

Across the street,

Benjamin Wheeler watched, he saw the woman go down, an invisible source knocking her to the ground. This was his moment, his opportunity. Taking languid strides, not wanting anyone to notice, like the force that had floored her, he preferred to remain invisible, he crossed the road. His bag already half off his shoulder. He reached her and scooped her bags into his and was gone.

The palpitations subsided after what seemed like a hundred years or more.

She turned over to sit, more dignified she thought. Although nothing about the whole incident was iced in dignity. The turmoil in her stomach and her breathing were returning to normal. She laughed out loud, what the freak was normal about her. And these ridiculous notions. Bah humbug, she began to gather herself, and panic began again.

Where were the bags?

Benjamin had taken the scenic route back to his room, around the park, watching the dogs and their owners, the noisy kids and gossiping parents. Before entering he checked all his security measures, no one had been, or noticed, his room above. He was caught, wanting to rush at the bags but at the same time wishing to hold onto this anticipation for the longest time. Curiosity quickly won and he opened the first one. The handbag he would leave till last, the booty staying unknown.