Are introduction chapters always so short? I don't know; I haven't done one of these in so long (It's really been a year since I've contributed to this site? Well, an anniversary of absence is as good a time as any to rejoin). I feel that it could be longer than this; but also, it feels right as-is. I'd like to say that I've been thinking on this story's plot for a while, but I honestly just decided to start it today when I thought of it's start and it's end. I find myself doing that often when writing; planning whole stories for the sake of one or two scenes I really want to see be done, with too few ideas for the middle. But at least I can hope to write well when I get there.

Though a chapter a day may end up being out of reach (but not unreachable), it's the plan for at least right now. I've done something roughly that way before; but will I get it again as Valentine's Day comes near?

I think that may be building up the wrong suspense.

Friendly Acquaintances

Under a beautiful sky, Rin sits in the soft afternoon on a park bench on a gravel trail, peacefully alone. The yellow bright of the sun is at an angle behind the clouds; the few, scattered trees on the green have a handful of birds flying between them, making their bird sounds and bird movements as they fly along in the background. The sound of their quiet chirps, quiet from the distance and leaves, gives a charm-esqe noise in the area, and leaves with Rin a calm mindset to perfectly match the calm of the landscape. Though the park is often more crowded, today it is nearly empty, and though Rin is not anti-social, she doesn't find anything to complain about when she can't be bothered by others' company. She brought a book to read, which sits beside her; but she decides to enjoy the serenity and the scenery, and leaves it closed as she takes in the free time.

A gentle breeze is gliding over and the grass sways as she overlooks it. As the wind goes past her, the feeling one gets when they remember a spectacular time quickly comes and goes; but as Rin doesn't often have this feeling, she enjoys it nonetheless. Not that Rin hasn't had several enough spectacular times, but the feeling seems to do that naturally and she doesn't complain when she gets it.

The area isn't nostalgic to her, though she passes by or through it every other day. But it gives, as all parks should try to, a comfortable feeling of warmth- only not physically, as it is on the tail end of winter here and Rin has dressed accordingly. She adjusts herself in a light coat every minute or so from the temperature; thankfully, the wonderful breeze she enjoys is not to blame. Aside from adjusting in the coat, she isn't moving very much or often, and she's trying not to. The sound of her own breathing seems louder to her than the wind passing by, or the grass moving around, or the birds far behind her, and any rustle of her clothes or the rolling of the small stones underneath her shoes disrupts the slow, consistent rhythm it adds to the atmosphere as she grows to like it. The cool air makes her breath a white mist that hangs on the breeze as it moves, for a moment, before moving along with it away. The whole of it all- the area, its feel from around her- gives Rin the feeling that the place could be described in poetry- but she thinks the thought away, and besides; the park is usually more crowded.

After several more minutes, she checks the watch on her wrist and then stands up with a sigh, needing to go on to elsewhere. Picking up the book she had brought with her, she reluctantly leaves her new favorite spot to be alone. She makes a mental note and hopes that this was the usual for this time of day, hoping that she can maybe return there in the future more often, and be away from the busyness of living. And maybe she'll actually read next time.