“Do you ever miss me?”

“I told you, I don’t know you.”

Calmly, the young woman continued to type on her laptop. She stopped looking up when responding. Maybe he’d go away if she seemed disinterested enough.

“What are you working on?”

“University stuff.”

“Are you studying medicine?”

She stopped typing and looked him in the eyes for a moment.

“No.”

Silence. Typing noises.

“Oh.”

He leaned back against the old oak tree that provided them with a pleasant shadow on the warm spring afternoon. Slowly, he passed his hands through the lush grass they were sitting on. He liked the way it made his skin tingle.

“Do you ever miss me?”

“How could I miss you if we never met?”

Her voice was calm and composed. On the inside, she started to become uncomfortable, but she tried not to show it. He seemed harmless. Maybe he had mental problems.

"It's a beautiful spring day, isn't it?"

She didn't answer. It was quiet except for the gentle rustling of the leaves in the cool breeze and the occasional soft clatter of the keyboard. Despite the sunny weather, they were all alone in the remote portion of the park. He looked up at the treetop. The clear blue sky shined through the green leaves of the tall tree. That was his favorite sight. Too magical to be true yet so real.

“How long do you think this oak has been here for?”

“I don’t know.”

“It must be centuries old.”

A melancholic smile flitted across his face.

He looked at her. Her eyes were focused on the screen while she was reading an assignment. As her fingers went back on the keys, he reached for her hand. She paused. The leaves stopped rustling leaving the park in complete silence.

“Do you ever miss me?”

“Sometimes I miss you.”

She looked up.

He wasn’t there anymore.

She closed her laptop, stood up and made her way back home through the snow.