Innocent Adoration
At a distance, he noticed her and couldn’t look away.
Shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair bounced with each step. In the wind, it would blow against her slightly freckled face, forcing her to raise a delicate hand with bright pink fingernails, swiping away a strand destined to return in mere moments. Emerald green eyes surveyed her surroundings, taking in the beauty of the colorful park in Autumn. A smile of perfect teeth complemented her eyes to such a degree it felt unrealistic, somehow managing to dim the sparkle of the diamond studs in her ears in the light.
She was perfection – a living embodiment of the girl he had seen in his dreams so many times. A fictitious figure come to life.
As a slight gasp of disbelief left his mouth, he whispered to himself, “She’s the one.” His search was finally over. He had seen so many candidates in his life; in each one, the slightest flaw forced him to move on. There was no room for deviation away from perfection, and finding it was a journey finally complete. As the realization the girl of his dreams was right in front of him became a reality, hesitation locked his feet in place and his mouth shut.
How could he, a balding, out-of-shape, below-average man, approach such beauty as that? He imagined himself a man she would giggle with her friends about after he passed them with a smile. How could a mere mortal stand before a goddess and hope to gain her hand? He stood no chance. He had been alone all his life, but deep down, he knew that was about to change.
Suddenly, he felt his feet lift him off the bench and start walking him toward her. He wasn’t even sure what his first words would be to her. “Hi.” “Hello.” “Excuse me?” Everything felt like it would result in a failure that he would never recover from, but in that moment, he heard her call out with a voice so sweet and so endearing it made him melt.
“Mommy! I have to go potty!”
As the child skipped to the concrete restrooms erected near the playground, a switch flipped inside him. His breathing was steady. His confidence regained. His intent was clear.
As he followed her to the restroom, he took the zip ties out of his pocket.
