None

I was attending college out of state. Away from home for the first time, just a little bird stretching her wings. Of course the down side to that was that I was away from my family and friends. I was alone in a strange place, without any familiar faces. So I was glad when I was befriended by Leslie and Cindy. We just seemed to click. Before too long we were thick as thieves, always together whenever our schedules allowed. One day they told me they had a shared interest in ballooning, and asked me if I would like to go with them on a balloon ride.

            The house was quiet, aside from the gentle purr of the ventilation system circulating cold air. Gina was gone for the day. And for Abby, it was perfect.

I don’t know what the rest of the world has, but in America, we have seen this television commercial for years that proffers a medical alert product that has been marketed to the elderly population. It is a device about the size of a pack of gum, which hangs from the person’s neck, which the user can push the button on it to alert an alarm company to summon a medical response if the person were to ever have something happen to them.

The man and the woman laced their fingers together, staring deeply into each others eyes as they sat on the park bench.

"I love you," the man cooed.

She blushed. "I love you more," the woman cooed back.

"No, I do."

"No, -I- do."

A giant fist slammed down onto the bench next to them, pounding the broken mess of wood into a small crater.  Screaming, the couple tumbled off their seats, falling over themselves before clambering to their feet and sprinting away.


*****