[WP] An agoraphobe's day at the park.

Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two...

You count to yourself, your eyes squeezed tightly shut. A sheen of sweat breaks out as you try and hold the image of a deserted island, you and only you basking in the warm sun, your lonely sailboat boat bobbing in the blue of the idyllic waters, with only yourself for company. You allow yourself to relax, and your heartbeat finally begins to slow...

"Hey mister!"

Your island has suddenly become invaded, there's someone else there! This isn't supposed to happen, this is your place to...

"Mister, hey you!"

You take a deep breath, and slowly open your eyes, leaving them half-mast in a sort of heavy-lidded squint. In front of you is a girl, around five or six.

"Hey mister, whatcha doing?"

You shake your head and distort your features into a sour frown, hoping that this effectively communicates your displeasure at the unwanted interruption. You pull your hat lower over your eyes and squeeze them shut again, trying to return back to your center, your only respite from the busy, crazy, insane, violent, hopeless, frightening outside world.

A sudden tug at your pant leg forces you out of yourself again and you look down. The girl is looking up at you again, an expression of wide-eyed concern on her face.

"Are you okay? What's the matter?"

You shake your head again, beginning to grow uncomfortable with this girl standing so near you. Where were her parents? What if someone gets the wrong idea? Why can't she leave you alone?

Her expression never changing, she stares up at you, awaiting a response. You shift uncomfortably on the wooden bench. You intentionally picked this one, as it was farthest away from any possible human contact.

/r/WritingPrompts Thread