H. birthday.

Once upon a time, in nowhere very specific, a man sat and ate his ice cream in the park. The rain slapped his bald head and his fingers, blue at the tip held on a little too tightly to the cone. No one played in the park, no one walked their dog and no joggers braved the conditions- especially at 10PM on a Monday night. The only person near was the ice cream van driver. Who sat in his cabbie reading a three week old paper- waiting for the old man to finish his dessert and come back and buy some more cones to feed the ducks on the other side of the park. He was cold and tired and was looking forward to getting home to his warm bed. He didn't mind waiting though- the old man was a harmless sort and was always pleasant. As the rain stopped and the moon gave more light it was easy to see the two in their separate patches, the only sound was the radio in the van playing an old tune about a girl who still couldn't decide if she loved her current or ex lover. The man on the bench finished his ice cream, wiped his hands and popped the napkin in the bin beside him, he made his way to the van and bought his customary three cones, nodding he made his way to the pond. "Sorry for asking, and I hope you don't mind sir, but why do you sit on that bench in the cold and wet weather eating ice cream of all things? Wouldn't you prefer to be at home?" The old man stood for a moment and gave a rueful smile; "Ah, but then I can't talk to my ducks when no one else is around- see how they are getting on without getting in the way of all the families that come by during the day to give them the scraps of their dinners". The van driver was unconvinced but did not want to seem rude so he wished the older gentleman a good night and went to close his door. The old man started to walk back to the van, "You see, I've always come here at this time of night, first with my parents when it was just a pond and the surrounding houses still existed, then with my own children when it was a meadow of grass where they could play, and when they outgrew it my wife and I came here to relax and watch the world. Everything has changed in this place but those ducks and my visits, so don't worry about me- I'm so old no one would think to bother with an old man and a very empty wallet", laughing he turned and went on his way. The van driver got behind the wheel and rubbed his hands together to fight the numbness of his fingers- starting his engine he headed for home. As he left the park he could see the man in his rear view mirror, crouching down and feeding the ducks. He would stay there and watch the animals eat and then make his way back to wherever he came from.