Digital Watches
an excerpt

Wind swept. Most of what it swept was leaves, smattered about with other leaves and the occasional extra leaf. And then suddenly, the wind ceased to sweep. The leaves settled, a light drizzle broke out, and Corey's eyes brightened.

A man by all appearances in his late twenties, Corey Fritz sat on his favorite park bench in the middle of his favorite park. He continued to sit, his mouth stretching into an increasingly wider smile, as the sky darkened and the rain hardened.

The street lamp he sat under illuminated itself as water began to drip from the brim of Corey's well weathered hat. Shadows danced as the light of a dozen or so similar street lamps fell across the small lake before him, mingling with the reflections of traffic lights and office buildings.

The sounds of distant cars irritably navigating their way through Corey's beloved city drifted across the water, bringing with them the familiar scents of fast food, exhaust fumes and body oder.

The rain fell harder, creating a wall too thick to see through, a roar too loud to hear over, and brought with it the same refreshing smells it always brought. Alone at last in his own piece of paradise, Corey fished a cigarette out from his breast pocket, held it his mouth, and began the always arduous process of locating his lighter.

Distracted as he was, peering into one of the deeper, darker pockets of his trench coat, Corey was caught rather off guard when a hand plucked the cigarette from between his lips.