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A man and a woman sat on a bench in the park. Both around their early twenties. There was something wrong and the man could sense it. The woman didn’t look at him, just stared off to the trees. The park was full of people playing and laughing but the man felt cold and sad watching her. A slight breeze came by and and gently blew the woman’s long, luscious hair. The man was stricken hard by her beauty and knew that he wanted her to stay with him.

“Audrey,” he said. She looked at him. “What's going on?”

“...I don’t know.”

“Recently, you’ve been acting different.”

“I’m sorry,” she turned to him and smiled weakly. “I’m still the same.’

“Don’t lie to me. I want to know what’s been going on. I feel I’m only just partially going out with you. You never tell me anything about yourself.”

She looked away again and this hurt the man very much.

“I thought you were someone that I could love,” the man said. “Why don’t you open up to me?”

The woman looked back at him with watery eyes for why the man didn’t know but felt powerless to help.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t quite understand it myself.”

“Try to explain it then.”

“Well, okay. Lately I’ve been having dreams of a man instead of you. A man I can’t seem to remember but really want to and for some reason I feel that during those dreams I’m free. When I come back to reality and I find out I’m going out with you...”

“You don’t want to talk to me because of some dream guy?”

“Hey, don’t make it sound stupid.”

“But it is. You said you don’t remember that guy, he’s probably just something your mind made up. You ideal man. You aren’t ever going to find someone that great.”

“What are you saying?”

“This isn’t a strike to your self-esteem. I’m not saying that you aren’t pretty because you’re beautiful. I’m not saying that you aren’t smart because you are. I’m saying that trying to set your standards to something you’ve never seen before is ridiculous.”

“I think I’ve seen him before.”

“Oh... an ex?”

“I don’t know for sure.”

“Come on Audrey, I need you to have a clear answer.”

“I think we should break up.”

“...what?”

“Maybe not forever. It’s just that right now I need to have some time to think things over.”

“...okay.”

The man got up hugged Audrey but she did not hug back. He glanced at her distant eyes again and had to look away. Putting his hands in his pockets, he walked away from her feeling cold.

Audrey sat by herself on the bench in the park for the rest of the afternoon.