Fade

The ducks no longer quack, but instead squawk loudly and snap their menacing beaks at any passerby, in hopes of obtaining a handful of stale bread crumbs to fulfill the hunger that taunts their empty stomachs. The pond in which these ducks used to swim in is no longer a bright shimmering blue, but rather a variety of dull colors mixing together to form an unpleasant, depressing shade of brown. A park lies not far from the pond. The swings at this park are abandoned, swaying hopelessly in the breeze. The sand pit, which used to inhabit left behind plastic shovels and buckets, toy dinosaurs and Barbie dolls, is now empty. The glistening tan glow the sand use to posses has slowly faded over the years into a cold lifeless grey. The once brightly colored blue and white play structure is rusted, It’s paint is chipped away, and it is covered almost entirely with graffitti and sharpie marks from the many years teenagers have rebelled on it’s once flawless surface. The teeter-totter, once springy and new, now sounds off a piercing, shrieking noise every time someone sits upon its rusted seats. Even the tire swing, once a popular play structure at the park- the structure that most kids fought over for whos turn it would be next to swing on it- is no longer a shiny black but instead full of grime and dirt from all the years of sitting out in the rain, wind, and cold. Once a place of fun and imagination, now a place of loneliness and despair.

If you had come here ten years ago, you would of seen a completely different picture. You would of seen dozens of children running around in the lush green grass, playing games such as tag or Frisbee. Families having barbeques and celebrating birthday parties. Dogs chasing lime green tennis balls, children blowing bubbles, or building sculptures in the sand. You would of seen little kids crowding around the occasional ice cream truck, begging their parents for change so that they could have an icy treat. Parents pushing their newborn babies on little swings, enjoying the warm sunny day with family and friends. Smiles on everyone’s face- laughter in the air: that is what you would have seen. These days, that is very much not the case anymore. For this park is no longer full of the many memories it once held. Everything once clean and bright, has become dull and dirty. Anything that was ever once appealing here has died , disappeared forever, never to return. Instead of smiling children running around, there are gloomy homeless people trudging around its perimeters, searching the trash cans for any sign of food. The only creature left that inhabits this place are the ducks, the ugly, scruffy, grimy ducks that no longer hold the joy they once had. The beauty from here has vanished; this park has just become another eyesore of the town, fading into the background of all the noise and commotion, unnoticed now for many years, and many more to come.

By: Jessica L.