All the inferred possibilities constructed me huge expectations. These expectations hinted a new journey to begin. I wasn’t sure of my destination and I knew the path to it would be the most difficult one. Nevertheless, I had gathered enough courage to embark on the voyage. My high spirits made me feel like a warrior who has only two choices in the battlefield: fight a great war or die a cowardly death. I was definitely not a coward, so I chose the first obvious option. I didn’t have any definite plan, but I had a strong will—a will to do the impossible. I wasted no time on further imaginations. I left my apartment at once to visit the Kings Forest Park. I booked a cab, took the same route as before, and in the same duration of time, I arrived at the same graveyard. Everything was similar, except that I was over excited about my findings. I controlled my excitement and went inside without any hesitation. The graveyard was very different from the previous time. There were many visitors and no sign of melancholy existed. I performed a deep inspection of the graveyard paying attention to the every single detail. I gazed over the graves of Mr. & Mrs. Parkinson closely. I read the inscriptions aloud in my mind. I checked out some other tombs, and then got out of the graveyard to search the surroundings.
After my inspection of four hours, I stood still to process the collected information. I had already deduced earlier that the graveyard was once a park. My recent information suggested that it had been around thirty years since that park turned into a cemetery. It was because the oldest tomb in there was of Mr. Parkinson, who had passed away some twenty eight years ago. Mr. Parkinson was the first person to be buried there, which meant he would somehow be linked up to the Kings Forest Park. From the inscriptions on his tomb, I could guess that he had no significant family member other than his wife as there wasn’t anyone worth mentioning. I couldn’t get much help from the surroundings as it seemed to be the newly constructed neighbourhood. My next plan was to meet the graveyard’s caretaker. I hoped to get some useful information out of him.
I went inside the cemetery again. I recollected to have seen a cottage deep in the corner of the park. I guessed that to be the caretaker’s house. I followed my instincts and reached the cottage. It was a fancy cottage with fresh paint and a beautiful garden on the outside. I must say the caretaker maintained a high standard of living there. I put up the courage to knock on the door. On my fifth knock, the door opened and a man came outside. He was a brown coloured six foot tall person. I could estimate him to be in forties. He had grey hair and maintained a broad moustache on a clean shaven face. He answered in a surprised tone, “Yes?”
“I am sorry to bother you at this hour. If you aren’t busy, I need a little bit of your help,” I requested.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1zW5VYYh0
“You did disturb me in my afternoon nap, buddy. What help are you talking about?” He replied rudely.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYO1TcAscLS
“Nothing much. I was just curious about the history of this place. It would be really grateful if you could provide me some information.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurqcXUrwzl
“Listen, mate. Do I look like an encyclopedia to you? Are you crazy? This is not a museum and I am no tourist guide. So, why don’t you get the hell out of here before I am forced to report trespassing?” The guy was unnecessarily being angry.
“I am not any trespasser. I came to know recently about my relative: Mr. Parkinson. He is buried here, so I was wondering if you have any information on him. It’s okay if you don’t want to help. I will find someone who can,” I lied politely.
He calmed down on hearing the name of Mr. Parkinson, but he was nevertheless not willing to help. He stated, “No one is around here to help you, chum. It will be better if you go back where you came from.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdnLGdkfVn
“I have come too far to go back. Anyway, it’s fine. Thanks a lot for your time,” I said disappointingly and turned to leave.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbG6vo6g1Iz
Maybe, he felt pity or the humanity was aroused in him. I had only taken a few steps when I heard his voice, “Hey! Come back here.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ECXfEbOcG
I controlled my excitement and turned back slowly. I came back and asked, “Yes? You said anything?”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtk4MCW9Jta
“Frankly speaking, I can’t help you much. Nor can anyone else around here. Everything is history, mate. I can just tell you whatever I have heard from the former caretaker. Once upon a time, there used to be a good soul called Matthew Parkinson. He came up with an idea of an urban park in this neighbourhood. He, along with some residents, persuaded the government to provide funds for that park. The building up of Kings Forest Park went very well for him, but his own life didn’t. He died shortly after the park was completed. I think the residents decided to give this park as a tribute by burying him here. That’s all I can say,” he narrated.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqnphFlIFC
“Do you know how he died?” I asked curiously after hearing the story.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVcQplxTcv
“No, man,” he nodded.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6uHhGNRG7
“I don’t understand only one thing in whatever you narrated. Mr. Parkinson came up with an idea of a park for recreation of the people. Why did people gifted him a graveyard? Wouldn’t he be merrier if this was still a park?”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7maDuS06vs
“Don’t know, friend. Crazy days, crazy people.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bA5nEIMMM
“Have you heard from the previous caretaker, anything about his wife?” I asked what I really needed to know.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WSqhtGizA
“There wasn’t any mention of his wife. I wish I could tell you more regarding this, but there isn’t anything else. However…” He paused for a while and continued, “I think I remember an old lady visiting the tombs of Mr. & Mrs. Parkinson a couple of times.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VheSc0Ulv
“Which old lady? Is she an acquaintance?”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK4HmUJjpZ
“I can hardly tell you anything about her. I have noticed her only once. She came, stared at the headstone for long, and left. Seemed like a lunatic to me.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIf9i2qTfg
“How old she might be? Can you please describe her?” I asked excitedly. Things were really going somewhere now.666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohb5nGSZmX
“I suppose she might be in her sixties or seventies. Quite a short woman, barely five feet, I guess. She had grey hair and wrinkled face. And she was on her walking stick.”666Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwHwJ3NDW6
The description sure as hell ringed a bell. The first thought came to me instantly, Could the old lady be Mrs. Parkinson? Then came the second one, No, that can’t be possible. By her age, she would have definitely born before Mrs. Parkinson died. The last one hit me hard, Isn’t the old lady same whom I had met around the corner of narrow streets? Oh, yes she is. I didn’t know that was simply an assumption or a truth. But I depended too much on my assumption to find out the truth. Without further ado, I thanked the caretaker from the core of my heart and left immediately to find out the old lady.
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