30TH DECEMBER

            He let Annabel walk ahead of him as they passed the empty duck pond. He hadn’t quite managed to wipe the sleep from his eyes yet.
            ‘Is he doing all right?’ he said.
            ‘Yes but its Ben.’
            ‘I get it. I remember his outbursts at school.’
            ‘Didn’t he knock over one of those big tables in art class once?’
            ‘And marched off down the hallway humming Ride of the Valkyries.’
            ‘He’d been on a war movie binge.’ she dashed a pebble across the water. ‘I think.’
            He considered touching her arm but kept his hands in his coat pockets. Feeling a loose button, he pulled it out and passed it to her. ‘To throw,’ he said.
            Annabel smiled and moved further up the pond. ‘So you’ve been feeling depressed, is that it?’
            ‘I suppose so. It’s more a lonely thing though. When I realise that I’m alone.’
            ‘Then perhaps you should see Ben. He’s getting sick of me and dad constantly visiting.’
            ‘I’d certainly like to. It’s just its hard. I can go out but not for very long.’
            She turned to him. ‘Visiting hours aren’t very long.’
            He nodded and watched fresh ripples. The pebble landed on the bank.