Helena walked sipping the cup of cold brew coffee mixed with whole milk. She would be halfway done with it by the time she reached this park. Her sister and cousins always made fun of how slow she drank and ate. Her mom left her alone about this.

At the park she stared at the tennis courts that had not been used in years. Grass and weeds grew through the ever growing cracks. Each winter the cracks grew wider and longer. And each spring more grass and weed grew out of them. Soon the earth would swallow the old, unmaintained surface whole. And the old tennis court would be forgotten.

Helena remembered this park being vibrant at one point. Her mom and aunt would take her, sis, and the cousins here every Saturday. Throw a little picnic with home prepared meals. 

Ethiopian

vegetable mixes and their homemade sour bread that they used to scoop the mix into without requiring a fork or a spoon.

She missed those days. Missed having a 

park

in which she felt at home. Now the only time she felt welcome at the park was when she had gone to the cafe, ordered a drink, and was taking a walk. The park didn't feel the same anymore. Sometimes homeless people would use it as a place to rest until the police came and shoo'ed them away. Sometimes drunk college kids would come and hang out until they would get bored and move on. There were rarely any families who would come and spend time like she remembered her mom and auntie doing.

She took another sip of her cold brew which wasn't so cold anymore. It was time to turn back around and head home. There would be nothing to see here. She thought this until she saw a peculiar sight. A man who seemed to be teaching his son how to dance. It was the strangest sight. She hadn't seen dancing like that in real life before. Only on her phone.