―Score,‖ she murmured, a soft smile playing on her lips. Jonah found himself smiling back. ―What?‖ She touched her finger to the depression in his cheek and whispered, ―I made you laugh-laugh. Like out loud. You chuckle, but you never really laugh. And you have a dimple here. What a waste.‖
His hands fell away from her, and he stepped back, the smile still on his face. He sought the refuge of his pockets again and looked up at the girl seated astride on a small stone elephant. ―Well, what are you waiting for?‖ the girl said, and he thought he saw pixie dust trailing behind her braids when the wind tossed them up and stars twinkling in her laughing eyes. ―Take a picture, Jonah,‖ she said, mirth in her voice. ―This is a historical event!‖ The smile was still on his face when he pulled his hands and phone from his pockets and snapped a picture of her laughing, arms spread out as if to catch the wind. He wasn‘t the maudlin kind, but the picture he‘d taken would make a great wallpaper for his phone. ―Come on,‖ she said when he‘d brought her down from the elephant, tugging him toward the exit. ―Let‘s go to Cent Park.‖ ―We won‘t find any parking space there at this time,‖ he said, and she shrugged. ―Then leave your car behind.‖ At night, Centenary Park was a wonderland for an Alice who‘d just discovered hedonism and chosen to revel in it. Lights winked from Waikiki Lounge and flittered through the trees all the way to Kyoto. The air smelled like a sultan‘s harem; shisha and a mixture of perfumes made for a heady combination. Talent breathed in deeply and sighed. ―Smells like life here.‖ ―Smells like high school kids here,‖ Jonah countered. She linked her fingers with his, and he let her, returning her smile when she leaned into his side and beamed up at him. They walked for a while, she chattering about everything, and he listening with nothing but indulgent smiles and quiet laughter which made her squeal in delight. ―I like walking in the park,‖ she said when they reached the little bridge going toward the other side of the park. ―It‘s so peaceful.‖