Curiosity & Connections

After asking for directions several times, Arthur arrived at the entrance to the central park, decorated with an arch of leaves and flowers ranging from pink to blue. "A little too much for my taste," I murmured quietly.

"We agree, don't we?" said a man about my age, looking at the same arch with a doubtful expression.

"It's true that it lacks color..." I replied, which made us both laugh in good humor.

"James Harno, pleased to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

"Arthur Lewis, nice to meet you too," I replied, watching him. He was a man about my height, 6'1", with a rather athletic build, wild brown hair, green eyes, and an intellectual curiosity, dressed casually.

"So you're visiting? You've got a real tourist's walk," he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Does it show?" I asked, looking at myself and spreading my arms.

"Yes, you're looking at the arches the way everyone does the first time, and secondly, you came here on your own, which is even more telling," he said.

"It's true, I look like a tourist, but you're also alone, aren't you?" I replied.

A little surprised, he laughed and said, "That's true, but I'm meeting some friends, so that's half a point, and you can call me by my first name."

"After all, I never said I wouldn't meet friends... so let's call each other by our first names," I said, finishing the joke.

As he started to walk away, he stopped and asked, "You seem like a cool guy who doesn't take himself too seriously. Would you like to walk with me? My buddies are at the other end of the park if you're not doing anything," he said, inviting me.

"Yeah, sure, why not. Do you know any cool places in the park?" I asked.

"Mmh," he hesitated, thinking. "I'll be honest with you, there's more to do in this park as a couple than with a buddy," he said, laughing at his joke.

"Okay, okay, I'll make a note to come as a couple next time," I said, taking out my notepad and pen and pretending to write in it.

"Do you really have a notepad and pen?" he looked at me curiously and amused.

"Yes, it's for writing down the places I wanted to visit today," I said, showing him the notepad.

"Place de l'Innovation, Central Park, and Café de la Renaissance... Ah yes, you really did mark them all. That's one way of doing it... Don't you have a phone?" he asked.

"No, I lost mine recently, so at least it forces me to talk to people to ask for directions. That way, I can meet new people," I said with a shrug.

"It would be nice if we could get to my buddies before the sun goes down," he said.

As we walked into Central Park, he asked me, "So, what part of the city are you from?"

Since I had prepared for these questions before coming out, my answers were pretty smooth as I replied, "I'm from here. It's just that I haven't been out of the eastern suburbs much, and this is my first time in the western suburbs."

"Oh right, I know a lot of people in the same situation as you. After all, in the world we live in, you don't really want to leave home, do you?" he said, to which I replied.

"That's for sure, but now that I've moved not too far away, it's a good opportunity to visit."

As we walked and talked about what we were doing, I looked around and observed the pink lavender that filled the atmosphere with a very distinctive scent, a bit sweeter than the lavender of my old world. I even saw true lavender, which seemed to prefer the shade of the trees, creating a fragrant environment that was pleasant to experience.

"It's true that it would be very pleasant to come here as a couple," I said, looking at the various couples sitting under the trees, picnicking, and lounging together.

"Yes, if you have one," he laughed and continued, "We won't pass by it, but there's also a nice little pond for that kind of thing. But it's even busier than here, and between us, the girls prefer to be among the flowers than in front of a pond," he whispered at the end, as if it were a well-kept secret.

"I can understand that," I said, amused, continuing to observe my surroundings as we walked.

After chatting for a while about what we did for a living, I found out what James' life was like. Apparently, he was born into a family of scientists, and from what he told me, he worked as a survival technology engineer, working on water purification devices and air filtration systems.

"So you're a developer, what studio do you work for?" he asked me after I told him I worked in video game design.

"I'm a freelancer, so I help out on some big studio projects by solving their problems or responding to their offers," I replied simply.

"Oh, that's cool. In our group, we all have pretty normal jobs, so don't be embarrassed if my friends ask you a lot of questions after you tell them," he said as we approached his friends who were sitting in the shade of a tree.

From what I could see in the distance as we approached the group, there were two men and two women. The two men looked rather athletic, although one had a much stronger, sturdier build.

The other, who was about the same build as James, but blond, with very short hair, wearing square glasses to accentuate his fine features, with dark brown eyes, and perhaps a little shorter, was well dressed in an elegant shirt and pants.

The two women were quite different: one had flamboyant red hair falling to her shoulders, slightly tanned skin, dressed comfortably and practically with an athletic body and not too accentuated curves, and the other woman with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail had a fine face with a benevolent charm and curves in the right places, sitting gracefully.

As we approached the group, James greeted his friends from a distance and then asked me, "So do you want to join us? Then we can go to the Café de la Renaissance. And if you feel out of place, just make up an excuse, and I'll follow you out so it's not too awkward," he said with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, in that case, don't worry, just introduce me to your friends," I said, accepting his suggestion.