20

The sun is almost directly overhead as you reach the park gates, and you definitely think you've made the right choice once you step onto the path. On either side of you is mowed grass dotted about with wooden benches, a cute playground for kids, and a little ways ahead of you where all the paths meet, you see a stone fountain, water sparkling in the sunlight. The place isn't too busy, though every now and then a dog zooms by, sometimes followed by an owner anxious to catch up.

Otherwise, there are some families here and there, as well as a few official-looking people who seem to be organizing the placement of some temporary structures that look a little like market stands. Even on a quiet Friday, the atmosphere is fun and lively, and you spend a while just wandering over the grass and around neat patches of flowers.

It's only once you've passed by the fountain, however, that the sound of some sort of commotion catches your attention. A little further along the path, you spot a small group of people talking in an agitated sort of way, all gathered around what looks like a tree stump on a pedestal. Going closer still, you can pick out a few more details in the stump, noticing that it's actually more like a wooden sculpture that's been carved into a sort of vaguely stump-like shape. However, what catches your eye more than anything is the fact that it seems to have been covered indiscriminately in random swirls of yellow spray paint.

Just as you're parallel with the sculpture itself, a little gap opens in the group, and from it you see two people emerge onto the path. You think you recognize the man on the left as someone from the Town Council; but there's no doubt that the woman he's with is Dina, the Council Leader herself. The two of them come onto the path right in front of you, and still deep in conversation, they don't seem to notice you in front of them.

"—Not like it's an isolated incident—"

"—All the more reason to move it somewhere safe—"

"—But that's hardly going to solve the problem—"

They carry on talking in hushed tones right up until the moment that Dina catches sight of you standing on the path.

Next