text: "Mind if I sit here?" said a low voice from Meghan's right hand side. It was a short, Indian man, gesturing to the space on the park bench beside her. "Sure go ahead!" she politely said, moving her bag to her other side, away from the man. He took the space next to her and let out a sigh. They both sat in silence, watching a lady on the other side of the park struggle to get a squirrel to take some food from her hand. "She's trying it with the wrong squirrel." the man said, breaking the silence. "Huh, sorry?" Meghan replied, taking out one of her earphones. "The lady. Feeding the squirrel. She's wasting her time. I come here all the time and that squirrel is very wary of people and won't eat from your hand. The one with the shorter tail on the other side of the swings will eat for days though" he chuckled. "Oh, haha. How can you tell them apart?" "Well that one has a thicker tail and is a bit of a darker grey on the head, whereas the other one is a lighter grey and a bit more thin. It's a lot younger, I think." "Oh wow, should we tell her?" "Oh no, I like to not interfere. She'll either learn, or she won't. I haven't seen you here before?" He turned to face Meghan now. "Yeah I just moved here. First time moving away from home and I thought I'd come clear my head in the park. It's lovely here." "What's on your mind?" "Oh nothing, um, I think I should head back and finish unpacking. It was lovely meeting you though!" Meghan put her book away into the bag and flashed the man a smile as she left. *4 days later.* Meghan was walking through the nearby park, looking for a place to sit, when she saw the same short Indian man beckon her over to the bench. “Hey! How’s the move going? All unpacked? You can come sit next to me if you’d like” the man said. Meghan felt pressured and politely took the space next to him. “Yeah, unpacking is going along alright. Bit slower than I’d like but I’m in no rush.” She replied as she got out her notebook and pencil, ready to do some sketching. “I never got your name last time, I’m Arjun” the man beamed, holding out his hand to shake hers. “Nice to meet you Arjun. I’m just going to pop my earphones in and get on with some drawing if that’s ok?” she replied. He shrugged in a way that said ‘don’t let me stop you’ and Meghan began to draw. After about 15 minutes, she felt his eyes watching her draw, and took out her earphones. “I think I’m going to head home and finish this drawing back there, it was lovely seeing you again though!” “You too! Although, I never got your name.” he replied. “Oh um... it’s Meghan.” “Nice to meet you Meghan, see you around!” *15 days later.* Meghan was on her way to the bench where she had seen Arjun a few times over the past two weeks, both hoping that he wasn’t there so that she could draw in peace, and also hoping that he was there, so that she had someone to talk to. As expected, Arjun was sitting on the bench, wearing a smile on his face as she approached. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he asked as she walked over and took her seat next to him. “Yeah it’s lovely. Not too hot but warm enough that I can wear a vest. How are you Arjun?” She studied him as she spoke. He seemed to be getting thinner. “I’m good thanks Meghan, been here since the sunrise today feeding the squirrels. How’s the drawing coming along?” “Yeah it’s getting there, I’m not too happy with it but that’s part of the process I guess.” She decided this time to not put her earphones in. The two spoke about their weekend and Arjun showed genuine interest in Meghan’s life, something she had not felt before. She often wondered about his life, but he didn’t seem to talk about it much. He was in his 60s, looked good for his age, and there hadn’t been a time that he wasn’t ever on this bench when she came to the park. *37 days later.* Meghan last saw Arjun 4 days ago, and he kept falling asleep during their conversation. “Hey Arjun!” Meghan cheered as she lightly jogged over to their bench. He was feeding the squirrels. “Meghan! How did the interview go?!” he asked. “I don’t want to jinx it, but I think it went really well. They said I should hear in a few days.” “Oh I just know you smashed it...” Arjun trailed off as he stifled a cough. “Do you want some water?” Meghan handed him her water bottle as he began to have a coughing fit. These were starting to become a regular thing for Arjun. He took the bottle and drank until he stopped coughing, before passing the bottle back. He thanked her and the two sat in silence for a while whilst Meghan worked on her drawing. *4 days later.* Arjun was asleep on the bench as Meghan arrived at the park. It was colder today. “Hey Arjun? Arjun!” Arjun awoke, mumbling to himself. “Arjun, I got the job!” she exclaimed. “Oh Meghan I’m so happy for you!” he said. She thanked him, and noticed that he looked rather unkempt. Arjun always managed to be dressed sharply, but today he was in less formal clothes and his hair wasn’t neatly combed over his head. “Is everything okay? Sorry to wake you” Meghan cautiously asked. “Yes everything’s fine. Just feeling a bit under the weather, that’s all. I’m so pleased for you Meghan, you truly deserve this.” he replied. Arjun and Meghan spoke about her new job and what it would entail for quite some time, before Meghan headed home. *21 days later.* Meghan had noticed that over the past three weeks Arjun was starting to look worse and worse. He kept forgetting about conversations that they had, and his coughing was becoming more frequent. “Arjun I have to ask, is everything okay? It’s just that you have had this cough for a while now and you seem to be getting worse” She asked. Arjun didn’t answer at first. He just watched the squirrels chase each other in the tree. “Arjun?” Meghan prompted. “You’re right. I am getting worse.” he replied, with a sadness in his voice that Meghan hadn’t heard from him before. “I have cancer, Meghan. I don’t think it will be getting better for me.” Meghan didn’t know what to say. They sat in silence for a moment. Meghan placed her hand on his. “I’m so sorry, Arjun. Is there a treatment for it? Are you taking anything or, I don’t know, is there a surgery or something?” “Oh no, I like to not interfere. I’ll either live, or I won’t.” Arjun was smiling as he said this. Tears filled Meghan’s eyes and they sat in silence as Arjun fed the squirrels. *16 days later.* Arjun wasn’t there when Meghan went to the park. This was the first time that he’d not been there since she started coming. She sat in her seat, and waited for his arrival. They had never exchanged numbers, so she couldn’t text him. She last saw him 5 days ago, and he looked more like himself. Glowing, even. She waited for a few hours and headed home. Meghan returned the next day, to find the bench empty again. Every few days, when Meghan got the chance, she would return to the bench, hoping to see Arjun feeding the squirrels, and every few days, she was disappointed to not see him there. She checked online obituaries, and saw a man named Arjun Kumar, aged 68, died of pancreatic cancer a week ago. There was no funeral being held, and no indication of a family. No trace of the man that would sit on this bench and feed the squirrels.