Regret

Written for the: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: Write me a story that takes place on a Autumn day at the park.
Winning Entry
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         Her high heels stuttered on the cobbled pathway, ever so often crunching the sepia and burnt orange leaves piling upon it. Her long blond locks dusted her cheeks with each gust of wind.

         She stopped before a secluded section of the park, green eyes widening at the sight of the young man trying his best to arrange a picnic for himself and his impassive girlfriend. However, his attempts to hold down the red checkered cloth proved futile as the petulant wind sent the sandwiches and flask of wine flying into the grass. The woman’s face went sour with distaste, listening to his apologetic laughter as he flushed with embarrassment and humiliation. He was a brilliant, young intern, she the daughter of the hospital administrator. They were worlds apart, but she stayed because he was going to become a General-Surgeon eventually. He loved her. She hadn’t. When she had accidentally slipped, letting him know the real reason why she was his girlfriend, his pain had sliced through her once cold heart.

         Bitter Break-up.

         He was in the news now; a good man who had rescued her life when she didn’t deserve it. She would have died of alcohol poisoning, but he was the first doctor to arrive, take her to the hospital and was never heard from again.

         “Hey, lady. Why’re you crying?”

         She stared at the boy, the couple no longer in existence but now replaced by a family of three.

         “Would you like a sandwich?” he asked. “Mom says it will make you feel better.”

         A sandwich. He had made those sandwiches for their picnic...for her. She had thought it a waste of time. She accepted it now with a tremulous smile and as she chewed, it tasted of tears, regret, and the lingering flavor of that autumn day.


Word Count: 300