Autumn in the Park

AUTUMN

         “Whose idea was this, anyway?” Daisy asked me. She was reading the latest edition of the Berkeley Barb, an underground newspaper for which I was a reporter.
          “Well, Mike Delacour came up with the original idea to build a park,” I told her, “but we all developed it together. They put me in charge.”
          “Autumn, this is groovy! ‘Calling all hippies, yippies, street people and students,’” she read from my article. “‘Are you looking for a place to rap, a place to stage your own be-ins? Then join together for the People’s Park.’” She stopped reading for a second. “The People’s Park. Far out! Do you think it will, like, work?”
          “I can see it making it,” I told her, lighting a joint. I was excited. Nearly 25,000 copies of the article I wrote were now circulating around the entire Berkeley campus of the University of California. It was going to be a huge project to bring us all together. There was an empty three acre lot that we wanted to turn into a park. The plan was to plant trees and flowers, to maybe put in some park benches and swings.
          “We just need to raise the money,” I told her. “Are you going to be there to help out?”
          “Um,” she paused. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see what my schedule for next week is. But do you actually think that the pigs are gonna let us use that empty lot?”
          I snorted. “Daisy, since when have you cared about the pigs?” She laughed hysterically, zonked from the roach she was smoking. “Of course they won’t let us use it, but we’ll make ‘em. Now pass that roach over here!”

CHARLIE

         “So, Charlie,” Digger said. “Are you in or out?” he asked. I looked over my cards one more time. I had nothing good.
          “Out,” I told him.
          “Man, what are you? Chicken?” he asked, bringing on his attitude. It was the attitude he was notorious for. Digger was always being a jerk to somebody in our unit, but since he was bigger than most of us, we put up with it. He declared himself the leader of our group, and most guys kissed the ground he walked on. They would never go against him.
          “I fold,” I told him again. He looked at me, a long stare, then started clucking like a chicken. The other troops started to laugh, but none of them joined in.
          “Man, you’re a pussy,” he said after a minute. “You hear me? A pussy.” He said each syllable slowly, letting them slide of his tongue. “You’re so scared to take a chance in a poker game, it’s a wonder you had the guts to join the military.”
          “Shut up, Digger,” I said as I stood up, ready to walk away. The truth was, I didn’t want to join the military. At the beginning of my senior year, I was what most men in my unit refer to as a hippie. I had long hair; I did drugs; I protested the war; I even tried to dodge the draft. My father put a stop to that, though, right after I graduated from high school. He gave me an ultimatum: either I join the military, or he would turn me in and I’d go to jail. I had a talk with one of my teachers about it. He was a new teacher, one that just got into teaching to get out of going to the war. He told me that if I joined the National Guard, or maybe a reserve unit, there would be a chance that I wouldn’t have to go to Vietnam. I took his advice, and ended up getting stationed in Berkeley, California.
          It was hard for me, leaving behind my friends, my first love, my mother. It seemed like so long ago. I still hear from my family, but I lost touch with all of my old friends. I didn’t know where they were, what they were doing. Most of them would be juniors in college by now, but I didn’t even know if any of them went to college. I knew a lot of them had planned on it, but I still didn’t know if they made it there. Maybe they were drafted into the military, and, like me, they had no way out of it. All I knew was that they no longer lived at home, and that I might not ever get to see them again.
          “What did you say, punk?” He rose from the table, too, setting his cards face down on the table.
          “Digger, sit down,” I told him, rolling my eyes. “You’re not scaring me.”
          “You sure about that?” he asked, then cracked each knuckle one at a time, hitting his right fist against his opposite palm when he finished. I just walked off. I wasn’t in the mood to put up with him.
          “Come on, Digger,” somebody said, just as I stepped out the door.
          “Yeah. Let him go. We’ve got some poker to play.”

DAISY

         “So, what do you think?” I asked Autumn. “Is this project turning out like you wanted it to?”
          “Yeah. I, like, didn’t expect to get all this help. Over a thousand dollars, and look at all these people,” she said. She was glowing with excitement. She had put so much into this park, and I had to admit that it was looking groovy. It was the day before the park was opening, and the people were busy adding the final touches. For the past week, about fifty volunteers had come out and planted trees and flowers. Over on the corner, there was a big oak tree, and some people had manages to put a few rope swings on it for kids. Next to the tree, they put a large sandbox, also for kids. Autumn had talked some guys into bringing in truck loads of gravel to make some walkways, and a few park benches had been constructed along them.
          “This place is gonna be out of sight. Imagine the partied and stuff we could have here,” I told her sighing. I was a little bit green because she was getting so much attention from the entire thing. Everybody knew her as Autumn, the super hero of People’s Park. It used to be we were known as Autumn and Daisy, the Dynamic Duo. Now she was getting all the attention, and it seemed like I was a nobody. Just the same, I was happy it was her project. I don’t think I could have handled the pressure. Me, Daisy the angel, build a park without permission? Yeah, right. If the administrators found out I was behind it, I could lose my privileges, maybe even lose the honor of graduating. I wouldn’t be able to finish the park. But Autumn could; she’s strong. Sometimes I wish I could change places with her, so I could just feel what it’s like to live a day of her life, to know how it would feel to be the leader for once, not the little girl that just tags along behind.
          “Yeah,” she said. “I just hope that tomorrow is successful. Like, I got that band, you know, the Mojos to play.”
          “The Mojos?! No way! How’d you do that?”
          “I don’t know. Actually, the kind-of came to me. They wanted to help out on the park, but they didn’t have too much time this week. They offered to play on opening day.”
          “Far out.” The Mojos were the most wanted band on campus. They played she same kind of music as The Who and Jefferson Airplane. Most of the time they played at underground clubs. I totally worshipped them, and I was dying to meet them.
          “They came to you?” I asked her again. For some reason I was surprised. “And you, like, didn’t tell me? Autumn! You know how much I love Chappy!” Chappy was their lead singer, and the main reason I worshipped their band.
          “Sorry. My mind was kind of on the park. Besides, if you were here helping instead of going to all of your classes, you would have known.” I sighed. Was she going to hold that against me forever? “But I’ll tell you what,” she said, her eyes scanning the park as she talked to me. “I’ll introduce you tomorrow.”
          “Cool! You know, Autumn,” I told her. “I wanted to be here, but I have that major paper I have to write for my creative writing class.” It wasn’t a total lie. I did have a paper to write, but it wasn’t anything major, just a little character sketch. The truth was, I still didn’t know exactly where I stood with the park. I wanted it to be a success for Autumn, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved.
          “You know, I can’t believe that the pigs haven’t tried to stop you,” I told her. It was really unusual. Normally when the pigs around this place heard about any illegal action, they’re there before it even starts.
          “I know. I just hope that they aren’t waiting until tomorrow before they try anything.” She sighed. “You’re gonna be here, right?”
          “Would I let you down?” I asked her. “Of course I’ll be here, especially since I get to meet the Mojos!”
          She laughed at the remark. “Just don’t drool over Chappy so much, okay?”
          “Deal. And don’t go freaking out on me. It’ll all be cool.” It was hard to reassure her though. Especially since I was so unsure myself.

AUTUMN

         It was April 5, 1969, opening night, and all wad going perfect. It sort-of made me worry even more, since nothing had gone wrong. As of now, the People’s Park was definitely making it, and I didn’t want it to end anytime soon.
          The party was in full swing. So many different kinds of people showed up, the majority being heads. Everybody seemed to be having a good time, and the Mojos were definitely rocking’.
          “Okay, all you heads!” Chappy, the lead singer of the band, called out. “We’re gonna take a break for a sec. I’d like to introduce you to the chic that is responsible for this park. Autumn Jones, come on up here.”
          I walked up on the platform that had been constructed for the night.
          “How’s everybody doing’ tonight?” I yelled to the crowd. The roar itself was almost deafening. “All right! I’d like to thank all of you for making this possible. Remember, it’s not my park; it’s our park, our own place. A place where we can rap, where we can protest against the war-” the crowd cut me off with another load roar. “A place where we can all freak out-” they screamed again, “-a place where we can make love, smoke up, crash, and be ourselves!” The roar from the crowd this time was louder than it had been all night.
          “Okay, that’s enough talk. What do you say we hear some more from the Mojos?!” The band started playing as I walked off the stage, and the crowd went back to rapping with their friends and smoking their weed. It was the party of the year, and I helped organize it.
          So far, the cops hadn’t shown up, and with the night being almost over, they probably wouldn’t. It was a success. The People’s Park was official.

CHARLIE

         We found out on May 14, that we were going in. Our C.O. walked into the quarters where my buddies and I were, as usual, playing poker and drinking beer.
          “All right, men! This is what’s happening. At the University of California, the Berkeley campus, there’s a People Park. A bunch of damn hippies seem to have gotten together and formed it, against the will of the administration. We’ve been ordered to join the police and a bulldozing crew to destroy the park. We’re to be there at dawn tomorrow, so you men might want to knock off your gambling and get some rest!” He walked out without another word.
          My buddies and I were a little bit surprised. At first we didn’t know what to say. All of us had been in the National Guard for three years and so far we’ve never had to do any kind of fighting. Most of the time we just go to protests, but the cops usually have the emergency so well taken care of that we’re not even there for long. This would be out first time going anywhere with force.
          “It’s about time those damn hippies got what they deserve. I’m sick of hearing their damn cries of ‘Peace!’ and ‘Make love, not war!’” Digger said. He mimicked their chants in a high voice.
          I kept quiet. I couldn’t say a word because then he’d find out who I really was. He’d give me so much crap for it, and I’d never be able to live it down. All the other guys would join in, too, and I’d end up with no friends. Being in the National Guard was already a drag, but with nobody to talk to, it would be even worse.
          I wasn’t a violent person, so I wasn’t looking forward to taking over the park. All the rest of the soldiers were, but they were all in the military by choice. They were looking forward to a chance to do something for their country, to use the drills they learned in boot camp. It was their chance to be a hero. I didn’t care if anybody looked to me as a hero. I didn’t want to fight. But I had to. I was left without a choice.

DIGGER

         “Come on guys! Let’s do this!” I shouted. “Let’s go!”
          Man, was I ever ready for this. Finally I’d get to go in with the National Guard, with a loaded weapon in my hand, ready to use it on people. I’d been dreaming of this day since I was a little kid, man. It had always been my fantasy to be a military man, to fight in a war of some type. I remember when I was little how I would gather all my friends together, and we’d get our toy guns out and have our own little wars.
          In high school, near the end of my senior year, all these damn hippies started to come around. Those hippies were such a pain in the ass. All they did was protest the war, crying out their chants. Every time I heard the phrase “Make love, not war,” it made me want to turn around and just beat them to a pulp. It was our country’s duty to fight this war. We had to do it for our country, and if those hippies wanted to try and stop it, they could. They’d lose in the end. Going in and taking over the People’s Park is just part of the proof.
          “Man, these long hairs are finally finished!” I told the troops. I looked down at my clean uniform, proud to be wearing it for my country. Soon this uniform would be dirty, but with blood and dirt that was earned.
          “Man, what’s your problem?” I asked Charlie. He didn’t answer. He just looked away and ignored the question.
          “Aw, what’s wrong, pretty boy? Does Charlie not like to fight?” I laughed. “Hey guys, look at this wuss. He’s scared to fight!” I turned back to him, and in my best baby voice, I asked, “Wus wong, Chawie? Are dose hippies yur fwiends?” All of us began to laugh.
          Still he didn’t say a single word. He did give me a look, though.
          “Stop it, yur scawin’ me,” I said in the same voice. Then I got right up in his face. “Man, you got a problem. The way you act...man, somebody would think you were on their side. You need to straighten up your act and get with it. You’re in the military, and whether you like it or not, you’ve got to come along.”
          “C’mon guys,” I said. They all fell in line and followed me out the door. “We’ve got some freaks to hurt.”

AUTUMN

         Some friends and I decided to sleep in the park last night. Well, I guess we were actually too stoned to make it back home. We all woke up to the sound of the pigs and some bulldozers.
          “Clear the area!” a pig yelled through a bullhorn. “Clear the area, or we’ll have to use force!”
          My friends and I sat up. Daisy rubbed her eyes.
          “What’s going on?” she asked. “Am I still tripping?”
          “Um, I don’t think so,” I told her. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I looked at the pigs, all lined up and ready to go. They were all standing in front of six bulldozers at one end of the park. Behind the small army of cops was the National Guard. They really wanted us out of this place.
          Everybody in the park was now up on their feet, looking at the head officer.
          “Clear the area!” he said one more time. “We’re coming in!” All of the officers started coming towards the people in the park. They didn’t have to try too hard. As soon as they got close enough, all of us ran off the property. Everybody gathered across the street, nearly 75 of us. We were outraged at what was happening. The anger in out voices was evident as we talked among our friends. I don’t think any of them were as upset as I was, though. It was my park. Every time I saw a bulldozer run over one of the plants we planted, or to take out on of the young trees that had been embedded, it felt like it was destroying my body. That park was me: my expression, my attitude. I had put my entire body, mind, and soul into that park, and now, less than fifty days after it was constructed, it was all being destroyed.
          “All right guys! I’m going to run over there and see what’s going on!” I shouted. I walked across the street, everybody watching, and marched straight up to one of the National Guardsmen.
          “Excuse me!” I had to scream to be heard over the noise of the working bulldozers. “Uh...what’s going on here?!”
          “You damn hippies are getting what you deserve! Now get the hell out of here!” He walked off to where his troops were, and I followed closely behind.
          “What are you doing?! Why are you doing this?!” I asked him.
          “Look, you little flower princess or whatever the hell you people call yourselves. I told you to get lost. I’ve got work to do and you’re in my way!” He turned his back to me and began to speak to his troops. “Okay men! This is what we’re going to do. We have to put up a fence surrounding the park. We don’t want any of those dirty hippies to be able to make it back in there!”
          I turned and walked back across the street. They were going to shut us out for good? Not if I had anything to do about it. I had to act fast though, but I couldn’t do it alone. I needed help, and lots of it.

CHARLIE

         I couldn’t keep my eyes off that girl that came to talk to Digger. She looked so familiar... There was something about her that reminded me of my high school sweetheart. Maybe it was her hair; maybe her outfit; maybe her courage.
          “What are you looking at?” Digger asked, following my eyes. The girl was running across the street to report back to the crowd, the crowd that I should be in. “Don’t tell me you’re staring at that damn flower child. Man,” he said, shaking his head. “You need some help. Now we’ve got work to do. Get moving.”
          I sighed. Seeing the girl just made it worse. She was so...far out. It made me want to go back home, talk to my girl, find out where she was and what she was doing.
          “Come on Charlie!” Digger called. I took one more glance at the girl just as her followers began to cheer, then I picked up some tools and followed Digger.

DAISY

         “Okay people, this is what we’re going to do!” Autumn yelled to the crowd of us that had just gotten kicked out of the park. I stood in the back of the crowd, for once not by her side, listening to her.
          “They’re taking over our place!” she yelled. “Are we going to let them do it?” Everybody shook their heads and started screaming out different forms of no, shaking their fists in the air.
          “All right then! We need to do something, and we need to do it fast. Here’s my plan!” We all quieted down to hear what she had to say. He plan was simple. All she wanted to do was plan a march, a protest. She was sure that if we could get a large enough crowd of students to march into the People’s Park, she could save it.
          I could tell how badly she wanted that park. I could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice. There was no way she was going to give that park up without a fight.
          I was still unsure of the whole thing. It seemed like she was taking it too far, but I couldn’t tell her that. She was my best friend. We could all get into so much trouble over this. Maybe get suspended or even expelled. I wanted to back Autumn, I had to back Autumn, but I didn’t know if I was ready to risk losing the rest of my college education. We were graduating in a year, and I didn’t want to give that up, especially if it was just for a park.
          “Do you guys want to do it?!” she asked when she was through explaining. A cheer echoed through the air.
          “Okay then! Start recruiting. Tell them tomorrow morning at seven o’clock, we’re going in! And tell them to pass it on!” People began to walk off, cheering, ready to win back the People’s Park.
          “Do you think this will work?” I asked her after the crowd wandered off. I hoped my skepticism wasn’t revealed in my voice and on my face.
          “Do you like that question or something? You asked me that when this whole thing started,” she snapped.
          “I know. But what do you think?” I wanted so much to talk her out of it, to tell her that just by going after this park, she could screw her college years up. I just knew she wouldn’t listen, and that it would only make her think that she didn’t have my support.
          “Well, Daisy, there’s only one way to find out. So are you in or out?”
          “Um...I’m in.” She didn’t notice my brief pause. “You shouldn’t even have to ask,” I added, but I don’t think she heard me because she was already walking away.

DIGGER

         Man, what will they think of next? This morning, as all of us troops were finishing the construction of the eight foot fence, a whole crowd of them came marching into the park. There were a lot of them, two thousand it seemed.
          “Save the park! Save the park!” they chanted, over and over again.
          “Check them out,” I said to Charlie. “Do they actually think they can win?”
          “They’re no different than us. They’re fighting for something they believe in.”
          “I can’t believe you, man. You’re really starting to make me think that you’re one of them.” I shook my head and walked off. Charlie was a weird guy. He had no sense of humor whatsoever, and he always kept to himself. It didn’t seem like he was into the whole National Guard scene.
          “Save the park! Save the park!” The chanting grew louder as the hippies grew closer. A lot of the crew stopped working and started watching the idiots. They just kept on marching towards us, all of them, until the marched straight thorough the opening in the fence, the part we hadn’t concealed yet. I couldn’t believe they were being so stupid. They must have been looking for a fight. And they said to make love, not war. They could at least listen to their own advice and try not to start anything.
          “Save the park! Save the park!”
          “All right, troops!” my C.O. called. “Over here!” All of us huddled around him.
          “Okay, more cops are on their way up here. For now, all we can do is leave them alone. Just let them keep chanting, but we have no orders to use force yet.”
          “Why don’t we just take a machine gun to every one of them?” I joked. A lot of the guys laughed, but as usual, Charlie ignored the remark completely.
          We didn’t have to wait too long for the cops to show up. About ten cars came cruising into the area, their lights flashing and their sirens blaring. They all lined up in the open area, facing the protesters. One of the cops got out of his car and stood on the hood, bullhorn in hand. The hippie group immediately grew mute.
          “We told you yesterday to clear the area. If you don’t have this park cleared out in ten minutes, we will begin to use force. Let this be your warning. I repeat: if this park is not cleared in ten minutes, we will have to use force.”
          It had no effect on them. As soon as the bullhorn left the officer’s mouth, they began their chants again. The cops huddled for a few minutes, and then came over and delivered the command. My C.O. nodded.
          “All right, men,” he told us. “They’re going to give them one more chance. After that, we have orders to go in. Wait until the officer gives the signal, then go. Do whatever you have to do in order to get them to leave, even if it means using a weapon.” We all watched the officer as he jumped back onto the hood of his car.
          “This is your last chance to go. If you don’t begin to clear this area by the time I count down from ten, we’re coming in!” All of them just stared at him. It was amazing. All those drugs they were doing were really turning them into idiots. “10...9...”
          The officer began his countdown, and by the time he reached one, not a single hippie had moved.

AUTUMN

         They came after us, just like they warned. But no, we didn’t care. The People’s Park was something we wanted, and we were prepared to fight.
          At first I wanted to think it was a bummer. I snapped out of that quick, though. The scene turned bad really fast. All the police officers and every member of the National Guard came in after us. They had their loaded guns in their hands, ready to use them, but all of us looked beyond the guns. We were fighting for what was rightfully ours.
          One of the pigs came up to me. “You’d better go,” he said softly. “You’d better go before you get hurt.”
          Stubbornly I shook my head. “This is my park,” I told him. “My park.”
          “If you were smart, you’d go.”
          I shook my head again. He finally gave up and moved on to somebody else. Poor guy. He obviously wasn’t cut out to be a cop.
          I checked the scene around me. So far it didn’t look like many of the girls had been hurt. The guys were fighting with the pigs and the National Guardsmen, but so far there was little blood. Every one of the officials was in a battle of some kind, all of them but one. He looked familiar in some way, but I couldn’t figure it out. Like me, he was witnessing the scene before us, right in the center of it but still from afar. He looked my direction and I caught his eye. I knew him, but from where?
          I blinked and in the instant I opened my eyes, a soldier was on me. This one wasn’t as nice as the cop.
          “It’s time for you damn hippies to get the hell out of here,” he said. “Time for you to go.” He pushed me towards the street.
          “You’re going to have to do a lot more to get me out of here,” I told him. It was a courageous move, but I wanted this park more than anything.
          He didn’t say a word, just went for my face. He slapped me once, twice, three times. The hitting seemed as if it would never end.
          “Digger!” The voice was calm at first, but then it turned angry. “Digger, what the hell are you doing!?” The hitting stopped as the guy turned around. Just as I blacked out, I saw it was the National Guardsmen.
          “Get lost, Charlie!” the guy said.
          Charlie...it was Charlie.

CHARLIE

         The instant I saw Digger touch that girl... I was over there quicker than the blink of an eye.
          “Digger!” I yelled. He paid me no attention. “What the hell are you doing?”
          “Get lost, Charlie!” he yelled back. I pulled him off the girl, using all my force. Digger had never seen me violent.
          “Leave her alone, Digger!”
          He took a swing at me, hitting me in the face, then he turned towards the girl again. I kicked him just as he turned around and sent him sprawling.
          “Go pick on somebody else,” I told him. He looked at me, the devil in his eyes.
          “Fine,” he said, getting up. “Not because I’m scared of you, but because there are others that still need to get out of the park. Maybe you should worry more about your job than about that flower girl.” He strode off, rubbing the dirt off him as he went.
          I sat down next to the girl. She was out cold. I cradled her in my arms and began to wipe the blood off of her face.

DAISY

         “Get off of her!” I yelled at the guy. Some military guy was holding Autumn. When I yelled at him, he turned around, his eyes wide.
          “Get off of--” I stopped quickly. “Charlie?”
          “Daisy?”
          “Oh my God...” I was so surprised. One of my best friends from high school, Autumn’s first love, a major head. Autumn and I had lost contact with him when he joined the military right out of high school. It surprised us both. He was so against military affairs, and all of a sudden he was a part of them. We had no idea what to think. We were so mad at him. He didn’t even give us an explanation. He just left with his orders, not even saying good-bye.
          “Does she know?” I asked him.          He shook his head.
          “No. One of the guys in my unit was beating her. I couldn’t take it.” He stopped as if that was enough. “You know,” he said, glancing around the park, “I should be here fighting with you guys, not against you.”
          “I know. You could have been.”
          “No,” he said, looking down at Autumn cradled in his arms. “You don’t know Daisy. Do you think I wanted to be in the National Guard? Don’t you remember, I was going to go to college and protest the war with you?”
          “Then why aren’t you?”
          “Because I didn’t have a choice!” he shouted. “It was either go into the military, or go to jail! My father told me that if I didn’t join the military, he’d turn me in. Then I’d be in jail, Daisy! Jail!” He looked up at me and I could see tears shining in his eyes. “God, Daisy. Do you think I wanted this? Don’t you see? I had no choice.”
          “So you just gave in, huh? Die on your knees instead of fight on your feet, huh?” He didn’t respond. “What happened to everything you used to believe in, Charlie? Where’d it all go?”
          “It’s right here!” he said, hitting a fist against his heart.
          “Then prove it. It’s not too late Charlie.” My voice was softer than before. “You have your chance to show me, to show Autumn, who you’re really fighting for.” He looked at me, then back at Autumn, being so quiet I could hear his deep breathing.
          “Charlie, this is your last chance. You’ve got to fight for what you believe in.”

AUTUMN

         When I came back into the real world, Daisy and Charlie were by my side. The fighting was still going on, but the noise was tuned out.
          “Daisy?” I asked weakly.
          “Shh,” she told me. I sat up, supporting myself with my hands.
          “Autumn...” Charlie said. “It’s been so long.”
          The voice made my eyes fill with tears. “Charlie? Is it really you?”
          “Yeah,” he said.
          “What are you doing here?”
          “Something I shouldn’t be doing. Even though I’m in their uniform, I’m on your side. I just had to make sure you were okay before I started to fight.” He stood up and began towards all the action.
          “But Charlie-”
          “Shh,” he told me, turning back. “We’ll talk later.” His eyes held mine for a second before he left.
          “Daisy, come on,” I said, standing up.
          “Wha-?”
          “Just come on!” I grabbed her arm, pulling her next to me. “We’re going with him.”
          “Autumn, are you crazy? You have no energy to fight.”
          “Daisy, do you know what’s going through me right now? This park, my park, is being torn up in a war, and I just ran unto my first love, a military man that’s fighting with us. I lost him once to the military, and I’m not going to lose him again in this...this war!” She took in the whole speech, her eyes wide, not saying a word. “Now are you coming, or am I going to follow him myself?”
          “Coming.” The word was soft. Side by side we ran through the crowd, searching for Charlie. We found him fighting with the guy who had beaten me earlier. So far it was nothing physical, just a few words.

CHARLIE

         “What the hell was that all about?” Digger asked me. “Why’d you pull me off of that damn hippie?”
          “You really want to know, huh?” I asked him. “Because I’m on their side.”
          “What the hell are you talking about? You’re fighting for the military.”
          I told him the truth then. The truth about my past and everything in it. I was sick of hiding it, especially from a guy as obnoxious as him. I didn’t know why I put up with him for so long. It’s not like I was scared of him. He might have thought I was, but I knew that behind that tough guy image, there was just a wuss with a really low self esteem.
          “You should be fighting this was with us,” he told me.
          “Do you think this is what war is, Digger? Is this what you think it’s like over there in Vietnam?” I almost laughed. “If you’re so ready to fight, why are you here? Why aren’t you over there risking your life for your country instead of taking it easy over here? You know why, Digger? Because you’re scared. You give all of us this tough guy image, but you’re hiding. I know that underneath all those muscles and that thick skull of yours, you’re the pussy!”
          He looked at me with icy eyes and spoke, his voice low. “I should have known you were one of them.”
          “Shut up, Digger. I’m not going to stand here fighting with you. I’ve got something else to fight for.” I took off my shirt, a symbol that I was on the other side.
          “You better get the hell out of here, before I blow you to bits.”
          I just laughed. “Yeah, Digger, you do that.” I threw the shirt in his face and walked off. I had crossed the line. My military days were over.

AUTUMN

         It was right after Charlie threw his shirt in the guy’s face. Charlie was coming to join me and Daisy when I heard the shot, then watched Charlie fall.
          There was no noise for a minute. Everything was silent and slow. Charlie...falling to the ground, blood everywhere, his killer behind him, still pointing the gun, a look of shock riding his face.
          “Charlie!” I yelled, running to him. Daisy stood watching, unsure of what was going on.
          I dropped to my knees beside him, turned him over so he was no longer face down in the dirt. Blood was running all down his chest. Bright red...it was all I could see.
          “Charlie!” He didn’t respond. There was a police officer next, pushing me off of him. He checked his pulse, listened for his breathing.
          “Sorry, miss,” he said, turning back. “He’s gone.”
          “No!” I screamed. I was looking down at him, still on my knees. “Charlie, I can’t lose you. Not again.” All I could do was cry and let my tears dilute his blood. If he wasn’t alive, I shouldn’t be, either.

DIGGER

         He deserved it, the damn traitor.

DAISY

          The attendance at Autumn’s and Charlie’s funeral was as big as the entire two day war over the People’s Park. The funeral was held at the People’s Park, even though it was destroyed. I think that so many people showed up because they all knew Autumn from what she had done for the park, and they all knew Charlie for his part in the whole event. They all looked at him as if he were some sort of hero.
          I tried to stop Autumn. After she knew Charlie was dead, she stormed up to his killer. I thought she was just going to say something to him, but before I could stop her, she pulled the gun out of his hands and pulled the trigger. The gun was aimed right at her skull. She died instantly. Everybody says that it wasn’t painful for her since she did it that way, but that’s a lie. She’s had pain since she lost Charlie the first time.
          Digger didn’t even try to stop Autumn. He fought her to get the gun away, but once he realized that it was going to be used on herself instead of him, he gave up the fight. I keep remembering the shocked look on his face after he pulled the trigger and killed Charlie. Everybody saw it. Still, he didn’t apologize in any way. He didn’t even show up at the funeral.
          I think of Autumn a lot. Without her, it seems like I’m alone. Chappy’s trying to help me get through it all. He’s been by my side since I met him on opening night, and he’s been really helpful on getting the park reopened, too. Just the same, I miss Autumn, and a day never goes by without her in my thought.
          After the shootings, the fight was quickly put to an end. The administration told the cops to back off once they learned that three were killed and one was blinded. I knew how much the People’s Park meant to Autumn, and since Autumn meant so much to me, I did everything I could to keep it alive. I asked the school board what was so wrong with it in the first place, and all they would say was that we didn’t have permission. Some excuse. All of us kept on asking, and we passed petitions around and finally they gave in to the park. They even helped us with the funds to fix it back up, and it was opened as a school park.
          It was nothing like it was before. It’s still beautiful, but it doesn’t have the same spirit. It’s got a fence around it, and two brick blocks by the entrance. On each block there’s a plate that holds the appropriate name: Autumn Park. Just like I told people on opening day, it’s still her park. Her soul and her body are buried within it.