The first group was a couple standing together publicly displaying their affection for one another. The effect of the affection was well rehearsed and played out as usual. The man reminisced on his heyday as a basketball star trying to impress his lady without any real need to.
The second was a freshly new couple. They were still getting to know each other but made no delay in displaying their own affection for one another.
The third type was a homeless man sitting on a bench. He was broken, cold, and alone. He overheard the conversations and his own past played through his head and he remembered what it was like to be hopeful and to feel and to move. Occasionally he would stand up and mutter something incomprehensible with no purpose or intent.
As time passed, the older (but not yet old) couple decided that their time would be better spent walking. Their prime had passed and they had no time to tarry waiting for a trolley. The old man gave up as well. He decided he had wasted enough of his life in waiting, and what the hell was the point anyway? He had nowhere to go.
The young couple stayed and waited it out. They had all the time in the world. They had all the hope in the world. And the world was beautiful.
The fourth party was me. I stood and I watched and I saw the naiveté of the young couple. I saw the motionlessness and restlessness of the lovers. I saw the broken spirit of the old man. I saw the progression of the whole world and an entire life in ten minutes and five people.
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