To take a stroll on the bridge overlooking the harbor on Sunday was a weekly ritual for Max. He never skipped going there no matter what, it was a promise to keep.
Three years ago, Max walked the bridge with his twelve years old son, Shawn, with leisure on almost every weekend. They would stood still looking at the horizon, searching for the invisible comfort hiding in the depth of the ocean. Occasionally, they would also reach for the sky and murmured the words of knowledge. The day would flow past them in a swipe leaving memories to be recovered by the subconscious.
That Sunday, they paced on their usual speed, greeting the people and praising the day. Cars pushed forward while people headed nowhere. Two teenagers riding on skateboards rushed pass them; a man leaning against the fence was reading the morning paper; joggers ran through; they were in the crowd, again.
At the center of the bridge walk they stopped to marvel at the scenery out there and observe the activities in the city. Every weekend there were subtle changes from the previous one: people they met on the walk were different, though some were familiar faces; the color of the earth, the brightness of the day; ships at the ports; cars drove past; their moods. With all compressed into a mind of an intelligent Shawn, it generated and deducted the mood as Happy.
They would talk about the day if they felt like it, otherwise it was a quiet father and son walk.
A guy in a open jacket was talking senseless in front of them, his hand waving in all direction and walking in circle. Max saw that the man had a gun holstered around his waist, he pushed Shawn backward and told him to go in the opposite direction. Max himself approached the man very slowly "Hey buddy, are you alright there, do you need help?" He stood a few steps away from him, waited for the reply.
The man clearly wasn't in his right mind and didn't respond to Max. He continued bouncing around. Max made a run for it and caught the guy in a bear hug, they struggled on the floor while Max trying to snatch the weapon from him. The guy resisted and kicked Max aside. He stood up and grabbed the pistol pointing at Max's direction with a shaking hand.
"Dad?" Shawn double back to his father only to find they were both in danger.
Shawn spooked the guy and the gun went off.
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