After a weeklong heatwave, cooler weather brought people out of their air conditioned homes, into parks where their children could run without the risk of heatstroke, touch the surfaces of playground equipment that days before would have caused third degree burns; where they could buy fruit-filled popsicles from sellers who stored them in small freezers on wheels; where exercise buddies could walk mile-long laps around the perimeter, chatting about meal prep services, trainers, and intermittent fasting; where families could gather around picnic tables to enjoy six-inch subs and sun chips; where friends could stand around their cars, too caught up in laughter to make it past the parking lot; where neighbors could sit on benches and knit booties for grandchildren arriving any day, read the latest Stephen King novel, or people watch as they settled into the worry-free spaces in their minds.
They could listen to birds call out to each other as they foraged for food, dogs bark to express their excitement or yap out of fear, children squeal as they slid down plastic spirals, tennis balls bounce against asphalt, music vibrate through wireless speakers. They could watch ducks swim across the pond, dogs catch frisbees between their teeth, study groups sit in circles on quilted blankets, dance partners practice a new routine, butterflies flutter through the air.
And while the northeast winds tickled their exposed skin, the rest of the world would disappear, and their own thoughts would be silenced, a reprieve they'd know to be grateful for when the scorching heat returned and they were again at the mercy of air conditioning units and busy minds ready to predict the future or return to the past.
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