"Young love" a voice from beside me came. "So innocent".

It was a man's voice, raspy and rough from age.

"Indeed" I agreed without turning to see who it was I spoke to.

He claimed the seat next to me on the park bench and let out a long sigh.

A pigeon fluttered to the ground in front of us and broke my attention from the young couple across the park.

I pulled bread crumbs from my pocket and tossed them to the bird who eagerly pecked them from the ground.

"Can I ask you something?" I perused my lips and stole a glance at the man.

His hair was silver, but still thick. Lines stretched from his eyes as if they were permanently happy, but his eyes looked worn. Tired and beaten by what the world had put him through.

He turned to me and I threw another handful of bread crumbs to the greedy bird.

"I don't see any harm in that" the man replied, then turned his attention to the pigeon.

"Why is it that the best people are usually the loneliest?" I scuffed my shoe on the sidewalk and regretted opening up to the stranger.

I looked into his eyes as his gaze drifted up to the couple, giggling and talking about whatever couples talk about these days.

"That's a tough question" he replied, but he did not seem taken back by it. Almost as if he had been asked this everyday of his life.

I slouched and pointed my eyes to my shoes.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I-"

"No child" he cut me off, "It is good to ask, otherwise you would never know."

He pulled out some of his own crumbs and set them at his feet, but the pigeon did not notice. He kept on pecking the bread I had thrown.

He pointed to the pigeon, "see there." He said, waving his finger at it.

"The pigeon?" I asked, looking closer at the bird as he hobbled around.

"He will gorge himself on bread crumbs and miss something better that came a little later."

I threw another handful and watched him peck them from the grass.

"People are a lot like this pigeon. Not wanting to wait for the better things to come and settling for what we can have right now and whatever comes easiest. We miss the better option because we were too busy gobbling up the breadcrumbs."

I folded my hands in my lap and looked back at the couple.

"Do you think they were meant for each other?" I asked as we watched the two disappear around a bend.

The old man sighed and stood from the bench with a grunt. "That's not my place to say."

He turned to leave, "Wait mister!" I stood and brushed the crumbs from my shirt and shorts, "what's-" I stopped when I found the park empty.

"Sir?" I followed the sidewalk with my eyes and found nothing but pigeons and squirrels.

I emptied the rest of the crumbs from my pocket and watched as a flock of pigeons came to stuff themselves with dry, old bread. I noticed the cake crumbs, still sitting where the man had left them, unnoticed by the greedy pigeons.