Playing in the Park

[Thane Vlahovic]

Thane Vlahovic was taking a nice stroll. It was a warm day out, and he wanted to get out some. His mind drifted over to a girl he met years ago, that he kept in contact with. Miriah Johnson. She was lovely. He admired her, and knew that she was seeing someone, but that didn't stop the feelings. So he was placed in the friendzone. Perhaps he would have to settle for friends than nothing. Automatically, his eyes wondered to the side where he saw the park, and he saw children at play. Oh, how he wished that he could have a son or a daughter so that he could watch with some excuse. Thane loved children, and he desperately wanted to be a dad. But he wanted to find love first. His teal eyes wondered to the ground as he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Thane was dressed in a dark fashion, but the smile on his face made him look like the happiest man on the planet while it was covering up what he was really feeling. It was a nice mask but he felt that he would need to stop fooling those around him one day. One of his good friends that did his tattoos for him that covered him head to toe basically, told him that he needed to find someone that he could talk to. Thane had someone he could talk to. Miriah knew a fair bit about him, even his past girlfriend that died years ago. However he was still oblivious to the fact that the girl was pregnant with his child. Thane would not have known how to live after that if he had known, but his aunt was good enough to him to keep it all from him. Thane was thinking of visiting his aunt soon. She was well into her hundreds and she could still get around better than anyone else he had ever known. He took his seat on the bench, and thought about writing her a letter, informing her that he was coming over. Then again, they liked surprises like that so he should keep it a good secret anyway. As his mind wondered, he heard a sound that could stop or make any male run, but it made him concerned. His eyes looked over toward the children, and he could see the where the sound was coming from.

A small girl, couldn't be older than three, was on the ground, sniffling. Thane jumped up off of the bench, and even though that was not his daughter, he was concerned for the little girl. Thane walked over to the little girl before he bent down and could see why she was sniffling. Her little knee was scraped. She must have fallen or one of the larger kids shoved her to the ground. Thane could see that the girl was somewhat shy or something. He smiled, "Hey, hey, shhh. I can make that little boo-boo go away. Want to see?" The little girl nodded a bit, before he took out his hand. She might or might not be a muggle, but he figured that if she was around Brightstone, then she would be a witch. So she would know what a wand looked like. He murmured a little healing spell, and the scrape healed right up. "See there? How about you dry up those tears? What's your name? I'm Thane." He didn't want to say his full name to her, because what little kid could pronounce his last name? "Oph...ielle," the little girl muttered. That name should have been familiar, but it was currently lacking in his mind. "That is a pretty name, Ophielle. A pretty name for a pretty little girl." He wondered where the parents of this child was, but he looked around once, not seeing that the mother was actually around. He offered, "Hey, what do you say if I said that I can push you on a swing?" The girl seemed to be a little excited over that. He helped her to her feet where he stood up straight. Walking over to the swing that the little girl chose, he made sure that she was safely in it before he started to push her gently. She was swinging back and forth. Was this strange? Kind of, but Thane couldn't just ignore it when children were sniffling or crying. He couldn't just stand back and let children cry. Thane couldn't have it. He continued to push Ophielle on the swing, where she started to giggle and laugh. That was making him smile more than anything else. She was happy, once crying and now happy again. Thane felt that he did his job. Plus he didn't know where the parents were, and leaving a little girl alone out there was dangerous. He just didn't see...that the mother was there, the entire time.​

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

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<COLOR color="#000">Miriah Johnson decided that today was the perfect day to bring her baby girl to the park. Well Ophielle wasn't really a baby any longer but Miriah still considered her to be sometimes. It was hard to see her growing up like she was. But it wasn't like Miriah could stop it either. Aging was out of her control. Plus, on the upside, while Ophielle went and played on the playground, Miriah could catch up on her reading. Unless she wanted to be pushed on the swings, but Ophielle normally didn't go on those. Miriah kissed Ophi on the head and watched at the young girl bolted off to the playground. Miriah smiled softly and sat down on the bench. Ophielle was old enough to the point where she would be able to play by her herself without Miriah breathing down her neck all the time. Miriah cracked open a book she had been reading whenever she had spare time and began to read. Lately she found herself having more and more time to read, mostly because things weren't as strong as they were between her and Aiden as they were before. Mostly because Miriah loved him too much to only just be his girlfriend, but getting married seemed to be the last thing on his mind. It was heartbreaking. It honestly was. A girl always dreamed about her wedding day. As hard as it was to believe, even Miriah did. But it looked like it wasn't just in the agenda for the former Ravenclaw. But that was fine, Miriah would wait some more to see if he changed his mind. If he did, then Miriah would get to be happy with him and Ophielle. He would be hers and hers alone. But if he didn't, Miriah wasn't sure if their relationship would survive that blow that it would take to Miriah's heart. Miriah turned the page of her book and looked up to check on her daughter. But Ophielle was nowhere to be seen!

"Ophielle!" Miriah called out as she rushed off the bench. Miriah walked around the park, looking around hurriedly in an attempt to find her precious baby girl. Miriah was close to sobbing, she couldn't find her daughter anywhere. But then, she glanced over by the swings and paused. There she was! Ophielle was being pushed on the swings. By a man to be exact. A man that Miriah already knew pretty well. Thane Vlahovic. What was he doing at the playground though? He didn't have any kids. Miriah folded her arms across her chest and leaned back for a moment. Thane was a guy she felt she could trust so she didn't feel like he would hurt her daughter. Plus the two of them looked like they were having fun. Especially Ophielle. Which was pretty shocking since Ophielle supposedly hated the swings. Miriah watched for a little bit longer before she finally approached the pair. "Mommy!" Miriah waved at Ophielle. She was surprised to see Ophielle get up off the swing and run to her. "You must be really good with kids Thane. Ophielle normally hates the swings, and strangers." Miriah smiled when she felt her daughter hug her legs. Surprisingly she wasn't hiding from Thane either. So Ophielle must have liked him. "You should definitely plan on having kids one day. Or adopting them. It seems like something you were born to do." Ophielle ran back over to Thane and kindly requested that he push her on the swings again. Miriah really figured that her daughter liked Thane. Or she was secretly not her child and just a look alike. But it didn't seem so much like the latter. Miriah nodded at her daughter, liking that she was being so polite. But she also knew that if Thane was tired and didn't want to, it wouldn't be too big of a deal.​

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[Thane Vlahovic]

Thane was hoping that the parents of this good little girl would come along and take her before he would grow too attached. The little girl was definitely a cutie, and thought that she would have a beautiful set of parents too. He continued to gently push the small girl on the swing, before he listened to her laughter. Thane then heard the girl cry out to her mom, and Thane looked up to see none other than Miriah. So, this little girl named Ophielle was the daughter of Miriah. Thane stepped back from the swing and he reached around his head to place his hand on the back of his neck as he thought that he was rather embarrassed. He looked as Ophielle jumped off of the swings, at a good time too or else she could have gotten hurt like Thane had when he jumped out for the hell of it, and run straight to Miriah. Thane slowly approached Miriah, and was relieved to see that she did not look angry about this at all. It was somewhat weird to see some guy that was pushing her child on the swing, or well, he was just moments ago before the smaller girl ran off to her mother. Granted the girl was happy, but children were just so innocent, they did not really know any better. Thane smiled even more when she said that he must be really good with kids. Thane dropped his arm down to his side and he nodded, "Yeah, I tend to attract them. And I love being around them. Their life and innocence is just incredible. They are underrated to me." That was his own personal opinion, and he shared it with Miriah. That was just him though. He felt like he could share a lot with her. Talking via letters a lot made him like Miriah, but it was a shame that she was with someone else. She needed to be appreciated like the wonderful woman she was.

She said that he should plan on having kids or adopting them since it seems like it was something he was born to do. Thane knew that was something he was born to do. Be a father, and play music. He loved everything there was about music. No one could possibly take that away from him. He sighed and he said, "I want to have kids one day. But I want to be married first. I was wanting to with Rina, but you know how that went. I'd adopt them, but I think with my gigs and my shop, I would be neglectful. You know?" Thane looked down when Ophielle asked him to push her on the swings again. He smiled and nodded, where he led the small girl over to the swings and he started to push her gently with one of his hands. He made sure to be gentle with the little girl as he swung her. He looked over at Miriah before he said with a grin, "Want to swing too? I have another arm that I could push you with." He thought that it would be nice to let her swing beside of her daughter while he gently pushed her. He could push Miriah too, it would be no big deal for him. He was pretty good at doing these sorts of things. Miriah was a good woman too, and he wondered what all she felt. He decided to ask her about how that boy of hers is coming along. He was good at giving advice. Even if he liked her, he would not let his personal feelings affect someone else's life. Besides, chances were, she did not even like him like that either. Thane asked in a kind tone, "So, how is that lad of yours coming along? Has he popped the question with your obvious hints yet?" He did not look for a ring, but he was curious.​

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

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<COLOR color="#000">Miriah smiled again. He had such a cheery disposition when it came to children. It was easy to admire since a lot of guys his age were more interesting in the process of making children, than actual children themselves. "Kids are pretty wonderful. But they certainly have their moments where they can drive you up a wall. This for one example; decided that four in the morning was a good time to get up and see if mommy would play with her.” Ophielle grinned and Miriah rolled her eyes softly. She loved her daughter, but getting up at four in the morning was not her idea of a good time. Kids did the weirdest things sometimes, and Ophielle most certainly wasn’t afraid to point out when she did things. Like the time she decided to use finger paints to decorate the living room wall. It was an easy clean up, but it still horrified Miriah to wake up and see paint all over her living room. A lot of people found it funny whenever she retold the story, but she was pretty sure that they wouldn’t have been too pleased about it if it had been their child doing the dirty deed. Perhaps Thane would be willing to baby sit for a night. Then he could see what a little terror Ophielle could be when she wanted to be. "I think you should babysit for a night, you might change your mind about how cute she can be, or not. You may be better with kids than I am….” Miriah was kind of joking, but at the same time, having someone else take care of Ophielle for a night while she had a night to herself, just sounded wonderful. Lately she had been spending most of her time either working, or raising her daughter. Miriah loved the life she lived, but even she could use a break, especially while she was trying to figure out the whole situation going on with Aiden.

"Waiting until you’re ready to be a dad is really good plan. But you’d be surprised on how easy it is to drop everything you’re doing to be there for your kid. I used to think I’d have trouble giving up Quidditch, yet now I think about quitting all the time so I can spend more time with my daughter.” Miriah admitted, her fingers becoming entangled within her mousy brown hair as she attempt to get it out of her face a bit better. Thane then offered to push her on the swings with his free hand, but Miriah shook her head softly. "As sweet of an offer as it is, I feel like I’d be too heavy for you to push too.” Miriah didn’t mind though. It was cute enough just watching Ophielle get along with Thane as well as she was. Normally she didn’t take to strange men as well. It must be Thane’s skill with kids kicking in. Supposedly, children were really good at reading people. Maybe Ophielle could see something in Thane that she really liked? Miriah was pulled from her thoughts when Thane then asked her about Aiden. Immediately, Miriah sighed in a frustrated manner. "Nope. Still no ring. Even worse, he comes home even less than he did before. I figure that if I haven’t gotten it by now, he has no intention of marrying me at all. Which sucks, I’ve been waiting so long…and everyone asks me; “When are you two getting hitched?!” It’s just awful. I don’t know what to do, because I still care for him.” Miriah felt bad. There was no reason for her to be dumping her problems all over Thane. He seemed like he was willing to hope, but it wasn’t right. There were a lot of reasons why she should leave Aiden. But there were reasons why she didn’t want to at the same time. It was just one big mess.
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[Thane Vlahovic]

Thane was hoping that Miriah would take a liking to him, since he thought that he was one of those guys that one seemed to like, a lot. Sometimes anyway. He just wished that she would stop putting herself through so much pain with her man. Thane was a different guy, and he was not comfortable with being placed in the friend zone. "All people have those moments. I am sure that this one just wanted some attention, or something soothing to make her sleep all night." He was thinking of something along the lines of tea with honey. That was soothing enough to make him sleep for almost twelve hours! He was sure that he would not have minded getting up to play with a kid of his own around that time at night. He wished, but even now he was unsure that he would have kids anytime soon. He was still going on with his dreams, and he owned a store! He was so happy with his music store. It was simply amazing. However he was quite amazed when he heard her say that he should babysit one day, and he raised an eyebrow at her. Was she serious? They had not met many times, but more or less wrote to each other. Then again, she might be looked for a break. Thane looked at Ophielle on the swing for a moment, before shifting his eyes to her. "If you need a night alone, she could chill at my place for the night. I do not mind in the slightest. But that is only if you are serious, and if you trust me," Thane explained. He did not want her to feel uncomfortable around him, or feel uncomfortable with him hanging around her kid. They were friends, right? There was no reason that there should not be trust there. Thane just worried over the condition of his place. It was clean and all, but he had a lot of breakable things, and he only had one bedroom.

"I think I will probably wait and stuff. Living the bachelor life is a good life for now. Just wanting something more each day. You could take like, a break from Quidditch. I am sure they allow that for a year or two. Spend some time with Ophielle. There would not be a downside to that." If there was one, he could not think of it. After all, spending time with the family was always good. He often went to visit his aunt and guardian. She was amazing to him, and she took care of him. He would miss going to see Miriah and her games though. She seemed like she was an expert at chasing that quaffle. He was constantly impressed. "Never underestimate my skills, friend," Thane said with a wink, but he was not pushing her to get pushed on the swing. He did not mind either way. Ophielle seemed to be enjoying it though. The only thing that he wanted right now was to find a way to help Miriah with her troubles. One way or another, she would be happy. With that guy or not. It did not matter to him at all. When she said that the situation got worse, he frowned and shook his head. Thane shrugged his shoulders and he spoke, "Well, you will have to weigh out which feeling outweighs the other. Is the misery worth it over what you feel? If it has not happened by now, it will not happen anytime soon. I am sorry, but I just know guys like that. Always sort out the pros and cons. Maybe talk to your sister about it and see what she thinks?" What he did not realize that even if Miriah talked to Hadan, she knew what Hadan would say. Hadan always hated the guy, but it was not like Thane knew about that. He knew little about the sister, but he knew a lot of the issues that Miriah was currently facing. Miriah would have probably been better off going to her mother than her sister.​

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Miriah scoffed when Thane suggested that she ask her sister. Hadan was the last person she wanted to go to with her love life. That much was apparent after the way she was with Aiden. Plus Miriah knew that if she needed to find out what she really wanted, was to decide for herself, not have someone else's opinion decide for her. After all, she and Aiden had a very powerful past. Miriah didn't want to toss that away unless she was sure that it was something she wanted to do. On top of that, they had a daughter together. Miriah needed to do what she felt was best for Ophielle. It was no longer about what was best for Miriah. "I think that I need to take some time to really think this through. Maybe next time we run into one another, I will have made up my mind. However, I really need to get going. I have a game I need to condition for." Miriah managed to get Ophielle off the swing before she carefully took her hand and started to walk off. "Thanks for talking to me about this, it helps to have someone listen." Miriah smiled softly and waved at Thane, before she allowed Ophielle to give her goodbye's to Thane as well, she seemed to have taken a liking to him. As they walked away from the playground, Miriah wondered to herself if she was going to make the right decision or not. It was one she had to make, but she wasn't sure if she knew how to choose the right one.

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Fin.​

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