Shizuka did not visit her childhood home very often, but the pond at El Molino Park had always been one of her favorite places, one of the few that held happy memories of her parents. Over time, the park had added softball and baseball diamonds, resurfaced the outdoor basketball courts with a nonslip coating. The city had added tables with chessboards, a fitness par course, expanded the tennis courts. Even a lawn bowling club had come and gone.

And yet there was always that bench by the same old pond.

For much of her life, it had been a place she could come to think, to contemplate, to be alone.

And now, with nowhere else to go, it seemed as good a place as any to be.

Today, Shizuka had with her the half donut from Starrgate and some water, and a bag of hot dog buns from the corner drugstore. She strolled to the pond, just as she had done for years.

Someone in the distance had just plinked a ground ball and run out a base hit. The snack bar served another order of nachos. Circling them were mothers and fathers pushing baby carts around the rubberized jogging path. Behind her, basketball, so much basketball … so many voices speaking different Vietnamese, Toisanese, Cantonese.

And in front of her? The wind on the lake. The almost-natural rush of the artificial waterfall. Pigeons cooing nearby. The flapping, quacking. A child splashing a rock.

And on her favorite bench was a peacefully snoring girl.

At first, Shizuka assumed she was a neighborhood kid taking a study break, but then Shizuka noticed her bags. A runaway? How sad. Well, better to let her rest.

Shizuka was about to find another bench when the girl turned over.

She was holding a violin case.

“W-what?!”

Katrina opened her eyes to an apparition … The woman standing over her looked just like the girl from The Ring.

Except she was wearing sunglasses, and was older, and in red instead of white, and wore a wide-brimmed hat and …

“Nice day, isn’t it?” the apparition said pleasantly.

“Uh … yes?” Katrina looked around. She was not dreaming, and yes, she was still in … Was it El Molino Park?

“Want some donut?”

Wasn’t the usual phrase “a donut,” not “some donut”? Then Katrina saw the size of what the woman was holding.

Maybe she was dreaming after all.

“It’s an Alaska Donut. Well, half of one.”

The woman handed her the whole piece, and a bottle of water.

Katrina hesitated. Who was this person? People dressed like that didn’t just feed homeless kids asleep on park benches.

“Just take it.” The woman gestured at her violin case. “It’s not like I’ve never seen a hungry musician before.”

Katrina took a small bite. So sweet! So soft! She took another, larger this time. And another. The sugary, chewy goodness cleared her head, and suddenly her world regained color and sound.