The Woman in the Park

Australian accent

Alice walked dogs every morning. It was her job, and she loved it. She started early, before the street was light. She walked the same way every morning and went to the same park. In the evening, she did the same thing again. She knew the dogs. She knew the people. The park felt like her second home.

One morning Alice saw a woman she had never seen before. The woman was standing near the park with a dog. The dog was white and very thin. It stayed close to her legs. The woman did not walk or sit. She only stood and looked at people as they walked past.

There was something different about her, and Alice didn’t know what it was.

The first morning, Alice told herself the woman was new. People came and went. Alice walked past her and did her job. When she looked back, the woman was still there, in the same place.

The second morning, the woman stood there again. Same place. Same clothes. Same dog. Alice watched other people walk past her. No one stopped.

On the third morning, Alice stopped near the woman. People walked past them.

Alice asked a man with a dog, “Do you see that woman?” She pointed.

The man looked and said, “I see no one.” He walked on.

Alice asked a woman who was running next. “Is someone standing there?”

The woman looked at the space and said, “No.” She ran away.

Alice asked a woman on a bicycle next. “Do you see a woman here?”

The woman and man looked where Alice pointed. “No,” she said. “There is no one there.” She cycled on.

Alice asked a young woman with a small dog. “Can you see someone here?”

The woman looked at Alice like she was crazy. “No,” she said. “I see nothing.” She walked away.

Alice felt cold.

She looked back at the woman. The woman was still there with the dog.

“They cannot see you,” Alice said.

“No,” the woman said. “They never can.”

“Why can I see you?” Alice asked.

“There is always one person,” the woman said.

The dog stayed close to the woman’s legs.

“I stand here every morning,” the woman said. “I cannot leave.”

“Can I stop seeing you?” Alice asked.

“No,” the woman said. “You saw me once. Now you will always see me.”

The woman touched Alice’s arm. Her hand was cold.

Nothing changed.

The next morning, Alice came back to the park. The woman was there. Same place. Same dog.

Days passed. Then weeks.

People walked past the woman every day. They talked and laughed. No one saw her.

Only Alice did.

Now Alice walks dogs every morning. She walks the same way and comes to the same place.

The woman is always there.

Alice is the only one who can see her.

📒 Key vocabulary

• stood (stand, stood, stood) – be on your feet, not sitting or walking
• past – by or near something
• pointed (point, pointed, pointed) – indicate something with your finger
• cycled (cycle, cycled, cycled) – move on a bicycle
• crazy – silly or strange, not thinking normally
• stayed (stay, stayed, stayed) – remain in the same place
• leave – go away from a place

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