Twice in the last week, on my rambles through London parks near our home, I’ve encountered a park bench covered in flowers. This afternoon, in a small Westminster park along the shore of the Thames, I found this bench. The two Happy Birthday balloons and the “15” balloons implied a 15th birthday for someone named “C”. Colorful and cheerful… but the dozen bouquets of flowers warned me of a sadder story behind this bench.
Looking closer, I could see this new bench had – like many other park benches – been dedicated to someone special. Today (22 February) would have been Chloe’s 15th birthday. I don’t know Chloe Georgia Balloqui, who died shortly before her 11th birthday, but she was clearly much loved and has not been forgotten. I stood for a long while, watching the balloons dance in the breeze, thinking of brave young Chloe.
David Kotz 