Response to Cole's "Secret Park"

     As I began reading this story, I was under the impression the story's primary focus would be on the "secret park" the narrator describes in the opening paragraph. However by the end, the story seemed to focus on the narrator(I don't believe it mentions his name), an overweight twenty-nine year old man, who forms a fitness plan for himself with the help of two childhood friends, James and Sean both of which workout regularly. They agree to workout at the secret park and as they get deeper into their exercises, the narrator stumbles across James having an extremely severe allergic reaction.
     I enjoyed the narrator's tone and dialogue. I found it quite believable and realistic, though I don't hang with thirty year old men on a regular daily basis. I appreciated the descriptions Cole provided in the story. As well as having great imagery, I thought the descrptions were relevant and concise enough so it did not feel forced or as if he were simply trying to fill the pages. His imagery was effective and equally significant.
     On the other hand, I am not exactly sure what the purpose of the story was or how the characters necessarily changed through the course of the story. I can see how the story sets up for a change to be implied, but I didn't necessarily find that any change was being implied about a character. I was waiting for the opening paragraph to tie into the rest of the story as well. Since the title is "Secret Park" and the introduction paragraph is focused solely on the park, I was expecting there to be more interaction with the park or that some significance would come of it. I would suggest pulling the beginning and ending together just to give the ending more closure because right now it feels as though the ending just cuts off at the climactic moment of the story. I wanted to know what happened next, what James is allergic to, how does that tie in to the sifnificance of the park, etc. Also, I would love to know maybe a little  more background information about the narrator. You could consider adding his name (I may have just skipped/missed it if his name is in the story), why all of a sudden he wants to get in shape, married or not, does he take his kids to the park? Anything like that, but they are merely suggestions. All in all, I enjoyed reading the story and I think it could be enhanced with only a few minor details/clearifications. The storyline is set up nicely, as well as the tension at the end! There's great imagery and descriptions, along with relatable and realistic characters!