The Stranger I Met

My Childhood

Our childhood. The two words that shook me to my core.

" What!" I exclaim. He doesn't reply, instead turns around and sits on the edge of the bridge with his feet dangling a few inches above the water. He looks up at me and pats the space next to him.

" You might wanna sit for this." He says and I eagerly follow, sitting down next to him. He doesn't speak for a while, contemplating on what to say and I don't push him. I point my toes and dip them into the cool lake water, waiting for his explanation.

He finally sighs, making me look at him." Let me answer the one question you have been asking me. Who am I?" He already has my undivided attention but when he looks at me, the blue in his eyes pulls me closer to him, making me completely ignorant about our surroundings.

" Do you know anything about Sebastian Hamilton?" A simple question but it makes my nose scrunch up. Isn't he supposed to answer me?

" Umm, yeah. Who doesn't? The business tycoon. But what about him?" I reply.

" What all do you know about him?" Another question! But I still reply, trying to hide my annoyance. What does this have to do with what he said earlier?

" Well only that he was the sole owner of Hamilton enterprises, with no heir.
He was also my dad's partner and a really close friend, but I never got to meet him. Everything I know is through his and dad's interview in magazines. Mom used to tell me how tight they were."

He looks in his lap and slightly shakes his head." You are wrong about just one little thing." He keeps looking down, not answering immediately. "He does have a heir, Aurora." He states. Wheels start to churn in my brain, but before I reach a conclusion, he answers for me.

" I am his only son. My full name is actually Jason Hamilton." This time it's me who doesn't answer. I keep staring at him for further information while my head goes crazy with questions.

Why the hell was the sole heir of the Hamilton Enterprises in my small town?

Why was he living in such mediocre conditions?

Why was he with me?

All the interviews I had read about Sebastian Hamilton start running in front of my eyes. I had read them all in hope of one of the reporters asking my dad about his affairs, his cheating on his wife. But no one did.

My focus snaps out of my thoughts as one of those information stands out highlighted.

" Sebastian Hamilton! Didn't he-"

" Die three years back. In a plane crash, yes, the same." He answers bluntly. Shit!

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he takes my hand and smiles at me." No, please don't be. I'm sorry. My dad, well, it's still a sour spot." I nod, rubbing the back of his hand.

He goes back to being silent, and it is killing me now. You can't just state something completely absurd and not explain it. The impatient fidgeting of my hand gets his attention.

" Jesus, Aurora! There is so much you have to know, so much. But I don't understand how to tell you without giving you a major heart attack." He runs his hand through his hair anxiously and bites his lip harshly.

I pull his chin to get the lip out of the trap so he doesn't bite into it and starts bleeding. " Why not start from the starting? The very beginning."

He throws his head back and looks at the sky, breathing out loudly with his mouth and looking back at me." Okay. Let me try." He shifts a little in his place." Your dad, he left you when you were five, right?" I nod." Do you know why?"