A Journey with Hilton

Prologue

It was a hot day in Durban. Hilton was out shopping with his family. Thirty minutes away from home and he was getting bored really fast. He didn't care much for shopping. To him it was just another form of torture. After an hour of walking his stomach started to pain. Food, he thought. Hilton and his family decided to make a detour to a doughnut store, just a light snack to get him through another gruesome hour of torture. His father was off with his brother somewhere so it was just him and his mother. Okay, he thought. You can do this Hilton, just tell her already! She's outgoing so she might understand. What do you have to lose anyways. "Mum", he said. He could feel his throat clench up, suffocating him and his hands couldn't stop trembling. "Baby, look at that doughnut! Mmmmm, I'd kill for one of those", she said being her quirky self as always. "Mum!", no turning back now. "Yes darling?" She smiled, it was warm and friendly as if it were hugging him. Be smart about this Hilton. "So my friend, Mike, came out as bisexual but he didn't tell me because he was scared that I would like him in a weird way." Her smile dulled. "Why would he think that?" I got really nervous but I couldn't back down now. "It's because...I'm gay." She looked confused. Fuck. What did I do! Someone shoot me. "Oh, why do you say that? Do you know what a gay is Hilton? I don't like this, please tell me you're joking...", she said this so angrily. "I've seen life Hilton so if you choose this type of lifestyle then there are going to be a lot of challenges." Think Hilton, "This wasn't my choice mum. Trust me, if I did have a choice then I would've chosen to be straight!" I don't know what to do. Then his father walked in with his brother. Both of them completely oblivious to the conversation prior. They stayed silent but she bought them a doughnut so he was extremely confused. The car ride back home was quiet but awkward. What happens now? The next day they returned to the mall. She pulled him aside as they were walking and told him, "Son, I want you to see a therapist because I didn't like what I heard yesterday and I want that to be fixed. So many things were racing through his head. She doesn't accept me. She never will. Things are gonna change for the worse now, aren't they? This is how it started...