old memories of a new sun

chapter 2

The menacing ring of johnn's phone startled him, as he missed a step and watched as his body raced towards the solid rain drenched pavement.

The wind rushing past his ear, as his body raced towards the impending pain of impact, only to be stopped by an aching sensation, which had accompanied a loud slapping sound. WIthout so much as an explanation, he knew, he had been saved from the terrible fall by his own reflex, but at the cost of his gentle hands.

Reaching into his pockets with his left hand still shaking furiously from the fall, as his mind tried to adjust his body back to normal.

He soon came to understand that the cause of his downfall was, nothing but a message from Ben which read:

"Bro no one's home, I'm waiting for you at our special place, please don't be late, I can't have my uncle shouting at me for messing up my first day.

"P.s , hope you didn't forget to bring food for James"

With a heavy sigh, John stood up to inspect the damage on his cloth, apart from the nasty cold sensation he felt from the wet edges of his shirt and the little trickle of blood that came from his hands accompanied by a mild pain, he was ok at least to the best of his knowledge.

~~~~~

"This conclude our presentation on the particle accelerator, we really hope we have been able to persuade you and your company into investing into this revolutionary project" said a sharply dressed young man in a suit, who had just turned off a slide, which said something about a funding price of about 2.5 million used .

"That was an amazing presentation Mr. Akashi, but as you know I cannot make any decisions without first conferring with my board of directors.

If all goes well I would let you know, but if left for me I would invest right now" said Mr. Brown while he arranged the files on his office table.

"Thank you for your time sir" he said as he picked up his brown suitcase which had stood beside through out the whole presentation "I shall be taking my leave now sir.'

"Namaste Mr. Akashi" said Mr. Brown as his lips parted into a fatherly smile.

"Namaste sir", replied the young engineer, before the banging sound of the door filled the office which in turn left the office in silence.

"Can we go now or do you have another business meeting" said Ray removing his pounding headphones from his ear, and making himself even more comfortable in the black leather chair he sat on, by staining the tables with dirt he had tracked in from outside as he placed his legs on the table.

"Wait for me outside, I need to talk with your brother alone". Brown said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Ashely knew what was going on, she had no complaint, as she stepped out quietly, wishing her brother would go easy on their dad.

"Ray, what would it take for you to forgive me" Mr. Brown said as he perched himself next to Ray, the weight in his heart heavy, finding it's way to form tear drops in his eyes as his eyebrows cast a sad frown.

He couldn't bare it anymore, Ray was a constant reminder..... A reminder that he had failed...

"You really want to know what you can do," said Ray standing up so as to tower over his father , staring at him with nothing but stone cold intent in his eyes.

" It's simple really, join her!" he said as he walked out the door and slammed it with just about the right force to make his father wince.

The dam that held back the tears from Brown's face had finally broken, as he collapsed on the chair watching as hot rolls of tears ran down his face, with nothing to comfort him. Even the luxury that his board room offered couldn't comfort him, as his demons all sat on the black leather chairs and greeted him like old friends.

****

  He never knew she was hurt by it, he never even knew she knew about it, he taught he could escape unscarred, but it was quite the opposite.

"It was all fun and games to him, he loved the thrill of having a girlfriend again, a pleasure he wasn't allowed to have ever since he got married, he loved having to sneak about, loved the youthful feeling she gave him.

But no feeling could compare what he felt on that day.

It was a normal day, he had just come home from work, with all his muscles hurting from the work on the site, he felt so drained he couldn't muster up any energy to see his mistress, so he decided to go home and take a bath.

Upon getting to the bathroom of his king sized mansion, something felt off he. it felt wrong in a way he couldn't quite figure out. He couldn't tell if it was how warm the door handle was or if he was just hallucinating from the stress.

A sharp pain consumed his shoulder from having to push the door with it, he didn't remember the door being so stiff.

upon getting into the bathroom he was greeted by a warm liquid sensation on the ground as a pink liquid filled the floor, obscuring the white tiles.

His heart raced as he rushed towards the shower curtain. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he saw as he pulled back the shower curtain.

lying in the bath tub was his wife looking perfectly at peace. The only problem been she was bleeding from her wrist and she had written on the wall with dark thick blood "hope she makes you happy".

" The memory of the lump in his throat still stood vivid in his mind, the incredible speed at which his heart beat, the way the doctors looked at him as they gave him the sad news that his forever woman is no more.

And now here he was 6 years later still paying the price, as the ghosts of his wife still haunts him in form of his son."

~~~~

Mother nature had made up her mind and decided she was going to keep on crying, but this did not in anyway affect the city, the horns of cars continued to intrude into the privacy of John's ears, the lights from hundreds of billboards filled the city, and the people kept moving like mindless beasts unaware or the sadness the clouds entailed.

He had always loved the rain in the city. "what could be better" he thought as he stopped to take in the smoke filled air which had a hint of pastry smell.

Something about the smell of cakes and doughnut from Mr. Pablo's restaurant always found a way to make his mouth water, and lighten his mood, but today he wasn't here for the mouth watering cakes or the ever so tempting glazed doughnut, he was here to meet Ben, give Mr. James some food and get to school.

looking at his cheap two dollar watch, to know how much time he had left, he couldn't believe his eyes.

somehow time was in slow motion as it was just 7:30. A jolly smile spread across his face as it dawned on him that his classes start by 9, which means there was time for some cake and some ever so tempting doughnuts.

The sound of bells clinging filled the restaurant, as he stepped in, he could feel the eyes of tens of customers set upon him, he picked up the pace of his step as he found a chair close to the window.

He always loved to look at the events of the outside world from the comfort of a chair, some cake and probably a girl, but until the day the right girl crosses his path, he would have to settle with the comfort of a best friend, who always seemed to think the same way he does, John thought, as a smile spread upon his face at the sight of a familiar face he hadn't seen all summer break, which was also smiling back at him from the counter.

Ben must have noticed the time too, as he stood at the counter, feasting his eyes on all the delectable pastries that had been made. you could tell from the occasional head scratching, that he was having a hard time choosing one.

"John my man what's up" said Ben as he set down two plate of doughnuts and cakes with 2 canned sodas.

"Hey Ben

I'm fine although I would do anything to, you know... skip school" John said as he grabbed a cake and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Man we can't do that no more , we in college now we got only a few years between us and our future, and I don't know about you but I don't want to be like James".

"Come on bro that's a low blow, why do you have to pick on poor old James".

"He isn't that old John" Ben said as he stood up and adjusted his trouser," I got to use the John" he concluded as he left their table and headed towards the toilet.

"Fuck you" john muttered as he looked out through the window, his eyes lost in the hustle and bustle of the city, as they darted from one person to another, occasionally staring at some characters that caught his attention, like the old man who held up a sign board and kept shouting the end is here.

Something about the old man reminded him of James, he couldn't tell if it was the shabby hair or the fact the man looked homeless, or maybe just maybe it was the fact the man wasn't old.

The temperature in the restaurant had become significantly higher, something Ben had noticed when he sat on his chair, which was right in front of John.

something about John's facial expression made him feel uneasy, something was wrong.

"John" he said as he voice beginning to slow down " what's wrong" , his heart beat increasing much like the temperature of the room.

"Run" shouted John as he stood up and dragged Ben outside the shop, his heart beat increasing unsteadily, he looked both ways but nowhere seemed safe enough to go to, as he dragged Ben and ran through the road, causing cars to swerve out of control.

"What is it", Ben shouted, his heart felt ready tear out of his chest, his hands shaking uncontrollably, as his eyes darted around the bus stop they stood at, " John look at me.. talk to me" said Ben, with every word coming out louder than the last.

"There are two sun Ben, and ones getting bigger" said John, as he put his hands on his knees, trying his best to swallow as much air as possible.