Do You Remember?

An emotional story about a man is once again reunited with someone that he thought he'd never see again. This story consists of a lot of relatable tension.

Do You Remember?

Bright lights shone in my face as I looked into the crowd. I had done this thousands of times before, so why was I nervous? I tried to remind myself that this situation was absolutely no different. My thoughts were interrupted by the music that had just started playing. My cue came and went with me standing mid stage staring into the crowd. There were many anticipating faces looking back at me, but one stood out. It took me what felt like a minute to realize exactly who it was. This explains everything, I was nervous because I felt his presence. I hadn’t seen him since I had turned 5, and his was a face you’d never forget. The sight of him brought a smile to my face. I remembered when I was younger that we were inseparable, and then, he was just gone. I needed to talk to him, this may be my last chance and there are too many things left unanswered. 

Without really thinking I jumped from the stage directly into the crowd, There was a mad scramble some fans were too stunned by what I had just don’t to even react. The majority of fans met me with screams and hugs, tugging at me from all angles. I ran at an urgent pace pushing past adoring fans, until I came to where he had been standing. I looked in time to see him casually slipping out of the back door. I don’t think he realized that I had seen him though as he wasn’t careful enough to look and see if I had followed him. I slipped out of the door right behind him. When I exited I was met by a brisk summer night breeze. A small shiver slowly passed throughout my entire body. The railing of the wooden stairs was cold against my fingertips as I descended.

I turned the corner of the building into a dark alley- way and practically ran into him. We were now face to face barely able to see each other. We were so close that our chests bumped as he made a startled movement. We stood there awkwardly looking at each other, neither of us saying anything. I had so much to say but the only thing I could manage was 

“Pops?”

“Y�"you remember?”

He stumbled on his words; I guess it had something to do with that surprised look plastered on his phone. 

“Of course I remember how I ever forget you dad?”

His face immediately turned as red as a strawberry as he began to sob softly. I looked at him deeply and saw myself in 25 years. I couldn’t believe how much I looked like this man that I hadn’t seen in so long. The way our eyebrows thinned near the end, the way my nostrils flared out just the way his did, our build was almost the same and if I do say so he really only looked like older brother. He saw me starring at him and sheepishly turned around in order to gather both his thoughts and himself. After a few brief moments he spun around to face me once again. 

“I’ve been there; I really have, at every single one of your shoes.” He spoke fast but clearly.

Both shocked and overjoyed I was only able to push out a mumbled,

“What?”

“Yeah, usually I’m way at the top where you’d never see me.”

This brought me down from that previous joy I was feeling.

“Son, I never truly left you. I’ve been around but just without you knowing it.”

“I was there when you rode your bike without your training wheels for the first time, I was there when you played your first basketball game and I was there when you had your first concert.”

He gave me a smile as if he was proud of himself.

“How come you never said nun to me then, if you was around all them times?” I snapped angrily. 

“You have to understand! I was scared, I didn’t know if you’d want me to see me or not, I wasn’t even sure you’d remember me. All of the times that I was there I was so proud of you. I wished that I could hug you and let you know exactly how proud I was of you and how much I loved you but, �"” 

He paused

“… I was in no place”

“What do you mean by that?!”

“Uhh, well I saw that your mother was doing a good job with you, and I didn’t want to come and complicate everything for you.”

A bit of my anger gently melted away.

“I used to wish everyday that you would come home and pick me up so we could play like we used to, but you never came!” 

My head hung low so my eyes looked only at the concrete I stood on. 

“I really wish I could have.”

There was another moment of awkward silence where we both briefly looked off into space. I finally broke the silence.

“So, where do we go from here?”

“That’s up to you, I would really like to have a relationship with my one and only son, but I’ll leave the choice to you.”

“I have some serious thinking to do but as for now I think we have missed out on enough of each other.”

He gave me a small grin, a grin that looked just like mine. Not knowing what to do, I uncomfortably fidgeted with the insides of my pockets and looked up at the starry sky. All of a sudden I felt these giant arms wrap around me. They completely consumed me. As we separated I had an idea. 

“Dad?”

“Yes my son”

“I have an idea”

“What is it?”

“I’ll show you, just follow me.”

I grabbed him and led him back up those sold wooden steps and back into the building. It wasn’t until I got inside that I realized how cold I really was. The building was in chaos, I had totally forgotten that I had run out of my show with no explanation. 

I looked back at my father who was following closely behind me and met a face of confusion and nervousness. I gave him a look I hoped would let him know not to worry. I wondered if he was just alarmed by the level of noise and energy within the crowd. All of a sudden a screaming fan busted past security and jumped on me. Caught off guard I almost lost my balance. Her arms were roughly draped around my torso. It felt like there was a weight pressing firmly against my diaphragm, so much so that I couldn’t breathe. 

Security tried to pull her off of me be but there efforts came to no avail, she refused to let go. As soon as security had left their posts numerous people in the crowd took this as there chance to get close with me also. The girls grip was only getting tighter as time went by. Coupled with the numerous fans unknowingly trampling me I was now fading in and out of consciousness. I blacked out for a few minutes, or so I thought. I awoke to the smell of the fresh leather in the back of my Mercedes SUV. I struggled to bring my hand towards my throbbing head. When I managed to bring it back down I saw the blood. I wondered what had happened within those few minutes that I had passed out. I looked around the car and everything was spinning. I saw my dad fidgeting in his seat uncomfortably looking more worried than I have every seen anyone. I was spread across the back seat unable to feel or move any part of my body from the waist down. My mind raced with the possibilities of why I was in this state and I slowly began to panic. I screamed loudly in fear of what was happening to me. The high pitched screamed startled my driver and he swerved into oncoming traffic. The last thing that I remember is those bright lights.