Chapter 2: Strange Man
Aiden was well aware of his flaws.
He knew how much failing at something tended to bog him down.
In fact, it wasn’t the fact that Lizzie seemed to be in a relationship with someone else that had him so dispirited... though it also played a hand in it.
Rather, it was the concern that he would find it even harder to try his hand at confessing to anyone for the foreseeable future.
Simply out of the fear of failure.
Unfortunately, despite this understanding of his, he hadn’t been able to rid himself of that mindset and really push through the fear to give things another whirl for as long as he could remember.
The closest he’d ever come to shedding off that mindset, was sometime in middle school when his mother had encouraged him give the school talent show a whirl.
Sadly, she’d passed away before she could get the chance to watch him honor her request.
’Fudging cancer,’ Aiden muttered to himself, the memory bittersweet to recall.
And though he’d still performed in the talent show, he’d botched it so terribly, he’d vowed to never do anything of the sort, ever again.
Turning around a corner, he let out another sigh as he arrived at his quiet neighborhood, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.
Just as he was kicking a random stone down the street though, he watched a bizarrely painted truck with the text; Emrys, The Great!!!; drive past him and sputter to a stop.
Rushing out of the vehicle--curses and all--was an eccentric-looking old man in a wizard hat and a fancy get-up reminiscent of those mages of old in popularized fictions wore.
"No, no, no! I’m gonna be late!"
Upon popping the bonnet open and seeing the cause, an old fuse which had been fried, he cursed again in a foreign tongue Aiden had never heard in his life.
On an average day, the young teen would’ve simply walked past him, not the least bit interested in helping a stranger... especially one that looked this weird and especially this late at night.
In fact, he was doing about the same right now as he walked past, simply choosing to ignore the man and his predicament.
His home was just a couple more minutes from here so he was even more determined to ignore the man.
Yet, having taken a couple more steps past him, his boots came to a halt.
Despite his best attempt to clear his head with a stroll, it wasn’t working.
This, on the other hand, felt like a good enough distraction.
With a mutter under his breath...
"Sorry, Pops. I’m about to talk to a strange man,"
... he turned back and made his way towards the man.
"Evening, Sir. Need a hand?"
Notably surprised to hear that, the man turned to face the youth and said;
"But of course! Thank you! I’d appreciate it!"
"Here. Kindly help me hold this apart while I retrieve a spare fuse and my tools from the boot," he requested, tugging on a few cables he’d held with both hands.
Nodding simply, Aiden did as he was told.
A couple seconds later, the man came back with a brand-new fuse, and quickly began to fix it.
"Ah~. Good as new." he nodded in satisfaction half an hour later.
Then, turning over to face Aiden, he said;
"Thank you, child."
In response, the youth simply gave a curt nod... though he found it weird how the man referred to him.
However, the next question from the man stunned him;
"Child, what addles your mind? Perhaps I can help?"
For a brief moment, Aiden remained quiet, choosing not to respond.
He knew better than to pour out his heart to a stranger.
Yet, deep within, he had intrinsically replied;
’Clarity...’
’...and... the strength to overcome the fear of failure.’
Following that, the eccentric man smiled, earning a furrowed brow from Aiden.
It was the kind of self-assured smile that sagely old people tended to grace people with after figuring them out following a shared conversation about life.
More than that, he hadn’t said a single thing, so why was the old man smiling like he could read him like an open book?
"Hold on a minute, child," he gestured with a finger, making his way back into the van.
For a minute or two, Aiden simply stood still, equal parts confused yet concerned as the man rummaged through a couple things in the vehicle.
Then, having found what he wanted...
"Aha!"
... he walked right back out like a gremlin, a simple woolen necklace with a green-like crystal attached to it.
"This is a family heirloom, passed down from one generation to another in my family," he explained.
"Sadly, as the last descendant with no offspring to show for it, I believe its high time I let it go,"
"Go on, take it." he extended it over.
Immediately, Aiden raised his hands up in rejection;
"I-I can’t take this."
"You said it’s your family heirloom." he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
’In fact, am I crazy?! Why am I still here, when I could just be on my way!’ he thought to himself, ready to wave goodbye to the eccentric old man, head home and hit the sack.
Yet, before he could even bother turning around, the man gently grabbed his hand and placed the necklace in his palms whilst closing his own palm tightly over it as he said;
"Think of it as a gift, child. For helping me with my vehicle."
"It will give you the clarity that you seek, and the courage that you need."
No sooner had he said those words, he gave him that self-assured smile once more.
Then he got into his vehicle, and drove off, leaving Aiden glued to the spot, his pupils widening in bewilderment.
How did the man know what he’d inwardly said?!
For a while, Aiden remained with that question, unable to offer any answers.
It was only a few minutes later that he finally snapped out of the daze that he was in.
Whatever it was the old man had done, it was weird, to say the least.
Staring at the trinket in his palms though, his rationality inclining him to question the shadiness of it all, something compelled him to keep it nonetheless.
So he did, stuffing it into his pocket as he made his way home.
Soon, he’d arrived, walking up the stairs to push the door to the detached single-family house open.
"Hey, Champ." his father, Richard, greeted with a warm smile as he walked in.
There was a glass cup of brandy the man’s hands, one he had a habit of indulging himself every day after work.
"Hi, Pops. You’re home early?" Aiden reciprocated, his expression curious.
"Yeah. Rounded up the after-hours shenanigans earlier than I intended." he replied and then inquired in turn, his tone just as curious;
"How was the game?"
"We won," Aiden replied flatly, making his way into the kitchen.
"And how was the confession?" Richard expectantly asked, his features lighting up slightly.
Still in his early forties, he had a fairly average build that was built from years of progressing from a construction worker, to a construction manager.
Faint streaks of silver could also be seen claiming a few strands of his dark-brown hair, his olive-green irises following his son’s figure as he microwaved his meal.
"Mademoiselle Montgomery’s a taken lady, I fear," Aiden dejectedly remarked with a resigned sigh.
"Oh," Richard’s expression drooped.
"Well, you can’t expect to win ’em all, champ." he tried to comfort him.
However, knowing the kind of person his son was, he paused a bit, trying to find the right words to say.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite manage to. So, he simply did the best he could;
"Don’t let it boggle you, okay?"
Unaware of the man’s thoughts, but nonetheless thankful for his kind words, Aiden replied as he moved into the living room to seat next to the man;
"Yeah, I know."
"Thanks, Pops." he added to which Richard simply nodded in acknowledgement, a warm smile on his features.
Then he continued watching the TV, sipping on his brandy as a comfortable silence descended between them.
Soon enough, Aiden rounded up his meal, waved his father goodnight, and proceeded up the stairs to hit the sack.
Crashing onto his bed face first, he soon turned around, his gaze on the spinning ceiling fan.
Once again, the events of the day replayed in his mind, each major event vividly detailed.
Though he should’ve been dejected at the thought of Lizzie been with Kevin, his interaction with the eccentric old man had done a good job of suppressing it.
Retrieving the necklace and curiously fiddling with its gem, the man’s words replayed in his mind.
"Would be nice if that really was the case though..." he muttered to himself, his eyelids heavy as he began to doze off.
A few minutes later, he was fast asleep.
Yet, the gem between his fingers began to emit a faint, ethereal glow.
Slowly, it’s glow expanded, covering the entirety of Aiden’s body.
Then, after a couple seconds, it dissolved into shimmering crystallized motes.
