The sun was bright and the park was full of families and screaming children as Ryan walked with her little brother, Nathan down the sidewalk. On a weekend like this where she had the day off she liked to spend as much time with her brother as possible, especially when he was doing good and he seemed mostly like every other 12 year old out there. His lungs hadn’t been acting up too much lately, and the fall weather was clear and crisp which meant it was a great day for the two of them to go out for a walk. Ryan glanced down at the little boy with a mop of messy brown hair bouncing beside her and smile. He was smaller than other boys his age--something that the CF resulted in, but she was happy to see him more like himself. They walked in silence, enjoying the outdoors, and she couldn’t help but notice him looking longingly to the playground and she wished he could go and play with the other kids. She gives his shoulder a small squeeze and he looks up to her, both sharing a knowing look. His eyes shift back towards the path in front of them and he stops, his face screwing up into a state of confusion. Ryan stops along side him, looking towards him and trying to see what he’s staring at, but nothing seems out of the ordinary. “Nathan, are you--” She’s cut off when he runs forward, and she calls after him to slow down, knowing his lungs could only handle so much. She jogs after him as he rushes towards a man she doesn’t recognize.
“Mr. Reinhart!!” Nathan’s young voice calls out towards the stranger, making Ryan’s brows furrow. The name was that of a teacher Nathan had, but one that had died. Her brother had cried over his favourite teacher for weeks, and she swore that he still wasn’t the same. So with him calling out that teachers name as he ran forward towards a man practically in tears before wrapping his small arms around the man’s middle, made Ryan stop dead in her tracks.
“Nathan! Nathan come back here.” She calls out, but her brother is beyond listening to her at this point, and all she can do is approach the man that he’s now hugging and calling his dead teacher’s name. “I’m sorry...” She says suspiciously. “I think he thinks you’re someone else. Nathan, come on lets go.”
@aster-reinhart