Carrot Walnut Cake Part 2

'Ein, why the hell, did you let a brat, take care of you?'

I spoke to myself as I tried to brush off my embarrassment. I felt shame hearing the laughter of bystanders around me as I lay down on this cold, hard wooden bench. Henry propped me here after carrying me like a damsel in distress. It must have been an amusing sight to behold here in St. George's Wharf. Imagine, an old man in a suit being carried by a tall young man. I could still hear some murmurs from the onlookers, as they mocked me whenever they passed by.

Henry told me to rest briefly before heading up to my flat. The stubborn brat wouldn't let me go earlier, and insisted to me that I should use his lap as a pillow for my head. I didn't want any more drama since the bystanders along Riverside Walk were gawking at me with bemused faces. I had no choice but to give in to his request.

And now, here I am, lying down on this sad bench, with the cold autumn wind breezing by. Thankfully, my head was resting on a warm, firm cushion and it made the cold bearable. I feel awkward to sense another person's warmth in such a manner.

As I slowly regained my strength, I watched the sunset sky turn dim. The orange hue I saw earlier, faded and the night was crawling in. I saw some of the brightest stars shimmer while strobe lights of passing aeroplanes flashed as they flew in the sky. The sunlight disappeared in a matter of minutes, it was beautiful and I felt at peace just by observing them.

"Do you feel better now, Ein?"

I saw Henry's face pop up on my peripheral vision. His eyes were tinged with worry and his fringes dangled from his face as he tilted his head closer.

"A little. My head feels a little woozy though..."

"We did walk quite a distance earlier. I guess we should have taken a break midway." Henry sighed, I felt his warm hand caress my forehead. "Then take your time and rest a bit more, you shouldn't overexert yourself."

Henry's expression brightens and a beaming smile appears from his face. "I'll keep your head warm for the meantime."

There was something in Henry's face that felt awfully familiar to me. I remembered the child I saw in my dream as well as the one I hallucinated a while ago.

I tried to skim through my memories but I couldn't recall anything. All I recollected was when Emery told me that this kid used to work in Citron as a part-time dishwasher years ago. I wanted to ask him if we've already met in the past, but I fear that such a question would lead to a misunderstanding.

After all, in this day and age, the Have-We-Met question was a classic pickup line.

"Ein, are you okay?"

"Huh?" My trail of thought was interrupted by Henry's suave voice. "Y-yes, I'm alright… I'm just thinking about things while admiring the stars in the sky…"

Henry chuckles. "Well you used to stare blankly at the night sky, so... I get it whenever I see your space out of nowhere."

I felt a sudden chill course throughout my body.

'Wait a damn second, did this kid just say the word USED? Ein, use your head! Henry here clearly knows something! But wait, he's a stranger and we've just met earlier?'

I tried to calm myself by speaking to my inner thoughts but instead, the urge to ask the burning question deepens. It was a tempting notion but it would make me look like a nosy stranger towards Henry.

The man beside me knew me at some point. Trouble is, I don't recall meeting him nor seeing him prior to our introduction today.

I winced as a piercing headache loomed inside my head, for some odd reason, whenever I tried to force myself to remember something, my head would be assaulted by pain. As I thought about it more, my eyes unconsciously squinted as I gazed at Henry's face.

'Just ask the man, Ein! End your suffering and let the cat out of the bag! But make sure to be ready. Should I ask him now? No! Maybe later so I'll have the strength to run when things become awkward.' My thoughts were a mess, part of me begged for closure while the latter opted to run away from it all.

'I should end this awkward farce.'

I took a deep breath and braced myself.

"Henry…"

"Yes? What is it, Ein?"

"When you said I used to stare blankly at the sky..." I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at him with an inquisitive look.

"What do you mean by that?"

I saw Henry's face turn blushing pink while his ears turned red. My eyes couldn't believe that a composed man like him would show such a bashful side.

"Uh… w-well, you see, E-Ein… a-about that-" Henry averted his eyes from mine.

"Have we met in the past?" I sighed. "For some reason, whenever I see your face smiling at me, there's this small scrawny kid that pops up inside my head… And then I get this persistent headache afterwards."

I saw Henry's eyes widen in shock, his jaws were agape and his eyes shimmered as small beads of tears swell up. He then looks at me pitifully.

"Did that kid… had short hair?"

"I think so. I can't remember much, but I do recall his hair and irises had the same colour as yours, Henry." I groaned as I tried to recollect the dream I saw earlier.

"Was he a lanky kid who got beaten up badly?"

"Yes... He looked like a ten or an eleven-year-old kid. Indeed, the child had a lot of bruises too, I remember his cheeks were swollen and were black and blue…"

And then I realised it. There was a reason why Henry's demeanour was awkward towards me. The time when he shook my hand in the conference room… His flustered attitude in the elevator… Then his face, reactions and questions as I spoke to him now… they all made sense.

"Were you perhaps… That child?"

"Yes."

As I stared at Henry's face. I saw the sadness in his eyes. His lips quivered as it formed a bitter smile.

"It's been twenty years, Ein..."

My headache worsened.

***

"Ah! It feels so good to be back home!"

A man wearing an olivine bomber jacket, black denim pants and high-cut trainers shuffles through the arrival halls of Heathrow Airport Terminal 3. The luggage bag he towed behind him was filled with a multitude of tags and stickers gathered from different countries.

"Hmm… I should call Monique first."

The man walked to the First Class lounge of Cafe Pacific, he had a membership there and opted to use the facilities as he waited for his entourage to fetch him. After getting access into the lounge's private suites, he takes off his jacket and stows away his luggage to the side. He quickly takes out his smartphone and configures it to a UK frequency setting.

"Man… I'll miss the fast mobile data in Japan…"

He groaned as he watched his phone reboot. After a few seconds, the phone successfully reverted to English settings and the signal bars were full. He then quickly dials Monique's number and calls it. Monique answers the call after three rings.

[Diether! Welcome home!]

A warm smile forms on Diether's face as he hears Monique's lively voice.

"Yes, I'm home, my love." Diether sits down on the fluffy bed. "I've just arrived a few minutes ago. I'll rest for a while here in the airport lounge before coming home."

[I can ask the driver to pick you up from there, are you in the Concorde Lounge? I can make arrangements for you-]

"You don't have to, my love. It's okay Monique, I'll probably be home in two hours. I missed using the Tube too. Haha!"

[And risk getting mugged? Hell no! Tell me which lounge you're staying at. I'll make arrangements!]

Diether groans, he knew that once Monique made up her mind, it would be impossible to get her to change her decision.

"Fine, I'm at T3, Cafe Pacific First Class Lounge. I'll take a nap for an hour first, I can feel the Jetlag catching up on me."

[Alright then, I'll ask the lounge there in Cafe Pacific to arrange transport from there… Oh! before that...It's Ein's birthday tomorrow! I've arranged for a small birthday dinner so you better attend!]