The Hunting Past: Part Two

A common flaw or trait in all humans is that everyone loves to see people they dislike fail. Although Christians preach about doing good to one's enemies. No one, even the Christians themselves cherish those beliefs wholeheartedly. There's always a bit of hate left.

The difference between humans when it comes down to the dislike of enemies is how badly they would like to see those enemies fail. The emotions one draws from watching his enemies crumble can range from just a tiny spark of happiness to a feeling of ecstasy soo intense that a celebration might be held as a result. Although, the cause of the enmity is also a factor.

There's also the case where some would go out of their way just to make sure those enemies of theirs fail. These categories of people are not that far off from being sadists.

***

Cut back to some minutes before the race.

The young boy well-kitted in his racing attire could clearly be seen fidgeting in a corner of the field.

Why wouldn't he? This race meant a lot to him and his class. He couldn't afford to fail.

This was when Mark, a classmate of his noticed him and approached him in a guise to calm him down.

"What's up?"

The boy looked in the direction of the greeting and was shocked after seeing Mark.

"I'm…I'm ok"

"Then why do you look soo scared?"

The boy not sure of Mark's intentions for asking such a question was hesitant to reply. After all, Mark always treated him badly, even when compared to the other students. But he felt that maybe, he just really wanted their class to win the race.

"I'm not sure I can do this"

He bent down his head in shame.

"I've never been in a race before"

Mark's eyes began shining as if he was giving an opportunity.

"Don't worry, let me help you"

The boy's face lit up with a look of surprise and joy upon hearing this from Mark. Even though this came from someone who had always given a hard time. He readily accepted his help.

"Thanks"

"Ok now, all you need to know is that once the whistle is blown, you wait 2 seconds before you start to run like crazy"

The boy was puzzled. He didn't really know how races functioned, but at least he knew that the sound of the whistle signaled the start of the race.

"2 seconds? I don't think that's right. Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure. But if you take off before 2 seconds are up, you will immediately be disqualified from the race"

The boy was delighted that he got to know of this information before the race commenced. He showed his gratitude towards Mark for sharing such vital information. Not too long after, the coach called all racers to the starting line and ordered them to take their places.

The whistle was blown and the boy began his 2 seconds count. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as he watched all the racers takeoff without a bit of hesitation. He turned to the coach at that moment to understand what was going on.

"Run kid!!!"

The voice of the coach resounded in the boy's head and he came upon a realization that Mark had tricked him.

Turns out that Mark's dislike for the boy was more than his desire for their class to win the race. After all, it was mark who spread the rumor that the boy was not meant to be in 8th grade.

He immediately took off and was terrified at the thought of losing the race.

The race was a 200-meter race and the other racers were already at the 50-meter mark. He dashed forward covering a great distance in a short amount of time. It was obvious that this kid was faster than the other kids, but that initial handicap left him struggling.

He eventually closed the gap between himself and the other racers and won the race.

The outcome of the race threw the crowd into a frenzy. They all thought that he intentionally waited at the starting line to show the crowd his superior speed on the track. Although there were some who ridiculed his supposed pride.

Mark was furious.

'I should have told him to wait 5 seconds'

The boy walked up to where Mark was seated and with his newfound confidence, showed his gratitude to mark

"Thanks"

Before walking away.

At this point, Leo was very much interested in this dramatic story. A story that made his initial description seem more real.

Mr. Edward chuckled as he continued his story

"As the other kids got to know the boy better, they realized that he was only 12 years old and that they were wrong about him being dumb and instantly felt bad for giving him such a hard time."

Upon realizing that the story was nearing its end, Leo found himself looking up to the large clock on the wall behind his boss and gasped at the amount of time that had gone by.

'My shift is almost over. I ended up spending most of my shift listening to Mr. Edward's story'

He was called back from his thoughts by his boss's voice.

"As time went on, his friends grew and so did his confidence level. The kid's size added to his newfound confidence made him the man he is today."

Leo could already guess that the kid in the story was his boss, but he was still astonished by the fact that Mr. Edward was ever shy.

Mr. Edward was staring at Leo with a look of pride on his face and continued.

"Leo. Do you know who that kid is today"

"A famous athlete?"

Mr. Edward began laughing and snorting at the same time.

"No, but good try though. That kid is now the proud owner of the Tasty Restaurant."

Leo already aware of this, still acted surprised to appeal to his boss's ego.

"No way" he replied.

"You made the story up, right sir?"

Mr. Edward shook his head.

"I'm serious. That's the reason I like you, Leo. You remind me of my younger self minus the big build though"

Leo's eyes brightened up. He was happy that someone like Mr. Edward was once shy, but then he recalled.

'Mr. Edward was 12 years old then and I'm 24 years'

Leo fell back into the chair and looked even more demoralized than ever.

"It's never too late to change Leo. Just find your own race to win and you would be okay."

"Thank you, sir"

Leo then got up on his feet to leave the office and Mr. Edward replied

"No, thank you for listening to my story"

Leo then proceeded to leave the office. While in the kitchen, he bumped into Sara and remembered what happened.

"Hey Sara, can I talk to you"

"Sure Leo"

They both sat down in the kitchen.

Leo never had a proper conversation with Sara in the past. That made this moment somewhat awkward. But Sara was definitely doing better than Leo.

"You sure spent a lot of time in his office…is everything ok?"

"Oh yeah, yeah, everything is fine. He was just telling me about his childhood days"

"That's weird. I didn't know you two were that close."

"Neither did I"

Sara let out a chuckle upon hearing this and Leo definitely did not miss it.

'Why is she laughing? Was my reply even funny?'

"I didn't know you were funny Leo"

She had a smile on her face and it was directed towards Leo.

Their faces were not that far off. She then leaned in and kissed Leo on the lips. Leo's eyes widened before gently closing as the kiss went on before Sara asked him if he was feeling ok.

Leo opened up his eyes. Turns out that he fantasized the entire kissing scene.

"Eh...oh! yes, I'm ok, I just needed to close my eyes for a bit"

This response though weird, made Sara laugh. Leo then went on to ask about the man that wanted to see him.

"Sara. Can you tell me about the man that wanted to see me earlier today?"

"Sure. The man is a regular here. That's the reason I agreed to call you."

"A regular?"

"Yes. He comes in every day"

A puzzled Leo began thinking.

'If he is a regular customer, then that means that his reason for wanting to meet with me might have to do with something concerning the restaurant. But if that was the case, why not ask for the boss. And how could he even know me, I hardly ever leave the kitchen and when I do, I don't talk with any of the customers.'

"Can you give me a description of the man?"

"Of course, he's…he is…"

Leo still waiting for the description realized that something was wrong

"Sara?"

Sara's head was bowed low with her right thumb and index finger over her forehead. She was trying to remember the man's description.

Leo called out her name again before she raised her head and turned towards Leo with a look of distress and disarray.

"I…I don't remember what he looks like"