Ex Criminal Gave Me Hope

ECGMH (Rewritten Ver.)

My name is Jasminka and ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be a Civil Engineer like my mother. At first, I'm into literature but I find my mom's job cool and interesting, so it sparks my interest. Thankfully, I don't have any problem with numbers, so I think I can make it.

In our house, it's just me and my mother. My father died when I was still 2 years old because of cancer, so it's just my mom who've taken all the responsibilities. Every time I have a problem, she's the only one who can help me and give me good advices. She's the kind of mother an every child would want. She's someone I deeply care about and She's my role model. In order to repay her, I'm going to study very hard, have good grades and get a degree. I want to show my mother that even without father, I'm strong enough to stand for myself, and that's thanks to her.

As years passed by, I'm already on my fourth-year of college.Just a little bit more and I can finally reach my goal. With my high grades, I'm sure I'm gonna make it and graduate in no time.

One time, While I was reading Shakespeare's; 'A Midsummer night's dream', a classmate came and told me a news about a man named Henry, who's in his mid 20's, just got out of prison. I looked at her phone and read the article. The man was arrested because of robbery and other bad stuffs. I looked at his picture, and he has a scar on his left eye and got a lot of piercings in his ears. He looks scary but I did not pay much attention to it. I thanked my classmate for letting me know and I just continued reading my book.

Later that day, I ended up going home late at night because I was busy making reports for my presentation for the following day. I quickly grab my bag and book and went out to the bus stop. I was so caught up on my work that I haven't noticed its already 9 PM. While I was walking quickly to catch a bus, I accidentally bumped a guy in a hoodie. I haven't noticed my bag was actually open, so my pens and notebooks fell. The man picked them up and I thanked and apologized to him. As I get my things from him, I noticed that he looked familiar. That's when I realized he looked like exactly the guy in the article I read before. This man standing infront of me is Henry. I turned pale in the thought. He looked more scary and dangerous in person. My hands started to shake. What should I do? I said to myself. He may be free now but its not a guarantee he won't be doing illegal things anymore. What if he's planning something bad? What if he'll hurt me?

A lot of negative things came to my mind and when the man noticed me trembling, he spoke up. "You seemed to be scared. Could it be that you know who I am? I bet you know what I am capable of." I just froze. "Your lucky I don't do those things yet tonight. So stop shaking like a leaf, Lady. Just get these things of yours and leave." I quickly grabbed them from his hand and ran off. That encounter was really scary. Nothing bad happened but just being around someone like him is terrifying. That was the most haunting day in my life... Or so I thought.

A month had passed and something terrible happened. I was busy at school preparing for an exam tomorrow, when one of my teachers came to me and told me a very dreadful news. They got a call from a hospital, saying that My mother died because of a car accident. The moment I heard those words, tears directly fall out from my eyes. I couldn't control my anger and sadness within me, so I rushed out of the room and directly went to the hospital. It was not easy for me. She was my inspiration in everything, my only companion. How can she leave me like this? I cannot survive the world without her. That moment, it's like my world fell into the darkness.

Ever since that day, I stopped going to school. I distant myself from everyone and I don't study anymore. My grades are getting lower. I don't have the motivation anymore. I just want to be alone. I don't feel like doing anything. I've completely lost hope. I got no one now. There's no one around I can share my success with.

Every afternoon, I go to a nearby park and sat on the bench. All I do is sit there and look blankly at the ground. I used to remember how I always spend my time with my mother and how I promised her to be good always. I feel really sad right now. Its hard keeping problems all to yourself and not be able to share it to anyone because they wouldn't understand. I feel so all alone.

I just sat there for the next 30 minutes and the sky suddenly went darker. I forgot that it was going to rain today, but instead of heading home, I just sat there crying while looking at the ground. The clouds started pouring and I'm getting wet all over. I closed my eyes and sat for a couple more minutes, when I suddenly felt the rain stopped dropping on me. I instantly opened my eyes and looked up. I saw the man whom I was terrified with a month ago and he's looking at me while holding an umbrella.

"H-Henry?" I said. "You know, a graduating student like you shouldn't be out here in the rain." I just stared at him. "My house is nearby. Want to go?" I stood up and agreed. Henry was shocked by my unexpected reply but he brought me there anyway.

When we arrived at his house, it was not the kind of house I was expecting. I thought it was going to be like a scary or messy looking one, but I was wrong. He's house is oddly neat and nice. There are beautiful drawings hanging on the wall. I wonder if he managed to have this kind of home because of his illegal works? I wondered to myself. Henry threw a towel at me and showed me the bathroom. I took a bath and got dressed by the clothes he gave me.

After cleaning myself, he let me sat down on a sofa. He talks about how stupid I am to just agree about his offer and how different I was from our first meeting. He talks about the possibilities he might do to me right now. "Sorry. But you see, I've got nothing now. There's nothing to fight for anymore. I don't feel anything at all." I said to him. Henry stayed silent for a moment, then he talked. "You see, just because you lost your family doesn't mean you lost yourself too. You still have your dreams within you. Why not go on with your goals? Don't you want your mother to be proud of you? How can she leave the world happily if she sees you in your current state right now?" I stared at him. "Well that's some advice coming from a criminal."

"I just wanted to help you... Just like what your mother did to my family before." His words caught my attention. He knows my mother? "Back when I was young, me and my family were homeless. We were in the streets begging for food when suddenly, your mother came and helped us. She noticed my papers with drawings of beautiful houses scattered on the ground and she decided to help us. I don't know why but it was her who built this house. I wanted to repay her good deeds to us, so I worked really hard. She said I have talent for architecture, so I gave it a shot. It was fun at the beginning, but my family problems get into me.

My father left my mother and my mother had a heart attack because of it. It was a disaster. I ran away from my problem and become the person I am today. You wouldn't want that to happen to you right? You wouldn't want your mother's effort to go onto waste." I wasn't expecting him to say that. "I never managed to repay your mother for the shelter she gave us. So by helping you at least, I can repay her. And for you, you only have one task. Achieve your goal. In that way, you'll make your mother and father proud and happy. They may not be with you physically, but they're always in your heart." I looked at him and tears fell down from my eyes once again. I rubbed my eyes and suddenly he hits my head with something. "Oww! That hurts!" I yelled. I looked at the thing he was holding and it was the Shakespeare book I was reading before. "You dropped this back then." I accepted the book and looked at him. Now that I've seen his face closer, I've realized that he's actually a bright person. The drawings on the wall were his dream, but he did not make it. He was misdirected in life. I wonder if mother decided to help them because she thinks Henry is kind of similar to me?

Right after that, I returned home. I realized a lot of things from him. My mother wouldn't want me to live this way. If I did, she'll totally be disappointed in me. And I don't want that. Since then, I studied harder and managed to bring back my high grades.

Finally, Graduation came and I already received my medals and awards. I was so happy in there. After the ceremony, I went to my classmates and suddenly saw a man with a face mask. I know that it was Henry because of his figure so I went to him quickly and smiled. "Thank You." He looked at me and responded with a smile. That's the moment I've realized that I've fallen in love with this guy. Its so weird but I can't deny it. "You should visit your parents right after this. Gotta bring them the good news." He said. "Of course. But you see. There's something I have to confess." Henry just went silent. "I actually--" before I can finish the sentence, he cuts me off. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry. I just wanna say congratulations." He just turned around and waved. I haven't seen him around since then.

After some years, I am now a licensed Civil Engineer and currently, I have some projects to work on. I am happy with my life and I'm doing great.

When I was having my vacant time, I went to a nearby coffee shop and read the same book from years ago. While I was reading, someone came to me and said "Don't you get bored reading the same book all over again?" I looked at the guy who said that, and saw it was Henry. He sat infront to me and smiled. He really did get more handsome as the years gone by. "Its been so long. You're looking more like a beautiful woman now." I blushed a little. "Did you miss me?" He said in a joking tone. "I did. Very. Did you feel the same?" I replied. Henry smiled. "I'll leave that to your imagination, Jasminka."

I smiled by his reply and he did the same. Henry and I just sat there and talked about the years we haven't seen eachother.