The Stranger Man.
1999 Words
“Hey... Open the door!” someone shouted, banging urgently.
Kevin jolted awake on the cold restroom floor. Groaning, he pushed himself up and scratched his neck.
“Who...?” He yawned and staggered to his feet.
He caught sight of himself in the mirror—rumpled uniform, tired eyes.
“Sleeping on the floor of a restroom. Is that... oh!”
Memory hit.
He sighed, unlocked the door, and slowly opened it.
His eyes widened.
A crowd of students and a teacher stood waiting.
Kevin blinked, face flushing in shock.
“I... um... what just happened?” he stammered.
Suddenly a girl burst through the crowd and threw her arms around him.
“I thought something bad happened to you in there,” she whispered, pressing close.
Then she rose on tiptoe and murmured in his ear:
“Ever since you told me about the disease, I haven’t been able to do anything but worry.”
Kevin’s eyes went wide.
“You... knew?” he asked.
She stepped back, startled.
“Yes! You told me this morning before assembly,” she said slowly, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Kevin, are you—”
“Brother!”
Two smaller girls ran at him, hugging his waist, tears in their eyes.
Kevin froze.
Gillian. Jennifer.
They clung to him, sniffling.
His heart clenched.
He glanced at the older girl who’d hugged him first—his jaw nearly dropped.
Feyi.
His crush from his world ten years in the future.
He swallowed, then looked at his sisters.
“Gillian, Jennifer. How are you?” he said gently.
The twins blinked at him.
They exchanged a baffled look.
Big brother had been cold to them ever since coming home from the hospital last month.
But now he was smiling at them? Talking kindly?
A teacher stepped forward, clearing his throat.
“Alright, alright. Nothing to see here. Everyone, back to class. First period is about to start.”
The students slowly dispersed, murmuring.
Gillian and Jennifer waved shyly at Kevin before heading off.
He waved back, forcing a steady smile.
When the hallway cleared, Kevin exhaled.
“I have a long way to go figuring out how this body works,” he muttered, staring at his own hand.
“Which body, Kevin?”
He jumped.
Feyi was standing right in front of him, frowning.
“Which body?” she repeated, eyes narrowing. “You’re acting weird.”
Kevin swallowed hard.
“Me? Acting weird? How... um...”
But the bell rang sharply, cutting him off.
He seized the chance.
“First period’s starting—I think—goodbye for now!”
He dashed past her.
Feyi watched him go, head tilted in confusion.
---
---
Hours later, after closing time
Kevin walked alone along the roadside, the sky bathed in sunset orange.
He kicked at a pebble.
“I probably know where to go,” he told himself.
“My first day going to... the boy’s home. This won’t be easy.”
Behind him, a car honked twice.
He turned.
A woman leaned out the window.
“Hi, dear!” she called warmly.
Kevin waved back, trying for an awkward smile.
“That must be his mom,” he mumbled.
A man leaned over from the driver’s seat.
“How was school today, son?”
“And there’s dad,” Kevin noted.
The passenger door swung open, and Gillian called out:
“Brother! Come in. You’re walking home all by yourself again.”
Kevin hesitated, blinking.
“Again? So he and I had that in common. Maybe I chose the right body after all,” he thought.
He looked at his sisters.
“Sorry, little sis. I feel like walking today. But tomorrow, I’ll ride home with you guys, promise.”
Gillian and Jennifer exchanged a look.
Gillian leaned closer to the open door.
“Mommy, brother’s acting weird. He’s... smiling at us.”
“Yes, Daddy. I thought he hated us,” Jennifer added.
Kevin winced inside.
“Hated them? Where’d they get that idea?”
He took a breath.
“I never hated you. You’re my sisters—my lovely sisters. As your big brother, it’s my duty to take care of you.”
He smiled, turning to look at their parents.
“And you too, Mom. Dad.”
Everyone in the car went silent, eyes wide at his words.
They all remembered the way Kevin had shut them out, how he hadn’t explained anything about his illness—how he’d tried to make them not miss him when he was gone.
Mom’s eyes brimmed with tears. Dad cleared his throat, voice hoarse.
“Well, son... just know you’ll always be our firstborn. Nothing will change that.”
Kevin’s shoulders sagged.
“Do they still think... I’m dying?” he wondered.
He looked at them all again, eyes steady.
“Don’t worry,” he said softly. “All is well.”
They fell silent at that.
But before anyone could answer, a new voice called out:
“Kevin!!”
They all turned.
Feyi was running toward them, panting.
“Kevin! Kevin!”
She skidded to a stop, gasping for breath.
“Kevin, who were you talking to?” she demanded, then turned and saw the family in the car.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh! Gillian, Jennifer... and you must be...”
She straightened up, instantly polite.
“Good evening, ma. Good evening, sir.”
She dropped to her knees, greeting them the traditional Yoruba way.
Kevin’s mom and dad both nodded, surprised but pleased.
“And who are you?” Mom asked.
Feyi smiled slyly at Kevin before answering.
“I’m Kevin’s girlfriend,” she said brightly.
Kevin’s jaw dropped.
The twins smirked, delighted.
Mom and Dad froze.
Feyi added quickly, winking at the girls:
“Well... one of his actual friends who’s a girl.”
Mom wiped her eyes, sniffling.
“Honey, let’s go,” she whispered to Dad. “She’ll take good care of him.”
Dad nodded, finally breaking into a small smile.
“Okay, okay. I understand.”
He started the car.
“Take care of him—and yourself,” he told Feyi kindly.
“Come home before dinner, Kevin,” Mom added.
They waved as they pulled away.
Jennifer stuck her head out the window.
“Bye, Kevin’s girlfriend! What’s your name?”
“Her name is Feyi. Senior Feyi,” Jennifer answered for her.
Dad nodded in understanding and drove off.
---
---
After the car was gone, Feyi burst out laughing.
Kevin rolled his eyes.
“What’s so funny?”
“Did you see their faces?” Feyi giggled.
“They couldn’t believe you had a friend, especially a girl.”
Kevin snorted.
“Ha. Ha. Very funny.”
Inside, he was reeling.
Is this a dream?
Feyi—his Feyi from ten years later—right here, younger, laughing with him.
He swallowed hard.
Looks like they had some kind of relationship. How am I even supposed to act around her?
He turned and started walking away.
“Hey! Wait up! Is that how you treat a friend? No wonder you didn’t have any!” she called after him.
Kevin ignored her, trudging on.
Feyi pouted.
“You’ve changed,” she said more quietly.
“I can see it. No one else might notice, but I know you’re different.”
Kevin stopped dead.
Without turning, he asked softly:
“How do you know I’ve changed? Who’d even believe that?”
Feyi blinked, watching him stare at the orange sky.
He swallowed hard.
I haven’t even tried to find my real body... or my family...
What did the Deity tell me in that dimension...
But his thoughts cut off as Feyi ran forward and hugged him from behind, arms winding under his to clutch at his shoulders.
Her face pressed into his back.
“I’m sorry for this,” she said hoarsely.
“But I can’t hold it in any longer. It hurts being left out by everyone.”
Her grip tightened.
“I tried to understand your pain by getting closer. The closer I got, the more I fell for you.”
Kevin swallowed, eyes stinging.
Feyi continued, voice trembling.
“And now that stupid disease in your body ruined everything. I heard the teachers talking... saying you only have this month left to live.”
“Feyi...”
She lifted her head.
Kevin gently took her hands and removed them from his shoulders.
“I told my family this earlier. I’ll tell you too.”
He forced a small, steady smile.
“Don’t worry. All is well.”
Feyi sniffled, eyes glossy.
“Are you sure?” she whispered.
Kevin nodded.
She stared at him, breath hitching.
---
---
A voice broke the silence:
“Well, what a lovely scene. Almost makes me wish I were human.”
They both spun around.
A man stood a few feet away, dressed in cowboy boots and a wide-brimmed hat.
Feyi gasped and grabbed Kevin’s shirt from behind.
Kevin stepped in front of her protectively.
“What do you want from me?” he demanded, glancing around for help.
The stranger chuckled and tipped his hat.
“No one’s coming.”
Kevin froze.
“This hour,” the man said with a smirk, “is mine. Borrowed out of time itself.”
“An hour? In your hands?” Kevin spat.
“Yes. To finish my job with you undisturbed. I borrowed an hour outside the order of reality.”
---
Meanwhile, on the sidewalk just outside this frozen space, a man in a suit was walking by.
He checked his phone, answered it, and exclaimed:
“Hello? Really?! I’m on my way now!”
He rushed off in the opposite direction, completely unaware.
Moments later, a woman walking her dog approached.
But the dog suddenly whined, turned around, and yanked her back the other way.
“What did you find?!” she complained as she was dragged away.
Kevin and Feyi both watched in shock.
“Hey! Over here!” Feyi shouted, waving frantically.
But no one even glanced their way.
Kevin’s blood ran cold.
The man in the cowboy hat grinned.
“Surprised? You haven’t seen what I can really do. Or what you can do.”
He tilted his head, studying Kevin.
“The girl behind you... Feyi, right? Did you know why she tried to call you the day before the world ended ten years ago?”
Kevin’s eyes widened in horror.
Feyi froze, confusion and dread in her eyes.
“Kevin,” she whispered shakily, “what’s he talking about?”
The stranger went on, voice oily.
“She wanted to tell you... how you looked exactly like the boy she met ten years earlier, before his untimely death.”
Kevin swallowed hard, shaking.
The man smiled cruelly.
“Did you also know she died that day? Killed by the organization while trying to call the police for your help?”
“STOP IT!” Kevin roared.
“I saw her leave! Don’t you dare lie!”
The man laughed, eyes glinting.
“You saw her leave. I saw her die.”
Feyi turned to Kevin.
She saw tears trailing down his cheeks.
Her breath hitched in shock.
“How dare you say that!” Kevin snarled.
“If you have so much power, why didn’t you save her?!”
The man snorted.
“You can’t save everyone, Kevin. I’m losing time here.”
He raised his hand.
“This girl is a distraction.”
He twisted his wrist.
Instantly, Feyi turned to cold, unmoving stone.
“FEYI!!” Kevin screamed.
“Nah nah,” the man chided mockingly.
“If you touch her now, she’ll shatter to dust.”
Kevin stared at her frozen face, his whole body trembling.
Veins bulged in his neck and forehead.
He turned on the stranger with murder in his eyes.
“You... YOU! I WILL NEVER LET YOU GO!!!”
- Writer
