Kin's mysteries

The girl (part 1)

Kin was a young man in his early twenties. He loved taking long walks through his hometown's narrow streets. It was small, but suggestive and mysterious. It had never been fun or exciting to live there, but he couldn't help it. He was bound to that place.

His older brother, Henry, was in charge of their shop. When Kin's father died, he made them promise they would take care of the shop and their mother. Working there was so tiring but he couldn't change the situation. He knew they could go on without him, but he made a promise to his father. So, he had to stay and work, even if he was studying at the same time. Sometimes his brother let him take some time off during the most intense days, like when an exam was approaching. It was kind of him, but in other ways, he wasn't. His girlfriend was even worse than him. She used to come at the shop sometimes and she was so annoying. She ordered him around like she was the boss, she felt in charge because her boyfriend was in charge.

Kin's mother, instead, was kind and gentle. Even too much with them. She kept saying they should stick together, that they couldn't separate because they needed each other. Kin felt he didn't need anyone, he just wanted his life to be finally complete and stable. In any case, he had to make do for the time being, he couldn't do much about it.

It was a cold December night and he completely forgot about the time. It was so rare for him. That could be because he was so agitated, he felt he had to do something at any cost, but he didn't know exactly what. He was so restless and distressed, he was angry at everyone and he couldn't bear anyone, barely his mother. He tried to be patient and calm as much as he could, but he always ended up fighting with someone. Henry was so irritated because of the shop and was impossible to deal with. He wanted to get away too and marry Jenny, but he didn't have enough money to do so. Kin, on the other hand,  felt bad for his mother, and didn't have money either.

Walking relieved him from stress and so he went on, careless of how late it was. He knew he had to check the time, but he didn't want to. Young people around his age were so carefree and relaxed, and they got much better results. That was what hurt him the most. He needed to be competitive, but he felt inferior in all ways. He still lived with his mum, brother, and his grades weren't so high, and he worked in that stupid shop. He kicked a stone that was near his foot, hitting a wall with it. That couldn't be his life, all his childhood dreams were like a thousand miles away, and he was only twenty! He couldn't be so depressed at that young age, it couldn't be normal.

He finally arrived at the shop, the lights were still on and someone was inside. Probably Henry. He stepped in and called out his brother, but no one answered. He went in the back, where a door and some stairs led to the upper level, his house. He went inside. At that instant, he heard Henry's voice. Thinking about it, he had noticed a truck was parked in front of the shop. He never saw that vehicle before. He started peering from behind the counter, his legs crouched, his fingernails just a bit above it.

-"I...I know. She'll be there next time, I promise..." stammered Henry.

-"She'll better be...or Hawker won't forget." said the man.

His voice was so rough and his accent not so clear. He menacingly approached Henry and grabbed the collar of his shirt. His brother's face suddenly got pale and his eyes were filled with terror. The man laughed bitterly, then, after waving with his hand, he went away.

Kin moved slowly on the stairs he just reached, they made an annoying noise and he didn't want to be noticed. He shouldn't have heard that conversation.

-"Listen Jenny, she has to go there. I don't care if she doesn't want to, I don't want anything to do with this anymore. Tell her to go hide somewhere else."

He was talking on the phone with his girlfriend, luckily he stopped near the counter. He still didn't understand what all that was about. But it sounded so strange. Jenny and Henry were hosting some girl and that rude man wanted to bring her to someone called Hawker. What was that about?