short stories

three people but only one name

ever since the day i was born i knew something about me was different, it wasn't something i just though it was blatantly obvious. everybody has three names tattooed on their wrist since the say they are born, their true love, greatest ally and biggest enemy however i only had one name. it read "hunter braun". what this meant? i had no idea and neither did anyone else - not even the doctors or the professionals.

my mums always tried to keep it as hidden as she could, she'd make me wear long sleeve shirts when it was hot outside, she always said "she doesn't want me to get bullied" but i think it's more of a thing for her and her not wanting to be seen as the mum who's child only has one name. it's normal for people to have two of the same names, or for one of the names to be their own, for example my father. the first name "christian miller" my mums name, his true love, the second name "justin masters" his best friend ever since high school, his greatest ally and "taylor miller" his own name, his biggest enemy. every since he was in high school he suffered with depression, meaning that his biggest enemy was himself and his mindset. this was normal. however it wasn't normal to just have one name.

eventually people found out about the whole one name thing at school, it was exciting and topical for everyone for about a total of two weeks and then everyone got over it and never mentioned it again. there were a few people who were genuinely interested and wanted to know more about it but i knew just as much as they did about it - nothing.

but then one day everything slowly started to make more and more sense. very slowly but the more i knew the more at peace and okay with being different i felt.

"hey are you esme millers?" a tall guy about my age asked me one day at the end of school.

"that would be me,"

"come with me, we have something we need to talk about," he said leading me out.

normally stuff like this wouldn't phase me but for some reason i was actually interested in what this person had to say to me. he had brown floppy hair that parted in the middle, beautiful blue eyes and was slightly taller than me. i followed him to the park that was just down the road from our school neither of us saying anything to each other the entire time. it wasn't an awkward silence, it was comfortable.

"look" he said pulling his sleeve up and showing me the names on his wrist. i read them and they said "esme millers" "hunter braun" and "hunter braun".

"and i take it your name is hunter braun?" i asked him simply receiving a nod back. i don't remember this ever happening before, someone having their own name twice. how would that work? they're their own ally and enemy, their they're own ally and true love, their own enemy and true love, it didn't make sense.

"so we both have each others name, that makes you my true love, ally and enemy?" i said questioning myself as i heard it out loud.

"so you're my true love, making me my ally and enemy to myself at the same time," hunter said thinking out loud.

--
i look up toward the alter where i see my handsome husband hunter waiting for me. he gave me that welcoming smile that i fell in love with and that made me realise this was the right thing to be doing.

after the wedding ceremony concluded me and hunter went back to our little house that we bought together last year. i opened the door but hunter picked me up bridal style and insisted on carrying me to our bedroom and i let him do that. he was so cheesy but so cute i love him so much i can't even. he placed me on the bed but i got up and went to the bathroom to get out of this dress and makeup i'd been wearing all day.

i could hear shouting coming from the bedroom and ran out to see what was happening. i saw hunter sitting on the floor in the corner of the room crying and shouting to no one. he was another one of his episodes. trying to calm him down and help him as much as i could i sat down next to him and tried to minimalise as many distractions as i could.

something i learned throughout mine and hunters relationship was that he suffered with schizophrenia and it's been something he always has. it used to be so much worse and it's been getter better but it's still not completely gone. this is why i only had his name on my wrist and he had his own name twice. one of his "characters" were his greatest ally and another was his biggest enemy. hunter himself was my true love and my greatest ally and one of his "characters" were my biggest enemy.

--

"hey babe i'm back from work" i announce walking into our apartment. after receiving no response from hunter i try shouting out for him again. no reply. i try calling his phone and it goes to voicemail every time. and frantically calling him about seven times he finally answers.

"babe where are you?" i ask.

"i'm fixing everything. how can i be your true love biggest enemy and greatest ally all at once without hurting you at any point. i don't want to hurt you. i can't. how would i be able to live with myself knowing i'm the reason you're hurt?" he explains. i can hear the noise of cars and wind faintly through the phone.

"where are you?" i ask again.

"please just let me make everything better and make sure that nothing bad ever happens to you that would be my fault,"

"please just tell me where you are," i ask close to tears my voice cracking.

all i hear is three beeps meaning he ended the call. i check his location and see he's on the motorway. there's a bridge across this motorway. i run to the car and drive as fast as i can to where he was hoping he'd still be there and safe. i get there in about 15 minutes and see him standing at the edge of the bridge just looking down below him.

"HUNTER!" i shout.

"don't come any closer." he replies. his voice sounded horse like he'd been crying and shouting for ages.

"please just come down. i need you. you're my true love, the love of my life and my greatest ally for sure. and it's not you who's my biggest enemy, it's one of your characters and your illness. this isn't you talking i know that and if you do this you're gonna hurt me more not physically but emotionally. you're saying you don't want to hurt me but if you do this you will trust me. i wouldn't be able to live anymore. i would feel like it's all my fault. if you jump i'm coming right down there after you." i say trying to do all i can to stop him from doing this.

"i don't want to hurt you ever. at all. that's the last thing i want to happen to you."

"then don't do this, if you do this that's going to hurt me,"

i see him take a step backwards and step down from the edge. i sigh with relief as he walks over to me. we embrace each other in a hug just standing there comfortably in each other's arms not saying anything.

"please don't ever scare me like that again i love you so much,"

"i love you too, so much and i'll never stop loving you,"

hunter braun - my true love, greatest ally and biggest enemy.