Chimera | H.S Mature

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*Samantha's POV*

For several long minuets I sat there, watching him from afar. He didn't move, other than to adjust his jacket around his body, and he made no sign to suggest he knew I was watching him. There was a vulnerability about the way he sat, huddled into himself, his back leaning against the rough bark and his arm wrapped tightly around his legs.

I rose from the bench and paced across the grass, taking a seat beside him on the banks of the lake, tucking my legs beneath me and gazing out across the water before us. With a quick glance to identify the person who had joined him, Harry shuffled away to the right, offering me no greeting other than a clearing of the throat.

Silence engulfed us, broken only by the soft creaking of the bare branches above our heads, swaying back and forth in the breeze. The bird's song ended and it took flight across the lake, weaving and bobbing against the blue sky before disappearing into the woodland on the opposite bank. I took in a deep breath through my nose, the cold air nipping at my skin and causing me to sniffle. Soft voices of passers-by rose and fell away again as they continued down the path. I caught brief glimpses into their conversations, their mutterings about the small things that, to them, seemed so important. And all I could think, while listening to two young women talk about their upcoming holiday, was that I wish Harry and I could be as at ease with one another as everyone else seemed with their companions.

Throughout this, Harry had watched me closely from the corner of his eye, his hands still firmly clasped around his legs and his soft curls dancing gently in the breeze. Several times I had seen him shift, as if he was preparing to speak, but no words ever passed his lips. The rhythm of our soft breaths and intermittent sniffling was all that passed between us.

"Did I ever tell you about my brother?" he asked suddenly, his gaze remained locked firmly on the opposite bank. There was a harshness about his features, a built up anger than suggested he wouldn't be bringing up this subject if there wasn't a dire need. I realised slowly, that he was about to give me an explanation.

"I didn't know you had any other siblings" I replied softly, turning my attention towards him. The profile of his face was cast in shadow as the sun retreated behind a cloud, a grey haze falling over our surroundings and casting a grim light on the conversation as he continued.

"I suppose I don't really, he was never alive I guess you would say. When Mum was pregnant with me, I had a twin brother, but one month into the pregnancy something went wrong, and all she ever told me was that my brother had died in the womb. But one day, when I was young, I was rummaging through some drawers in one of the cabinets, just being nosey, you know," he said with a small shrug and I nodded, "and I found this folder. My Mum keeps everything, every art project we ever did, every certificate we ever won, Mum kept it. Daniella and I had a folder each. And in mine, right at the very start, was a letter hidden behind my birth certificate. It was from the hospital, explaining what really happened to my brother. I didn't understand a lot of it, but one word kept repeating over and over throughout, 'Chimera' it said". He paused for a moment to swallow and run his tongue over his lips, they were dry and cracking from the cold. I watched with eager curiosity as Harry's gaze glazed over, his eyes still focused before him but unseeing. He was swallowed by the memory, consumed by the story that was playing out in his head, and throughout, I sat silently and listened.

"I didn't know what it meant of course, I was only 12 at the time, but I knew it had something to do with what happened. So I looked it up. Thousands of articles appeared, each one giving the same explanation of what a 'Chimera' was" he said, plucking a blade of grass from the ground and shifting so that now his legs were crossed before him.