Charmy's Big Journey

Reunions and Revelations

Charmy's Pov

I guess I must have fallen asleep on the bus, since I woke up to the bus driver telling me he'd taken me as far as my money could get me. I got off and soon realized I was in the heart of the city. Now came the moment of truth; finding a place to stay. I was walking down the street completely lost in thought I, quite literally, walked into someone.

"Sorry about that," I said as I got back to my feet. "I should have been paying more attention." As I stood up and looked at the person I'd walked into, I was hit with recognition. "Wait...Ryan? Is that really you?" I asked the red jackal in front of me. Ryan, along with a red and white coyote named Simon, was a friend of mine I met during one of my missions with Espio and Vector. I hadn't seen either of them since they moved away almost ten years ago, but this guy looked to much like him for it to be a coincidence.

"Charmy? It's great to see you, man!" he said excitedly. "Hey, come with me to my place and we can catch up, sound cool?" I followed him as he led me to his apartment. It was by no means a mansion, but as far as apartments go, it was huge. We were then greeted by Simon, who was just as surprised and happy to see me as Ryan was. I explained to them why I was in the city and they kindly offered to let me stay with them until I found a place of my own. I then went to the room they had offered me and started unpacking when I felt my phone go off.

I checked it and saw it was a text from Espio. He was checking on me, telling me to let him know when I found a place to stay and to call him if I needed him. I was glad to know he wasn't mad at me for leaving like I did. I was about to tell him about what happened when I remembered the letter from him I found before I left. I figured now was as good as any time to read it. I opened the envelope and read the letter inside, along with a photo I had never seen before, which had me a little confused.

Dear Charmy,

What I'm about to tell you is something I probably should have told you a long time ago, but I was always worried about how you would take it. But, after what happened today, I can tell that I can't put this off any longer. I know you're wondering about the picture I put in here. The little bee in the photo is you, Charmy, when you were a week old. The lady in the picture is your mother, Amber. She and I knew each other since we were kids and had always been close. Unfortunately, for as great a person and as loving a mother as she was, she didn't have a very good husband. I had always hated him; he would yell at her and treat her terribly, making her believe it was all her fault, never seeing just how incredible she was. When she found out she was pregnant, we decided you would spend the first week of your life with her and then I would raise you until it was safe for you to be with her. I know this is a lot to take in, but please don't be mad at us; we figured it would be best not to tell you until you were old enough to understand. If you want to try and contact her, her number is on the back of the photo. I hope this doesn't change things between us, because if I'm being honest with you and myself, I always saw you as my son.

Best of luck, Espio

I was stunned. This whole time, I always thought my parents didn't want me. Now, my mom not only wanted me, but gave me to Espio to protect me? I also thought about Espio. Vector helped a little, I guess, but it was Espio who did the most for me. I always saw him as an older brother who I wanted to make proud, but looking back at everything he's done for me, I started to realize he was the dad I had always wanted. He taught me how to walk, talk, and when I was old enough, even did his best to home school me. Bottom line; he was a dad trying to raise his son, I was just to blind to realize it. I pulled out my phone. I was going to try and contact my mom tomorrow, but I needed to do this today. I sent Espio a simple, heartfelt text.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me, Dad."