DANIEL HERON: BECOMING

3 - Where are you headed, Heron?

Daniel walked the lonely streets aimlessly. He had no idea where he was going. He didn't care where he was going. He just wanted to get as far away as possible. A sound of a church bell broke the silence. One chime; it was an hour past noon.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice the passersby. In fact, at that time of the day, there weren't many people in the streets to begin with. Especially on a cloudy day, such as this one.

Daniel himself didn't attract anybody's attention. He was an average-looking young man, neither short, nor tall. Both his hair and his eyes were dark in color. What separated him from the crowd was a scar that stretched sideways across his chin.

It was a reminder of the summer back when he was seven. At the time, all he wanted was a bicycle. Robert had a bicycle; he saved the money to buy it himself. He spent the entire summer doing all sorts of small jobs for the people in the neighborhood, and with the money he earned, he bought a blue BMX.

For days Daniel pestered his mother to buy a bicycle for him as well, but he might as well have been trying to speak to a broken record player.

"Why do you want a bike if you won't know how to ride it anyways?" Mrs. Heron kept repeating.

What reason did she give Robert? Daniel wondered. Robert could ride a bike, but if he wanted to own one, he had to save the money and buy it himself. Daniel couldn't earn like his older brother; he was still too young. Therefore, he came up with another idea: he would prove to his mother that he could ride a bike. Then her excuse would no longer be valid.

The next weekend, he waited for Robert to go out with his friends, took his bike without asking permission and went to the street. Naturally, Robert's BMX was too big for him. After all, Robert was fourteen at the time, but Daniel didn't care. He had a plan and every intention to see it through.

He leaned the bike on the side of their building, mounted it despite the fact that the saddle was too high for him to sit on, and pressed one of the pedals with his foot. The moment he did that, he lost his balance and fell on the sidewalk along with the bicycle. His chin hit the handlebar, the skin broke and blood gushed out.

Afraid to admit to his mother what he did, he hid on the stairs leading to the basement. He took off his T-shirt and pressed it against the wound. One of the neighbors found him like that. He recognized the boy and took him to his mother who gently stroke his cheek before taking him inside the apartment.

She shut the door, waited for the neighbor's steps to become inaudible, and then she erupted. "Are you insane? What did you do this time? Look at your undershirt! And that T-shirt, the only thing I can do with it is throw it in the garbage! Go wash yourself and then straight to your room!"

Mrs. Heron of course did not think that taking her son to the doctor's was needed, so the wound was left to heal on its own. Unfortunately, it left a scar that permanently marked Daniel's face.

Walking the streets alone, his eyes hardly left the pavement. Low eyebrows above them made him look somewhat sinister. The impression was intensified by the fact that he seldomly smiled. Truth be told, life hadn't given him a lot of reasons to smile.

Even now, sadness was present in his eyes, and it reflected in his posture as well. He walked with his head bowed. His hair, curlier than usual due to the moisture in the air, fell over his forehead. Daniel never paid much attention to it. He would comb it in the morning and that was it. If it bothered him, he would just run his fingers through it.

He was dressed in worn-down light blue jeans, a white T-shirt, old black sneakers and a dark denim jacket that was at least two sizes too big, making him seem heavier than he really was. The black, leather backpack trimmed by metal studs, was thrown over one of his shoulders. Everything he owned was stashed inside that outworn knapsack. Daniel didn't mind that some of the studs were missing and that one of the buckles refused to close, because there was no turning back for him. He couldn't go back to his mother anymore. His pride wouldn't let him. That was the reason he just kept on walking, without thinking where the road would take him.

He halted when he felt a raindrop on his cheek. Another one followed, and another. Daniel looked up at the sky. Ominous, dark clouds covered the western sky, promising not only rain, but a full-on storm.

Staring at the darkened sky, he didn't notice a car pulling over by the side of the road, right next to him, until the driver honked.

The car that pulled over by the curb was anything but inconspicuous. It wasn't new, but it was well-maintained. In addition to that, someone put in a lot of effort into making it unique.

It was royal blue, with one orange stripe along each side of it. Low and aerodynamic, with pop up lights, it looked like it was destined for a race track instead of the road. The overall impression was rounded up by a hood vent and a rear spoiler.

Daniel knew the owner of the head-turner car. What's more, he considered him a friend.

Lucio Veles was a couple of years younger than Daniel, but just like him, he too left his family. Only, unlike Daniel, he wasn't growing up in a family where caring for your children would be regarded as unnecessary luxury. Lucio's family could easily be considered exemplary.

Growing up in a caring home, Lucio never wanted for nothing. His clothes weren't bought just anywhere, and what ever novelty showed up on the market, he could have it.

He really didn't lack anything. Anything but freedom to do whatever he desired.

He didn't like the way his parents held him back, how they had the need to know every detail of his life – where he went, who his friends were, what he did. It annoyed him tremendously. He had big plans and didn't want anyone to stand in his way. For that reason, for the past five years he was 'his own master', as he put it.

But even after he left his parents, Lucio still took good care about his appearance. Blond hair on his head was always neatly combed, except for the one strand that fell across his forehead. Gray eyes dominated his clean-shaven face, and when he smiled, he would reveal a row of straight, but not particularly white teeth. His clothes were branded, nothing he possessed seemed shabby or worn out. Daniel was a complete opposite.

Lucio was one of those people you either loved or hated. And he was hated by many. Primarily because they dreaded him. Daniel didn't feel fear in his presence. He considered him a friend and so, when Lucio said, "Jump in!", Daniel did that without hesitation.

"Where are you headed, Heron?" Lucio asked when Daniel sat on the passenger seat.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Nowhere in particular," he replied.

"In that case, you're in luck. That's exactly where I'm going." With a big smile on his face, Lucio hit the gas pedal and, accompanied by the squealing sound of the tires, drove down the road that was becoming darker and darker due to the rain.

Thank you for reading my story!

We learnt a bit more about Daniel, and also met his friend Lucio.

Before we get to know him better, what do you think of him? Is he a nice guy?

Until next week...