The road home from Hong Kong had been long for Gary & as much as he enjoyed it, he couldn't wait to go home. Memories came flooding back of Gary when he was six years old. He remembered that one time when he broke his leg because he was running from his brother Samuel & his friends. Well, it wasn't exactly running when he tripped & rolled down the hill, tasting the mountain grass on his way. It was home though. Where he had found his heart & broke it there. He had made friends but lost them through the years. He hadn't seen the roaring fields in so long but felt like he's grown a bit since he was last there & simply just couldn't wait to go home
At fifteen years old, Gary was a bit of a rebel. He'd smoke hand-rolled cigarettes, ran from the law through the back fields & got drunk with his friends. It was also the first time he kissed a girl, Miranda, one Friday night. Gary blushed at the memory as he still didn't reckon he did it right. It was also where him & his friends found weekend jobs & when they got paid they found ways to get cheap spirits & drink them straight. He hadn't thrown up in so long & again he knew he had grown since then & still couldn't wait to go home
Gary thought about his friends often & what they were doing now. The last he had heard from Tilly was that she opened her own boutique clothes shop in Wick. Clive had also moved away & opened his own restaurant somewhere down by the coast. Tamara had two kids, but Gary was shocked to learn that her husband walked on her, so she lived alone. The last time Gary was home was for the funeral of Liam, Stevie's brother, who had tragically died of an overdose. Mike had married twice, the first didn't work out but Gary hoped he was happy with Emma. And then there was Miranda who despite what she told him on the phone, Gary could tell was barely getting by. This was his ragtag group of friends & despite what people said about them, they basically raised him & couldn't wait to go home to see them again
Gary knew he wasn't far as he drove down those old country lanes which they often walked when they were young & didn't know the answers. Gary had to admit that he missed how hanging out with his friends made him feel, it was a simple thing. One thing he promised himself he'd do was gather everyone together & go watch the sunset from the castle on the hill. Life was good