38. Abandoned
People walk in and out of his life every day. He couldn't help but feel a tinge whenever someone said to him the cursed words: "Goodbye." He would unconsciously wonder when that person was coming back—if that person was ever coming back.
He had been left behind too many times. He would, thus, try to chase after those who were leaving. He'd scream for them to wait for him. He'd run after them. He would even try to grab the edges of their coats. Still they would disappear into the distance—into the fog and mist across the river—into the place where he did not dare to venture.
It first started with his father. As a child, Reid had seen his father slowly floating away, across the filthy river. He had then prayed, wished, and hoped that his father would throw down an anchor and slowly float back towards him. But his father never did.
Later, it was Gideon, his mentor. To most people, his leaving was sudden. But Reid could see it coming. After all, Gideon had always been on that vile river. On the day Gideon left, he was trying to push his raft towards land but had failed. Reid was left alone—again.
Often, Reid would reflect: If he had reached out to his father, perhaps he wouldn't have left. And if he had thrown a life buoy to Gideon, he wouldn't have been washed away by the current.
He was stuck. He knew it. He was stuck on the little island, in the middle of an ocean, which he once believed was a river. He stayed there, watching the people come in and out of his life. He knew that there was really nothing he could do about it.