Thanks to Justice237 for reviewing.
"So, from what we heard you actually saved…"
"Ryan Reeves, you did st…"
"…Hero times two…"
Once I and Ryan stepped through the doors outside on the asphalt pavement there were news reporters and journalists right into Ryan's face asking all questions at once. I kept my hand on Ryan's back and tried to shove my way through them when Ryan suddenly shook my hand away and backed to face all of these people.
"Please…" He showed them to silent. "I want to say something."
Slowly, one after the other the people around the other seemed to silent, still trying to get one comment or two.
I must say I was at least as curious as they were. A bit behind I stood quite waiting to hear what he said when I saw Ryan take a deep breath in (along with putting a hand to his ribs when they moved) and look around before he spoke.
"You talk about the day when I stopped a thief, you're talking about yesterday when Alex was drowning. But I wasn't the hero neither of those times… And I could just ignore it like I have before… but before, in my whole life. I've been living through the lies, that I or anybody else told me. Lies that were so real they seemed real. And… I don't want to lie anymore."
I suddenly noticed I was still standing turned as if I was on my way to go to the car and not until I felt the hairs rise on my neck I turned where I stood and watched Ryan- about a meter taller he had been only a couple of hours before.
"I wasn't a hero the first time you called me one- I came around the corner and the thief tripped right over me."
"But the second… you saved a life only yesterday." I heard from the group of people. "And almost risked your own life doing so."
"The horse I was riding on was named Hero. And he was the Hero. Just as we turned away from the beach and up he just wouldn't go. He kept on turning back and… That was when I took my helmet off. It was like I thought that if I didn't wear it he could hear my thoughts and I could hear his. And for a moment it almost seem as if it worked. For just a few seconds he did as I wanted to and we were going further and further from the beach. Then suddenly he stopped, he heard something I couldn't- maybe he heard as Alex fell into the water. It was only a second later we heard Charlie screaming…. Hero, Alex and Charlie had just as big parts in this as I did. And… There was literally only one Hero."
In the group of people around Ryan voices had silent and microphones and pencils had stopped their work.
"So…" One of the news reporter's said what they must all have been thinking. "It was just a coincidence the first time around? And then yesterday… it wasn't even you doing the most job?"
Ryan shook his head, but I couldn't help but smile and feel my heart beating with pride. Having known Ryan, seeing him speaking his truth like that meant more than any times he could or could have not have been the day's hero.
The reporters didn't seem to share my opinion though. They walked away one after one, Ryan's truth might not be the greatest one so they'd leave this be and leave Newcastle's people believing Ryan had been the hero the first time, and not just stumbled upon.
"Nice job kid." I said and patted his shoulder when he came back. "That was bravely done. Now what do you say? Stables or Ashdene Ridge?"
"Ashdene Ri…"
"WAIT." A journalist came running across the parking lot. "RYAN… MR. REEVES. I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU."
"Mr. Reeves…" He said with a look towards me. "That's a first. I quite like it. Yes?"
I stepped away and walked down the pavement when that journalist started talking with Ryan. I stood too far away to hear what they were saying. But the man was making notes wildly in his notebook, and at one point Ryan even gestured towards me, and the man kept noting in his notebook. The short and fat man almost jumped where he stood and ended the meet with shaking Ryan's hand so hard Ryan was almost pulled right into the ground. And then stood to have his photo taken with the brick wall of the hospital in the background.
"I won't be on the news this time." Ryan said with a mischievous smile when he came back to me a quarter of an hour later. "But… I think we'll have to keep a lookout on every chronicle of every paper."
"What?"
"You'll see what I mean"
And I did… sure I did a week later when I spotted a picture of the young man in the paper and started reading the chronicle. For the moment being quietly so I could read it myself first.
There are many reasons to be called a hero.
Only last year we wrote about the boy in the picture, Ryan Reeves. Yesterday he stood in front of all of us, and others to tell us the truth about the day we saw him last. That him catching a thief was nothing but an accident.
There are many reasons to be called a hero.
The day after he was at the beach he stood in front of a group journalists and reporters to tell the truth. A truth that I know I could never have told.
There are many reasons to be called a hero.
When talking to Ryan himself he doesn't keep it to himself. He mentions his childhood in care, he mentions all of the people he's met. And without mentioning names how many of these kids have gone through things most adults haven't and are still standing up.
There are many reasons to be called a hero.
Ryan gestured towards a care worker he calls Mike and how many kids he have had under his wings. And yet having the time for each and every one- including Ryan Reeves himself. Ryan mentions that without Mike he'd never been able to grow into the man he is today.
There are many reasons to be called a hero.
And only last week, when Ryan had gotten off the back of a horse named Hero he was the actual one, when he told people the truth rather than boasting about a lie he hadn't even done.
There are many reasons to be called a hero.
Somewhere out there is a kid who Ryan pulled out the water, somewhere out there is a guy who faces his punishments thanks to running at the exact same time at the exact right place where he as good as flew over Ryan Reeves.
Because Ryan Reeves is the hero. Even though he might not see it himself. And maybe out there, there are more heroes than people could ever tell.
There are heroes out there for reasons one could never tell.
And in it we've got a choice sometimes. Do we want to boast about the things we didn't do, or maybe even keep quiet about the things that we did.
I know for a fact that Ryan Reeves is my hero after all. And then it doesn't matter what he says or thinks himself.
Josh Miller
I swallowed the lump in my throat, I hadn't even noticed the tears that had rose in my eyes. As proud as I was over these kids sometimes.
"Mike?" Taz questioned from the other side of the table. "Why are you crying?"
Why was I crying for that matter?
"I'm not sad I'm just so…" I passed the magazine to May- Li who read the text out loud for the others, including Ryan. "See kids. Now that's something that can happen if you tell people the truth. And that goes for all of you."
"You know…" Finn started talking as soon as May- Li had finished reading. "You're RyanMan… Hip hip" He had started shouting before anyone had the time to reach and we joined in his shouting. "HURRAY."
Ryan took it quite calmly, standing by the wall, sipping from a cup of tea and seemed far away in his own thoughts.
"Really…" He said once the cheering had died out. "…If this is what comes out of telling the truth I usually don't I should start telling people about my toilet habits."
Random fact
This story kind of sucked really… Oh well. No stories are still worse. I hope someone out there liked it more than I did.
The end!