Sal watched the RV with great anticipation. The small campsite was located in the middle of nature. The scenery was characterized by granite outcrops, spectacular views, and roaming wildlife. He'd left Carl back at Circle Drive. "I’ll be back later," he'd shouted through the window.
Down near the diner, a couple explained to him where he'd find the old camping spot.
His heart was beating fast as he approached the door and reached out to knock. Sal knocked a few times, but no one opened it. He sat down on an old camping chair with a side table when he heard twigs snapping and the sound of a weapon being loaded. Sal rose to his feet so fast, he knocked his chair over.
“What do you want?” a deep voice sounded somewhere from behind the RV.
Sal tried to get his breath under control. “I’m here to speak to Charlie.”
Where the hell was the guy?
“Why?” the voice demanded to know.
“I think we're somehow connected,” Sal said with a trembling voice.
The deep voice laughed.
“Please, I am not here to cause trouble.” Sal’s eyes desperately searched the site for the person behind the voice.
There was no response to his last statement.
“Okay, I'll just leave.” Sal maneuvered toward the bus.
“Wait. Let me see you.” The deep voice didn't sound as hostile as it had before.
A tall black man appeared from behind the RV. He studied Sal as if he was memorizing his every feature, lowered his weapon, and came closer.
“I'm Charlie. Who are you?” Charlie was a handsome black man with a golden-brown complexion. There was sadness in his dark eyes. His rich, chocolate brown hair was thick and lustrous. His body was fit, and his hands slightly rough from working. His face and neck had burn marks on them.
“My name's Sal. I read an article about a fire, and it reminded me of something.” Sal looked at something behind Charlie and felt his seductive eyes grow sad.
Charlie softened. “You look so familiar. Those black eyes…your features…your complexion…I need a drink.” He stomped back to the RV.
Sal stood nailed to the ground as his mind was blasted by information. It was like gigabytes had downloaded into his brain, and he felt blood run from his nose.
He saw himself walking down a hall in a hospital. He was panicked, and he was searching for something…someone. People around him ignored him until a young doctor pulled him aside. He asked for his son who had been rescued from the fire. When the doctor told him his son was dead as a result of the fire, his world fell apart. He asked to see the boy’s body and was taken to see a small, lifeless body. He screamed and started to throw things until security arrived and held him down while the doctor sedated him.
When he came to, he was in a prison cell, but he was released soon thereafter. His heart was broken, and his life no longer had no meaning. Johnnie Walker soon became his new best friend.
Sal collapsed on the ground, a look of horror crossing his face. “She lied to you…the doctor." A lone tear traced down his cheek, quickly turning to beads of water streaming down, one after the other, and then to heaving sobs that tore at his throat.
Charlie ran out of the RV, got down on his knees, and put a warm arm around Sal, who sobbed into Charlie’s chest while his hands clutched at his shirt.
They sat like that for a while until Sal had stopped crying and Charlie dragged him into the RV.
Sal washed the blood from his face while Charlie made tea. The van was tall enough for them to stand up inside. Even though there was a kitchen, living room, and a bathroom, it was small. The toilet and the shower were combined into one space.
Charlie placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Sal. “Who are you?" he asked.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Sal shook his head.
“Try me.” Charlie leaned forward. “You didn’t come here by chance.”
Sal sighed deeply. “I can see things. Things inside of people. I saw you walking around the hospital. You were looking for someone. You were looking for…me.”
He expected Charlie to grab him by the neck and toss him out of the RV, only he didn’t, so Sal continued. “I know this because I saw her, the doctor." Sal pulled a photo up on his phone and showed it to Charlie who took the phone and stared at the photo in disbelief.
“I remember her because she cried when she showed me the dead body of my son.”
“She’s my mother, and I think she lied to you.” Sal felt the tears stream down his cheeks once more while Charlie sat in front of him, shocked to his core.
Sal took his phone, dialed a number, and waited for an answer. The reception was poor but functional.
“Hello? Sal? Is that you? Where are you?” his mother sounded worried on the other end.
“I’m here with Charlie. You remember Charlie, right?"
"Who?” his mother sounded confused.
“Charlie, my real father. The guy you stole me from.” Sal's voice was cool but on the verge of erupting into anger.
"Sal, I don’t know what you mean.” Sal assumed she was trying to buy herself some time to think of an answer.
“Tell me the truth, because believe me, I know you were there that day,” Sal hissed into the phone.
“We did what we believed was the best for, sweetie. We never meant to hurt anyone.” His mother started to cry.
“You showed him someone else’s dead baby. That's fucking sick,” Sal yelled and ended the call. Darkness rolled in over him. He grabbed his teacup, threw it against the wall, and ran out of the RV, screaming, “That fucking bitch. That lying, fucking bitch,” at the top of his lungs.
Sal began to hyperventilate while the world around him started to spin.
“Sal, my boy, please, listen to me. I think I know why she did it, why she lied,” Charlie pleaded with him. “Please, come back inside.”