Stranger: Chapter I

As he stood under the metal canopy he could hear the rain bounce off in a consistent uniform pattern. It had been raining all day and as it approached the normal rush hour the young stranger wondered where the traffic was. He started to shiver as the dampness from his cloths began seeping through and chilling his bones. His hooded sweatshirt pulled over a baseball hat muffled the sounds around him and as he scouted the area he began to realize that he truly did not know where he was. He reached into his pant pocket and found a lighter and some keys. Reaching in a back pocket he found a wallet. It was thick and frayed around the edges making him curious to see what was inside. Just as he started to open it he heard a voice.

"Hi there, are you okay?" Asked the storeowner.

"Yeah, I'm okay." The young stranger said with uncertainty in his voice.

"Well if you need anything come on in and ask okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," he said trying to find some familiarity to the kind man's face. Back to the wallet, he started to come around and he remembered he was going to search for a clue. When he opened it up he found money. Lots and lots of money but there was no ID, no credit cards or anything to tell him who he was. He was standing there and he did not know his name, how he got there or where he was so he stood at the front of that store in a haze for another ten minutes.

"Clink" went the bells above the door as the young man opened it. He walked slowly around thankful to be in the warm comfortable store. It was an old mom and pop type of store with groceries, a pharmacy and as he noticed when he reached the back a true to live soda fountain.

"You don't see those much anymore do you?"

"No you don't," was all he could say. He was not sure if he had seen one before but he thought the town was small and seemed old fashioned but did not know why.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Again the store owner asked.

"No. I'm not sure how I got here or who I am." He said matter-of-factly.