Felix ignored him. He looked back up, only to find his view still blocked.
"Get your umbrella out of my face." He said without turning. He was angry, but his voice was rather calm, as if he'd given up on everything. When he realized the umbrella was still blocking him, he closed his eyes and sighed; "Didn't you hear me?"
The boy answered coolly; "It wouldn't be nice if I did that—watching you get soaked in the rain while I sit right next to you, with an umbrella above my head—what if someone saw?" He asked.
Felix still gazed up at the black umbrella that blocked the sky. "No one's out to see."
The boy chuckled. "But God is, and I can't hide from Him."
Felix tilted his head slightly, and looked at the boy from the side of his eye. He mentioned God, so he was a Christian? Felix was also a Christian. He was baptized, yes. But that was it. He rarely went to church and would only pray when his mother was around for devotions. Of course, now that he'd left home, it meant he hadn't prayed in a long while.
If the boy would bring up God in a situation like this, and feel guilty just because he didn't share his umbrella with a stranger, then he must be a strong believer. At least that's how Felix felt.
He let out a sigh. "I'm already soaked. The umbrella won't do much now."
"Fair point," the boy said. Then he lowered the umbrella, closing it and placing it beside him. "Then we'll both get soaked."
Silence.
A very awkward silence. The rain didn't let up, and the drops seemed louder. Felix finally spoke. "What do you want?"
"Nothing. You just looked troubled." Then the boy turned to Felix, resting his arm on the bench. "Whatever's bothering you, no harm talking about it with a stranger, right?"
Now Felix was the one who chuckled. "And what if this stranger wasn't one to be trusted?"
"Okay, then," the boy smiled. "I'm Jesse Jackson. Half-American, Half-Mexican." He raised his hand for a shake. "I have no ulterior motives." Then he stretched further. "And you are…?"
Felix didn't respond.
Jesse pulled his hand back. "Alright… stranger," he said. "Like I said before, you can tell me what's wrong. I won't tell a soul. Trust me."
Felix sighed deeply. If he were, say, seven years younger, he would have blabbed everything to the stranger. But instead, he rose up from the bench and walked away, leaving Jesse stunned.
He stopped in front of a shop with a canopy. Felix sat on the floor beneath the shade, safe from the rain. It was clean enough. He took off his white jacket, revealing his grey t-shirt. The words; "When Life Gets Tough, Get Tougher", were boldly written on the front.
"When life gets tough, get tougher…" Felix mumbled.
"When life gets tough, get tougher!" Someone echoed, with a lot more enthusiasm. "What inspiring words!" The person added.
Felix looked up to see that boy again.
Jesse wasn't holding his umbrella. He'd walked through the rain. "Hello, stranger. We meet again." He said, inviting himself under the shade, and sitting beside Felix on the floor.
Felix was annoyed at this point. But he had other problems—the cold of the weather. He hugged his knees tightly, wishing he didn't sit in the rain for so long. Still, he shot Jesse a quit-bothering-me look.
Jesse told him not to worry. "I haven't come to ask what's wrong. It's up to you who you choose to tell. So instead—" he turned to Felix with a wide smile. "I'm gonna talk about myself!"
Felix buried his head between his knees. Uninterested. But Jesse didn't stop there. "Hm… Now where should I start…?" He pondered.
After a while, he decided; "You know what? Let's skip my story. I'll tell you how I got here." Jesse begun; "It all started…with a dream." He hugged his knees and rocked himself like a child. Then he stopped, and leaned leisurely against the wall behind him. "Yeah, back in America, last two weeks. On my seventeenth birthday. I celebrated it alone. With my dog. And my parents. But they don't talk so it was pretty boring. I ate all the cake. Wasn't nice but who cares? Cake is cake…"
Jesse kept on rambling, and Felix remained in his position, all the while wondering: What does this foreigner want with me?
"…In the end, I just hopped into my bed, ready for some sweet shut eye. Then my older brother called, and he was like: 'Yo, Jess! Real sorry. Can't believe I missed my little bro's birthday. Again. Good news though. I'm gonna come home on Friday. This Friday.' I was happy, but I didn't want him to know that so I just ended the call. Then finally, I went to sleep."
Sigh… "That night, I had a dream," Jesse continued. "All the way in the sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana, Accra, at the Manet residential area in Spintex… there was a boy. His name was Felix—"
Upon hearing his name, Felix jerked his head up, his eyes wide open with shock.
"Oh? Looks like someone's interested now." Jesse laughed. "Don't make up your mind to leave again…" He added, in a serious tone. Then he turned to Felix with excitement, "Cuz, it's gonna be an epic story!"
"It started with Felix walking back home from school. He was a very timid boy. Didn't have many friends. And he was an only-child too. He lived in a pretty average house, with his parents…"
Well, it seemed the only thing Felix had in common with the boy from Jesse's dream was a name. When it came to their personalities and lives, they were completely different. But Felix still thought, the boy's name being Felix—that was too much of a coincidence. He leaned against the wall, interested, but he didn't show.
Jesse continued, "Felix was always bullied in school. But his parents weren't concerned about that. All they cared about were his grades and their family's reputation. So, they were overly strict. He started to have dreams. Bad dreams. One day, he woke up from bed to find his parents gone. He grabbed a fruits' knife from the kitchen. He decided… he would end it all…"
"By committing suicide?" Felix interrupted.
"Yes…" Jesse breathed. Then slowly, the corners of his lips raised. "But that's when I come into the story! And—"
"And save him. By preaching to him about the Bible. And about God. Right?" Felix asked.
"Right." Jesse figured Felix knew this because he had mentioned God before. "And Felix lived happily after that." He ended.
Felix was intrigued. You could tell by his face now. The mood between the two was calmer. And the rain had long since stopped.
"So, you travelled all the way here, in hopes of finding this 'Felix' and saving him?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"And your parents allowed you to?"
Jesse hesitated on that question. But eventually, he answered, "Yes, but I only have about a month before school re-opens in America."
One month, huh? Felix smirked.
They finally noticed the rain had stopped. Before Jesse left, he left Felix with a message. He said; "It's fine if you don't want to open up… But I'll tell you this: If you ever feel lost and hopeless, just close your eyes… and let God lead the way…"
Felix chuckled. But he was relieved. Somehow.