His name was William or at least that is what his parents called him but the truth is He never totally felt like a "William" but He wore that name regardless, like an oversized t-shirt and some people seemed to notice it too.
"You don't look like a William, I don't know, I pictured someone different..." Rachel said in a teasing manner.
"Yeah... I do get that a lot" William replied with a shy smile but his eyes showed slight irritation which he tried to hide by taking a random glance at the corner of the restaurant.
William was fixed on this blind date by a mutual friend who was also Rachel's colleague, He owned a private investigator firm but was a bit lacking in romantic relationships. He took another quick glance at Rachel and observed her vibrant brown eyes, he thought she had a quirky personality but was endeared by her pleasant smile.
As the night grew old they slowly warmed up to each other, William discovered she grew up on a farm, he thought she might have very interesting stories to tell because he also romanticized growing up in the countryside.
"So what was your favorite memory as a child growing up on the farm," He asked while taking a sip of the wine.
She paused for a moment before a sudden smile crept from the corner of her mouth.
"I remember I used to sneak into my father's tractor with my little brother, we would pretend to drive it, turning the steering wheels and faking engine noises with our mouths, My brother... um... especially loved toggling the headlights on and off"
"A tractor huh? did you ever get to drive it for real..."
"No way, My Dad never let me but damn I loved that tractor, I remember it was green with yellow stripes, the tires were about twice my size but being at the steering wheel made me feel invincible, sometimes, I and my brother would fight for the driver seat, I would win, of course, so he had to settle for playing with the headlights," Rachel said gleefully.
William nodded and shared a smile with Rachel as she narrated but something about her story seemed very peculiar, He pondered a bit before his eyes widened with realization, her story was eerie familiar with a recurring dream that he always had since his childhood.
He usually saw himself in a green tractor, toggling the headlights on and off, while laughing uncontrollably, his dreams are also littered with lots of other farm scenery.
He also remembered begging his mom on several occasions to get him a toy tractor but she refused repeatedly, he even told his mother these dreams but she laughed it off.
Deep down he felt maybe he was a farmer in his past or parallel life, it might seem like a wild idea but these recurring dreams also fueled his interest in reincarnation and spiritual philosophies.
William was deep in his thoughts and reminiscing when the ambiance of the restaurant slowly grabbed his attention, he realized that he zoned out of the conversation there for a bit and discovered that Rachel was just about rounding up her story.
"So what about your brother" William chimed in.
Rachel paused for a second, her vibrant eyes now showing signs of grief as she slowly frowned.
"Um... yeah, my brother" Rachel sighed while stirring and staring deep into her coffee. "Well... He... He passed on"
"Oh... I'm so sorry" William said as he hurriedly passed a tissue to Rachel who seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"No it's alright," Rachel sniffs and laughed forcefully "It's alright, really..."
"You know I used to wish I grew up on a farm, I dream about it even... guess you could say, I'm a private investigator who dreams about being a farm boy," William said in an effort to revive the conversation.
"Trust me it's not all that you think it is, if it were, I would still be on the farm by now..." Rachel said with a coy smile.
At the end of the date, they said their goodbyes and shared a warm hug, William went home with warmth in his heart, he thought he made some connection with Rachel, most especially, the coincidence of her childhood story being similar to his reoccurring dreams.
Later that night, William had that dream again but this time it was more vivid, he observed for the first time, a girl with him in the tractor as he toggled the headlight switch, William wasn't sure what exactly was going on but this dream girl had some similarities to Rachel's brown eyes, although he thought this could be a sentimental bias on his part, he knew he had to set up another date with Rachel.
On the second date, They decided to go to the park, William was eager to find out more about her childhood but he was careful not to pry due to the old wounds in Rachel's past, As the conversation aged Rachel got more comfortable with William.
"So you said, you are a private investigator huh?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, I am, been in the industry for several years now, even built my own firm" William smiled.
Rachel paused for a moment before reaching in her bag and brought out an Old photo, fiddling with it for a while before handing it over to William.
"I know I told you that my brother died but the truth is he got missing when we were kids, My family had since moved on to avoid the pain but I still feel he's out there"
William froze as he saw the old photograph, the kid was a spitting image of himself as a child.
"Hold on... w-when did this happen" William stammered.
"About 25 years ago, Jonah went missing at a trade-fair, the trail went cold and the authorities haven't cracked the case ever since"
William stroked his beards severally, lost in thoughts and deep detective musings, He came up with several theories but was hesitant to share them with Rachel who is still dealing with grief.
"You know what... send every information about this incident to my email, I will also comb through public records, we will get to the bottom of this" William said assuredly as he looked deep into Rachel's eyes.
After some weeks of grueling investigative work, William reached a heartbreaking conclusion that turned his world upside down, the final nail on the coffin was when he finally carried out a secret DNA test and found out that his mother wasn't his biological mum.
William immediately set up a date with Rachel before rushing down to his "mother's" home, as he was driving, tears filled rolled down his eyes like an avalanche.
As he entered the house, he pushed his way in refusing Martha's embrace.
"what's wrong, honey," Martha said with concern.
William kept mute with clenched jaws, his eyes red with rage as he threw a bunch of documents on the dinner table, revealing the old photos of Rachel and Jonah on the farm.
"Why?" William asked with a cracked voice.
Martha slowly observed the pictures, she covered her mouth with jittering hands while sobbing uncontrollably, unable to utter a single word.
"You know what... you are done, I mean finished, I would tell you to turn yourself in but there is no need for that, the cops are already on their way... Goodbye Martha, if that is even your real name..."
"P-P-Pleasee" Martha stuttered
William stormed out of the house and slammed the door, leaving Martha shattered on the floor with her uncontrollable wailing.
William broke the news to Rachel later that day, She froze like she had just seen a ghost.
"Jonah? J-Jonah... Oh my God" She rushed and hugged him for what seemed like an eternity, her tears dripping on his fitted T-shirt, they had a discussion that lasted several hours and even planned a surprise meeting for his biological parents.
"Oh, I can't wait to see the look on their faces" Rachel laughed as she wiped the tears from her face.
The following day, William found out that Martha took her own life before the cops got to her, it was said that she left a note for William but he decided not to read it, he had lost every atom of trust he had for Martha.
Image from pixabay
This is fiction session organized by @theinkwell