the wind and the rain - 11. the recognition

by nick nelson

part 11 of ?


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my train is not due for anther fifteen minutes, harold said, as walter rose from his seat, i am sorry that we will not have time to become better acquainted. up to this point, harold and walter had conversed with walter seated at the little table, and harold behind him, staring at the back of walter’s head. now walter turned to make his way past harold to the eastbound platform, and they came face to face. and realized that they were identical twins. harold was the first to speak. my brother! he cried. my long lost brother! i am not the least bit lost, walter replied, recovering his composure after a tenth of a second of hesitation. now if you will excuse me, i have a train to catch. he brushed past harold and, clutching his battered brown briefcase, headed out the door of the kiosk toward the platforms. harold had been in many such situations before and was in no wise at a loss. he quickly took his phone out of his pocket and took a picture of the back of walter’s retreating head. then he calmly took a plastic bag out of his own traveling case and put the newspaper, which walter had left behind, into it, and put the plastic bag into the traveling case. why does everything have to be so complicated, harold said out loud as he made his own way out of the kiosk. why can’t everybody just get along? the old woman behind the counter of the kiosk, who had been the only witness to the encounter between harold and walter, snickered audibly. but harold made no indication that he had heard her, and exited with his head held high. next