Unwanted Letter

“Hello” Kyle called, as he closed the front door, resisting the slam drawn by the rushing gale. “Hello”, he called again.
“Hey!” it was John. John was his cousin and had been living with the family for nearly a month now. The two had always got on well, played football together and partied; so it wasn’t a problem that he was there. After kicking off his shoes and moving in to the hallway, Kyle could hear the faint sound of music behind John’s closed door. He decided not to disturb him.
The weather outside was bleak. A chilled wind that attacked your fingertips and unconcealed ears. Accompanied by a fine rain, the kind that falls so soft you barely feel it, yet falls full enough that it seeps through your seemingly transparent clothing right to your skin. Kyle trod through to the bathroom and peeled off his wet coat to hang on the back of the door. Leaning across the bath tub, he supported himself against the far wall with one hand, whilst using the other to put in the plug and turn on the hot water.
Undressing, his mind began to wander, he thought about John. ‘What a turn-around of events’. Two or three months ago, Kyle was at a real low. He was struggling to find work, had regular arguments with his Mum, had girlfriend trouble- the list was endless. The problems weighed him down, causing him to lose his self-respect. He lost all motivation, didn’t listen to his Mother and treat his girlfriend badly. Deep down, he was feeling guilty too, there were two people that he loved, the two people closest to him, yet he chose to push them further and further away. His thoughts and feelings were confused, not knowing which way to turn, he felt at his lowest point ever.
John meanwhile, was at that time almost his alter-ego. He was a bright young sales rep’- Company Car, healthy salary, bonuses, the works. He’d often pop around the house to see Kyle, dressed in his suave pin-stripe suits, gleaming polished shoes and wearing his broad friendly smile. In tow would sometimes be his tall blonde model-like fiancée. They lived in a respectable semi-detached house. One of the new ones, where the bricks were bright red, the carpets still fluffy and the house still carried a hint of fresh paint from the walls.
He’d put down his Subaru car keys and would open his arms to embrace Kyle. Not once did he ever make people feel less than him. He’d worked hard for what he’d achieved, had made a happy home for himself and his fiancée, but always made time for his family and friends. He epitomised the kind of person that Kyle wanted to be.

But, ‘What a turn of events’. For now it was Kyle walking home from University where he’d enrolled on an Information Technology course- “The Way Forward” a poster had read that stuck in his mind. It was the same Kyle that’d called his mum on his dinner-break to chat about his cooking an evening meal. An evening meal that his girlfriend would be coming to. His life had undergone a huge turnaround, and he was determined to make every day count. Thinking about how content he was, how he now had a purpose in life, he found himself smiling.
The sudden raise of volume in the music distracted him. John appeared in the bathroom doorway, with a puzzled look on his face. “What’s so funny?”
Kyle continued smiling as he stood there in only his boxer shorts. “Nothing. I just, I just feel really good, ya know?” Instantly he realised that this wasn’t the most tactful thing to say to John at this time.
Yet, he just shrugged it off. “Yeah. Anyway,” he continued. Kyle noticed that John was grasping a letter. “This came for you today. No stamp, so I guess it was hand delivered.”
Taking the letter, Kyle’s eyes studied the envelope front. “Cheers”. John turned back to his room as Kyle closed the door.

KYLE LEETS,
23 Killburton Avenue,
Elsmoor.


He didn’t recognise the handwriting and wasn’t expecting any mail. ‘Who was it from?’ He reached behind him and felt for the toilet seat, pulling it down. The cold smooth surface sent shivers up his spine as he sat down. Exhaling to shake off the chill, he tore into the envelope.

Ten seconds later, he found it hard to speak; feeling his heartbeat in his stomach an uneasy nauseous feeling began to set in. Disbelief, surprise, and then fear gripped him. In an instant, his life turned upside down. This new-found happiness, love of life and evident shining in his eyes seemed to be draining away from him by the second.
The letter waved as his hands began to shake uncontrollably. A lump formed in his throat and his eyes began to sting as he realised what the letter meant. Even though he read it so intensively, some of it did not sink in. He was in shock, desperate. As he forced himself to read it once more, tears rolled down his cheeks and onto the paper, smudging the ink as it went.
Kyle dropped the letter. Running his trembling fingers through his hair, his head involuntarily shook from side to side as he tried to make sense of what he’d just read.
Through the tears, the shaking and confusion, he cried to himself, “I have a son”.