Father Figure
Star
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2015
Time.
Time was often proclaimed to be a luxury, but time could also be a cruelty. A reminder of a past long gone that could never be recaptured. For those living a normal life, for those who had all the time in the world to enjoy their happy little humdrum existences, time could be a blessing and a benediction. For those who served time in prison, the cell surrounding them and the threat of what horror a new day could bring, time could be a living hell. It had been that way for Jonathan “John” Reynolds. Incarcerated at age eighteen for a crime he truly did not commit, accused, convicted of sexual assault, and sentenced to twenty years for an act he had never perpetrated. For a young man it had turned what seemed a promising life into an existence of uncertainty, a world in which he had suffered at the hands of other men who had no qualms at the horrors they inflicted upon the body and soul of a crying teenager in the middle of the dark penitentiary night. The feeling of a hand coming to touch his shoulder as he trembled in his bunk, pulling the covers away as a make shift shiv found it's way up under his throat, telling him to keep quiet...
The nightmare ended and he opened his eyes, no longer that broken boy but a man fifteen years older. Released early from his incarceration after the Innocent Project had taken on his case and previously untested DNA evidence showed that he had not been the attacker…merely the accused. He reached one trembling hand up, rubbing the tears from his eyes, a small grim smirk coming to his face. It had been ages since he had found tears upon his cheeks and he had no time for them now. Outside the rain pattered down onto his window of his small apartment and he rolled over in the bed to look out towards the day, a day he could walk into free as a bird. The thought actually scared him, to imagine being in public, knowing his face had been in the newspapers twice in his life. Once when arrested and once when released. His large body adjusted just a bit, the powerful shoulders flexing as he stretched and tried to reconcile the waking world with the dream that he had just been enduring, and soon rage touched his features once more. A reminder that there were promises to be kept and debts that must be paid.
His jaw clenched.
Maybe if John had been a better man, maybe if he had not let history break him, then the cycle of history would be broken. One wrong would never lead to another. But he was trapped. Trapped by remembrance and heartache, trapped by a life he would never have, and if he would never have that life then certainly others should not have that gift. Certainly, others should share his fate. Smoothing his hair back he found his resolve, acknowledging to himself that it was certainly time for him to be back on task. He straightened and sat up, reaching over to pick up his laptop, and opening it he began his search once more. He could not afford to hire a private investigator, he had to be careful in his attempt to find the woman who had locked him away, and what would he do when he found her? When he found her family?
The nearby bag with rope and other accessories might hint at his intentions.
Time was often proclaimed to be a luxury, but time could also be a cruelty. A reminder of a past long gone that could never be recaptured. For those living a normal life, for those who had all the time in the world to enjoy their happy little humdrum existences, time could be a blessing and a benediction. For those who served time in prison, the cell surrounding them and the threat of what horror a new day could bring, time could be a living hell. It had been that way for Jonathan “John” Reynolds. Incarcerated at age eighteen for a crime he truly did not commit, accused, convicted of sexual assault, and sentenced to twenty years for an act he had never perpetrated. For a young man it had turned what seemed a promising life into an existence of uncertainty, a world in which he had suffered at the hands of other men who had no qualms at the horrors they inflicted upon the body and soul of a crying teenager in the middle of the dark penitentiary night. The feeling of a hand coming to touch his shoulder as he trembled in his bunk, pulling the covers away as a make shift shiv found it's way up under his throat, telling him to keep quiet...
The nightmare ended and he opened his eyes, no longer that broken boy but a man fifteen years older. Released early from his incarceration after the Innocent Project had taken on his case and previously untested DNA evidence showed that he had not been the attacker…merely the accused. He reached one trembling hand up, rubbing the tears from his eyes, a small grim smirk coming to his face. It had been ages since he had found tears upon his cheeks and he had no time for them now. Outside the rain pattered down onto his window of his small apartment and he rolled over in the bed to look out towards the day, a day he could walk into free as a bird. The thought actually scared him, to imagine being in public, knowing his face had been in the newspapers twice in his life. Once when arrested and once when released. His large body adjusted just a bit, the powerful shoulders flexing as he stretched and tried to reconcile the waking world with the dream that he had just been enduring, and soon rage touched his features once more. A reminder that there were promises to be kept and debts that must be paid.
His jaw clenched.
Maybe if John had been a better man, maybe if he had not let history break him, then the cycle of history would be broken. One wrong would never lead to another. But he was trapped. Trapped by remembrance and heartache, trapped by a life he would never have, and if he would never have that life then certainly others should not have that gift. Certainly, others should share his fate. Smoothing his hair back he found his resolve, acknowledging to himself that it was certainly time for him to be back on task. He straightened and sat up, reaching over to pick up his laptop, and opening it he began his search once more. He could not afford to hire a private investigator, he had to be careful in his attempt to find the woman who had locked him away, and what would he do when he found her? When he found her family?
The nearby bag with rope and other accessories might hint at his intentions.