Missing Years ( Part 21 )

Stacey had to park her car about 100 yards up the street, it was the closest she could get to her Granddads house, there were press and film crews everywhere, it was total mayhem. She had to push her way through the crowd and ran up the pathway and knocked heavily on the door.

Eddie opened the door to his granddaughter.

“Hello darling, thought you might come over”

“Where’s Dad? Is he OK?”

“He’s upstairs getting ready”

“What’s he going to say, you know, to the cameras”

“No idea, he keeps saying that it’s time to speak and let people know what’s happening, what this is though, I’m not sure!”

Stacey gave her Granddad a hug and then went upstairs to see her dad.

“Dad, it’s me Stacey, can I come in?”

“It’s open, Stacey”

Stacey went into the bedroom. It was the first time she’d seen Ray since the press conference the day before, she thought he looked amazing. She realised she was falling in love with him.

“You look very smart Dad!”

“Stacey, it doesn’t feel right you calling me Dad, I’m not comfortable with it, just call me Ray, would that be OK?”

She was relieved, she also felt uncomfortable calling him Dad, he was the same age for Christ’s sake, Ray felt better, more natural.

“I agree, from now on, you’ll always be my Ray”

They smiled at each other, each one thinking the same thing but not daring to say it.

“So, what are you going to say, what do you have to tell us all?”

“You’ll see, very soon, you’ll see, but something tells me you need to be careful, someone may try to harm me and if they can’t get to me, they may try to get to the people who are close to me, I think Tom Lucas was killed because he and I were close and he was trying to protect me”

“But Tom was in a car accident, that’s all; he just made a mistake surely”

Ray took her in his arms and held her close, then whispered to her.

“Please just be careful, I couldn’t bear to lose you”

He held her for a few minutes then stood up again.

“Ok, time to get on with it”

Eddie had been waiting downstairs not wanting to disturb them. Ray came down with Stacey close behind.

“Ready son?”

“Absolutely!”

Ray opened the door and walked down the garden path. He stood by the gate and asked if they were all ready. They were!

“In 1982, I went for a run, it turned out to be the longest run in history, it lasted almost 25 years. I have no memory of what happened to me during that time, I have no answer to the question of why I haven’t aged in that time, why I can speak other languages, why I can recite every word from the Bible, all I know is that now I’m back. I believe that I am back for a reason. During those 25 years I was away, many things have happened in this world. Not all of them for the good. There have been millions of people killed around the world; some because they’re beliefs are different to others, some due to greed and some due to evil deeds by evil people. This has led to millions more dying of hunger and thirst. Millions of children have died during this time through no fault of their own. None of this can be right; someone is angry and has sent many a warning but has been ignored. It’s time to change, change the way we live, change the way we think, change our attitude towards others. If you believe in the things that I am saying, then join me, join me in a protest to those in power, stand up with me and say we’ve had enough, this is our time and it should be a time of peace and unity. On Friday of this week at exactly 14.00 GMT, I want everyone that agrees with my views to take 30 minutes to reflect on the way we live our lives. Just 30 minutes to think about change, 30 minutes to sit and think, put down your tools, turn off your computers, just sit and reflect. Think about the way you want the world to change, everyone in every country around the world take 30 minutes to reflect. It doesn’t matter what religion you have or what faith you believe, it’s not about that, it’s about changing the world for the sake of good. Thank you”

At first there was complete silence, then something happened. A young woman camera operator started to clap, slowly at first, then louder, others started to join in, until the hundreds outside the house were all putting their hands together. It seemed to last for ever.

Ray walked back into the house, some people behind him had now began to chant his name, RAY, RAY, RAY.

Eddie closed the door; both he and Stacey were in tears as they looked at Ray. He seemed to have some kind of aura, a presence about him that he’d never had before. Stacey began to think that her Granddad was right, Ray really was something special.

Eddie looked at his son and said softly.

“And he spoke and the world listened”

Trevor Wilson had watched the whole thing on a television in a pub in Camden Town. When it finished, people around him also started to clap and cheer. He spoke in a low voice barely speaking at all, more of a whisper.

“Who does he think he is, he thinks it’s his time, but it’s not, it’s mine, he’ll see, let him have his few moments, but it won’t last, it never does, others have tried before but I have defeated them all. This is my time, all mine”

At Romford Police station, DCI Spencer was watching it on the television in the meeting room, there was also a stunned silence around him, everyone looking at him to say something but before he could, his phone rang, it was Commander Swan.

“I thought I told you to keep a fucking eye on him, he’s going to cause chaos, the Prime Minister is going fucking mad, I’m coming over, we need to stop this fucking Ray Samuels!”