“Weren't you in that video?”
The young woman looked from the boy to the stranger.
“What video?”
The stranger didn't answer.
He simply looked at the boy.
The boy's confidence was gone.
“You're him,” he whispered.
His friend frowned.
“Who is he?”
The boy shook his head.
“I've seen his face before.”
“Where?”
“Online.”
The stranger finally spoke.
“You should stop.”
The boy took another step backward.
“No…”
He looked at the stranger's wrist, then at his face.
“You were the guy who stopped that robbery.”
The woman looked confused.
“What robbery?”
The stranger glanced at her.
“It's not important.”
But the boy's friend had stopped laughing.
“What robbery?”
The first boy lowered his voice.
“Last year. Downtown.”
He looked at the stranger.
“You were the one who chased those guys out of the store.”
The stranger said nothing.
The boy continued.
“The video went viral. You never showed your face, but somebody caught you on camera.”
His friend looked at the stranger again.
Then something clicked.
“Wait…”
He pulled out his phone and quickly searched through his videos.
A few seconds later, he found it.
He turned the screen toward his friend.
The footage showed a chaotic scene outside a convenience store.
People were running.
A masked robber was trying to escape.
And a young man in a dark jacket was standing between him and a frightened woman.
The video was blurry.
But the tattoo on the man's wrist was visible.
The boy slowly looked from the screen to the stranger.
“It really is you.”
The stranger walked toward them.
“Give me the phone.”
The boy immediately lowered it.
“Why?”
“Because you're recording my wife.”
The boy looked toward the woman.
His face changed.
“Your wife?”
The stranger nodded.
“Yes.”
The woman looked at him.
She had never heard this story.
“You were there?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward the boys.
“You took her phone.”
The boy quickly held out the keys.
“Here.”
The stranger didn't take them.
“Put them on the car.”
The boy placed the keys carefully on the hood.
The stranger walked over and handed them to his wife.
“Let's go.”
But before she could move, the second boy suddenly spoke.
“Wait.”
The stranger stopped.
“You weren't alone in that video.”
The stranger slowly turned around.
The boy continued.
“There was another guy.”
The stranger's expression changed.
The first boy looked at his friend.
“What are you talking about?”
“I remember.”
He looked at the stranger.
“The other guy had the same tattoo.”
The stranger stared at him.
“No.”
The boy shook his head.
“Yes.”
He pulled up another image on his phone.
It showed the same incident from a different angle.
The stranger looked at the screen.
His face went completely still.
His wife stepped closer.
“What is it?”
He didn't answer.
She looked at the image.
There were two men in the footage.
One was her husband.
The other was standing several feet behind him.
His face was hidden.
But his wrist was visible.
And on it was the exact same tattoo.
The stranger took the phone from the boy and stared at the image.
His breathing changed.
The boy asked quietly,
“Who was that?”
The stranger finally answered.
“My brother.”
His wife looked at him.
“You told me you were an only child.”
The stranger said nothing.
The boys exchanged a nervous glance.
The first one slowly stepped backward.
“Then you really don't know…”
The stranger looked at him.
“Know what?”
The boy swallowed.
“Your brother didn't disappear after that video.”
Silence.
“He's been looking for you.”
The stranger's eyes hardened.
“For how long?”
The boy looked toward the road.
“Long enough.”
At that exact moment, a black SUV slowly pulled into the gas station.
The stranger immediately recognized it.
His wife noticed his reaction.
“Do you know that car?”
He didn't answer.
The SUV stopped several spaces away.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
He looked directly at the stranger.
The stranger froze.
His wife whispered,
“Who is that?”
The man standing beside the SUV slowly smiled.
Then he raised his hand.
The same tattoo was visible on his wrist.
The stranger stared at him.
His wife looked between the two men.
And the man from the SUV finally said,
“It's been a long time, brother.”
The stranger didn't move.
Because the man standing in front of him was supposed to be dead.