It had been 3 years, 5hours, 13minutes and 23 seconds since he had last seen his brother.
It was right here, this very spot, where the ground was worn, the cold railing pressed against his cheeks as the rain beat down on his tousled black hair. He was stood as he had stood then, palms against the wire-mesh, feet just off the path, but close enough so that he could lean forwards against the hard, grey metal.
The sky was a marble pearl-grey swirled with hints of dark grey. The field beyond the fence was yellowing from the force of the sun, sliver streaks darting in and out behind pieces of grass and wildflowers, running its currents through the ground, as if it was a person running late for a meeting with his boss. He gripped the fence with both hands, inhaled, and closed his eyes. He could almost feel himself on the other side of that fence. The wind ruffling his black hair, listening to the birds singing their morning chorus, a mess of black curls in his lap as his brother napped. Taste the remains of coffee and dry bread on his tongue as laughter filled his silver-studded ears. The pressure on his lap lifting, as the young boy blinked up a him, large grey eyes meeting his own blue ones.
He could almost see it. Almost.
The more he dreamed, the more he chased, the more real the vision seemed. Yet it was not real. Because that was in the past, and he is in the present. Because the taste of coffee was from his morning cup 30minutes ago. Because he wasn’t on that side of the fence.
The vision stuttered out, buildings melting into rubble, the ghosts of children fading as they ran. Sighing, he opened his eyes, half expecting to see grey ones. All he met was the metal fence. A physical separation preventing him from feeling, hearing, the memories, the grass waving as the wind started to pick up. A roll of booming thunder signalled that it was time to head back. With one last lingering glance at the field, the ghosts of young children at the edge of his vision, he turned his back on the fence and way his way back down the beaten and muddy path.
It had been 3 years, 6 hours, 2 minutes and 34 seconds.