The Man Who Didn't Exist

They’ll tell you that I never was, that I’m a lie, a made up man to mess with your head. But I swear that I am, or at least that I was, and due to some lucky twist of fate – or it may be that I was unlucky – I was able to unravel the web of lies and secrets that our dear government has spun around their unsuspecting population. You have no reason to believe me, but I hope that you do, for your sake more than mine.

It all started the day I took a wrong turn home. Funny, right? One step out of my routine and my life is over. Never step out of your routine dear stranger, the consequences are fatal... I would know. But I digress. As soon as I turned left instead of right I started to curse myself, it’d take twice as long to reach home now. As it turned out, I would never reach home again until my very last days.

I crashed into someone when I took the wrong turn. Or at least someone else’s car. It was a big one, and it looked like it belonged to an important diplomat. Instantly I stepped down from my own car to grovel for forgiveness, what else could I do? I knew I was screwed, I didn’t know how much though.

I was standing next to the door when the driver stepped out. What unnerved me weren’t the scared eyes of the driver, or his tense posture – though they should have been indicators that something was really off – what scared me, shook me to my very core, were the eerily familiar eyes of the passenger. It was such an uncommon eye colour that now I wonder why our prime minister didn’t try just a bit harder to cover his tracks.

When the door snapped close I instantly tried to stop the redness that was threatening to stain my cheeks, and turned once again to the driver. “I-I’m really sorry, I should have checked where I was going but I just took a wrong turn and I was too distra...”

The driver raised his hand, and in a deep baritone that did not match his looks he cut across my jumbled rant. “Do not worry about it. My passenger wishes no unneeded attention to be drawn to himself.” This was my second clue. “And because of that he is willing to let this go this one time.”

I stuttered a thank you and watched as the driver turned towards his car, in a second of foolish bravery I seemed to regain my voice, “Is that really...” The glare full of terror and pain I received was more than enough of an answer.

Shakily I nodded at him and turned towards my own car. I risked one last glance and saw the violet eyes narrow threateningly. It was in that second that my mind began to comprehend the world of trouble I was in. With trembling hands and shot nerves I decided not to go home, something was just blaring warnings at me and I didn’t deem it safe enough to return to.

I had just seen our country’s most wanted terrorist inside a government’s car. What was going on?