2.

Aiden was just one week away from his eleventh birthday, and he had allowed the thoughts of that to enter his otherwise unoccupied mind. His timing for allowing himself to have a daydream moment like this couldn't have been any worse for what he should have been focusing his mind upon was the task he has at hand, and that task is and would be keeping goal for the local football team, a soccer team that he been part of for only a few short weeks at this point in time.

The ball had been down the far end of the field for the past few minutes, and this had given Aiden the time in which to allow his mind to wander but the ball was not going to stay down the far end of the field all that much longer. It soon would be coming up towards Aiden; it would soon come his way and quite quickly at that.

Before he knew it and without having any time to react, the ball was in the back of the net and Aiden's team had gone behind in the game. There was very little time left to play and the referee would soon blow it up to end the match. Aiden's team had lost one goal to nothing.

There was anger and disgust from Aiden's team mates as for at least if Aiden had made an effort to stop the ball from going into the net or even if he had been aware that the ball had been coming his way a bit sooner, well then the goal itself may have been taken as just another moment in the game but instead it was being seen as a moment where Aiden had just let his whole team down.

That anger and disgust continued to come long after the final whistle went and none of the other boys on the team had any problems with sharing their anger and disgust, throwing plenty of blame and abuse Aiden's way.

Aiden had never been in any way popular; he had always been shy and quiet. He did not make friends easily and now there was reason for others, especially the bully type kids on the team to pick on him. His own disgust and anger was clear and apparent as he mumbled to himself making his way out of the goal area and taking his gloves off. This time round he can place some of the blame on himself.

'Tough break kid' speaks a voice from behind Aiden.

Aiden turned quickly and just looked with surprise at a man who stood leaning against the left-hand side goal post. The man himself noticing a reaction from Aiden stood up straight and away from that post and this man would look behind himself as if in wonder as to what it is that could have caught the boy's attention.

'Who are you?' asks Aiden.

Again, the man at the goal post turns in wonder as to who Aiden could be taking to, even though it was clear and obvious that Aiden had asked his question of the man himself.

'You wouldn't be talking to me, would you?' asks this man.

'Eh ... who else would I be talking to?' ask Aiden with a tone of voice he is used to have come his way.

'There is definitely something wrong here, you are not supposed to be able to see me.'

Aiden thought to himself that this fellow, whoever he is, must be and is completely off his rocker so he turns away and begins a run in an effort to catch up with the rest of the team. The man at the goal post stayed right where he was for a moment or two, questioning himself as to what had just happened for that man standing at the goal post just so happened to be Oscar and Oscar at this moment was no longer wearing his all-white suit, the all-white suit with the bright white thin leather tie.

Instead, he was dressed casually, as casually as any other adult within the immediate vicinity, sure he was not and currently no longer in the angelic pure bright white waiting room where he would wait to embark on whatever assignment he would be due to go out on, so his appearance would need to alter along with the circumstances, not that there would be any reason for anyone to observe his current state of casual dress. At that though, these current circumstances have brought a level of surprise along with it, for his appearance itself should be anything but that.

'He can't be able to see me; this is not the way things are supposed to work.'

Nearly an hour had passed by the time Aiden arrived home. His home is only about a fifteen-minute walk at most from where his soccer match had taken place. Aiden was not feeling so good in himself, so he did not see any reason to hurry home. Upon arrival, Aiden could see something he had not been expecting. That man was there, at Aiden's home, standing against the wall on the outside of the garden just like he had been standing against the goal post in the moments after the game had ended.

There was more than enough room from between where the man stood and where the garden gate is that Aiden did not feel in any way frightened to make his way into the garden, though he walked slowly not taking his eyes off that man. Could it be possible that this man is following him? This is something Aiden couldn't help but wonder about as this is what it felt like to him and if he was being followed then who is this guy? And how does he know where Aiden lives?

Sure, this man got to Aiden's home before Aiden himself did so how can anyone have been followed at all?

'So ... I take it that you can still see me?'

'Of course ... I can. Who are you? ... And can I take it that you are you following me?'

'I am not following you Aiden, not following you at all.'

'You know my name too?'

'Sure, I wouldn't be doing my job very well if I didn't know your name.'

Aiden kept moving as he spoke while the man just stayed right where he was as he spoke and within a matter of seconds, Aiden had walked into the hallway of his home. When he turned back to look, the man he had been speaking to was nowhere to be seen.

'Who were you talking to Aiden?' asks his mum.

'Oh, no one in particular, just some man.'

'Just some man? You know not to be talking to strangers, right?'

'I know and yeah, he was outside by the wall just a second ago, he is gone now. He was at my football game too.'

Aiden spoke quietly being a bit weirded out by what was going on. His mum didn't like what her son had said though she was also a little preoccupied with household chores to question him any further and she kinda could tell that the game probably didn't go so well so she'll question that in her own way. She worried about an element of make believe too.

'Your dad apologises for missing the game, he says he will make it up to you when he gets home from work.'

'Yeah, sure he will' Aiden said under his breath while making his way upstairs and to his room, in a way he was glad that his father had not come to the match especially with the fact that he could be blamed for the defeat.

Now, with all that is going on, Aiden didn't mean anything bad with what he had said nor did he mean to imply anything by it either, at this particular moment in time he was not feeling very good about himself at all and his father, someone who Aiden loves so very much, has not been around all that much of late. Aiden understands why and he also very much so loves his mother, so he did not mean any disrespect by heading straight up to his room upon arriving home.

There is a television in his room, so Aiden turned it on and plonked himself down on his bed, feeling even more down in himself than what he had already been feeling before he had arrived home. He, also by this moment, had lost interest in the fact that his birthday is only just one week away. It is not going to be anything special, sure why would it? He has no friends; there is no family nearby other than his parents not that there was much of an extended family to speak about or any sort of closeness within it. A party is not on the cards and that is for sure.

To Aiden at this point it just seemed that his birthday would only be just another day in his sad and lonely life. He even pondered for a moment as to why his mum did not come to his game if his dad was unable to make it. The pitch was and is only a few minutes away. She could have easily come to watch at least the second half, though the fact that she had not come either also may have just been a good thing. He probably would be expected to talk about it if she had come.