Horizon Bound

Horizon Bound

By Jake Dancer

Horizon Bound: Part 1.)

Our story starts in Toronto, Canada; Justin, a newly arrived Scottish immigrant just moved to the Chalkfarm area, & tomorrow he starts his first day at a new Canadian elementary school. What Justin didn't know was that the next day his life would change forever.

Justin had a thick Scottish accent which he knew could cause problems for him down the road; well, It didn’t take long at all. The first day had started & Justin was brought to his classroom by the principal, he was introduced & assigned a seat. Shortly after sitting down, the national anthem started loudly over the P.A system; everyone stood up & removed their hats while Justin sat and stared in confusion. Another student by the name of Shawn was quick to point him out on his mistake, Justin apologized then removed his hat, and stood immediately; class would then go on as usual, until reaching the first break.

When the break started, Justin's teacher would leave to eat in the staff room; shortly after, Shawn made his way over to cause further problems in regards to their earlier situation. He started off by calling Justin some ugly names & making fun of his accent, but Justin was raised by traditional Scotsman & had no intention of taking any disrespect thrown his way by anyone. Before having a chance to say anything, another boy named Toni walked right up to Shawn & put him in his place; Shawn sat down & Toni sat next to Justin. This was the moment that changed both Justin & Toni’s lives forever, they’re fates were now somewhat intertwined throughout the course of their futures.

Now, Justin & Toni both had a bit of a problem causing trouble & soon grew reputations as troublemakers; a lot of their friends' parents didn't like their children hanging around with them. As the years went on their mischief intensified & friendship grew strong roots, growing into an unbreakable bond; becoming more like brothers. After a while they each ran into their problems with the law, remaining shackled in their old lifestyle cycles & bad habits.

Then one day, everything came crashing down. The judge slammed the gavel & Toni had been sentenced to 10 years in a federal penitentiary; & just like that, Justin had just lost his brother. Then and there, after a lifetime of living a certain way, Justin decided it was time to break his cycle. The next 10 years of his life would be spent building a successful legal empire so that when his brother is finally released, he will have the power to help change his life too.

Justin & Toni would talk over the phone a few times & week. Over the years, Justin continued building his empire, & Toni started calling less. You see, 10 years is a long time in a federal penitentiary & Toni started to feel more alone than ever; Justin would stay in contact with Toni’s family for updates on how his childhood friend was doing.

Horizon Bound: Part 2.)

8 Years had now passed & Toni was finally up for parole in a month, but during a weekly cell toss that same week, corrections officers found unauthorized contraband (a miniature box T.V) in Toni’s cell; he was no longer eligible for release. When Justin received this news, his heart dropped into his stomach. He knew his friend wasn't coming home anytime soon; so he just continued moving forwards.

Two years later… Release day; Toni had completed his sentence & had just checked out his belongings from intake. He stepped outside the doors & felt the sun on his skin again for what felt like the very first time. A matte black Mercedes S550 pulls up beside him, the windows tinted pitch black. Finally, when the window rolls down, he sees Justin with the biggest smile on his face, he looked at Toni and said four simple words “you ready to go?”. Toni responds “only like 10 years ago, Get me outta here!”; & they started driving.

While driving down the highway Toni noticed they were traveling the opposite direction than expected; he asked where they were going, & Justin replied, “Airport”. Justin then continued explaining how he’d been in contact with Toni’s family & his passport had been renewed; It was sitting right in the passenger seat of the glovebox. Justin had booked them a month-long trip in Cuba to help his friend unwind & take a step reintegrating back into society again, Toni was amazed & excited.

Now a couple of weeks have passed, & a lot of discussions regarding the past, future & present have taken place. Justin offered Toni the chance to start any business of his choice in order to help him thrive & build his own legitimate empire. Toni accepted, & over the next portion of the trip they would bounce ideas back & forth until their very last day in Cuba; at this moment, Toni realized his dream.

The sun was setting, the boys were sitting on the beach drinking beers when Toni saw a beautiful ship sailing into the horizon; he turned to Justin and said “One day that boat will be mine”.