Part of a more adult original short story

I hate Christmas shopping yet here I was again rushing around in the crowds trying to get all those last minute things I had put off buying, vowing that, this year we would simplify things, recapture the magic. That fine thought had melted away against the onslaught of articles about the perfect gift, meal, dress, tree – you name it. How come men don’t feel all this pressure? Because they’re not so daft, that’s why.
Still, at least the coffee shop was a welcome treat. I love the way it feels when the weather outside is raw and grey. Shoppers, bags stacked around their feet chattering and clattering at the tables. The air a thick, steamy, coffee flavoured blanket, filled with the noise of chatter competing with piped carols in the background.
I was sitting by the window, watching the stream of shoppers pour past when it happened. I had been remembering and it was as if I had conjured him up, just like a genie in a pantomime. I thought looked like him, then as he walked past when he looked in and caught my eye, and there, just for a second I saw the flicker of recognition, before he turned quickly away.
My heart thumped, my mouth dried out and I had to suppress a shout. Someone might have asked what was wrong. Who would believe that I had seen someone that I only met once over forty years ago, but that I instantly recognised him.
How could I explain the impact that he had on me as a small child, how I had carried his image with me for years, remembered it every Christmas season, silently; sharing it with no-one, ever. Back then, at the time, I had felt that no-one would believe me, that the word of a child would be dismissed as fantasy. Then, as the years went on talking about it got more difficult, not less. But here he was, in flesh, still walking around in my shopping centre.
I knew what I had to do. I was going to face this, to find out the truth once and for all. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. Outside the bitter air slapped my cheeks, making my eyes water. I searched around frantically then; through the crowd I saw his back.
Hurrying after him, I nudged aside shoppers, mumbled apologies as I tripped and dodged around them, always keeping him just in sight, then slowly, oh so slowly gaining on him. I wondered what the hell was I doing? What would I say to him, after all this time? I didn’t know I just felt that after all these years of carrying my secret couldn’t simply let him walk away. I needed to know. …………………………… Who was the mysterious stranger? Contact Rosiin to find out