Jonathan Watt

Stranger

Kieran Charnock, Jonathan Watt

When a sickly-thin man with a thick wrap of bandages over his face arrives home, Alex is terrified and can identify him only as a stranger. His father, Bradley, is ashamed of his injuries; remembering what a 'hero' he used to be to his son. He tries to reconnect with Alex but cannot get close without scaring him. It is only after Alex grows suspicious of the masked Stranger’s somewhat familiar behaviour and eventually catches a glimpse of his eyes through a gap in the bandages that he can recognise his father immediately; the wounds disappear and it becomes clear that there is a bond that runs far deeper than that which lies on the surface.