His eyes shot open as he sat up in bed, gasping for air.  It was always the same dream.  After all these years, the nightmare still haunted him.  He glanced at the clock and sighed.  It was early but he could no longer go back to sleep.

It was quiet out on the street in the early hours of the morning.  He took in a deep breath of the fresh air before he began jogging down the street.  This should clear his mind.

As he approached a park, he noticed a small group of people gathered at a wooden table.  Who would be up at this hour? he thought.  As he got closer, he discovered that they were a group of old men playing chess.  Don't old people sleep? he wondered.

He was about to glance away until his eyes caught sight of one of the players sitting at the bench.  The man stood out from the group, being the only person there that did not have white hair.  The man seemed to be concentrating on his next move as his eyes fixated on the chess board.  After a few seconds, the man moved a chess piece then looked up and smiled proudly at his opponent.

Before he knew it, he found himself standing there, smiling to himself as he observed the man.  When he realised it, he quickly shook his head to snap himself out of whatever trance he was in.  What are you smiling for, you idiot? he thought to himself.  You must be out of your mind.  He quickly picked up his pace and continued on his way.

On his second lap around the block, as he approached the park, his eyes immediately darted towards the bench where the old men were gathered.  However, he was met with disappointment when he saw that another player had taken the spot of the man earlier.

He continued on his way until he noticed a lone figure sitting on a park bench up ahead.  He did not know why but he felt a sense of joy when he recognised that it was the man from before.  The man was now surrounded by a flock of birds as he sat feeding them.  He watched as the man sprinkled some bird seeds on the ground before pouring some onto the palm of his hand.  The man held out his hand and before long, a bird landed on his palm and ate from it.  Seeing the man smile brought forth a smile upon his own face.

The smile soon disappeared from his face when he saw the man reach for a walking stick beside the bench and stood up.  From the man's appearance, it did not look like the man was that old to need the aid of a walking stick, until he saw the man walking with a slight limp on one leg.  He watched with a heavy heart as the man made his way down the street.

He did not know what came over him or why he did what he did but, he followed the man at a slow pace.  They continued like this for several minutes until the man stepped out onto the road, attempting to cross it.  It was early and the road was empty.  The man was not expecting a car to come speeding around the corner until it was too late.

The car did not look like it was going to stop nor did it slow down.  Without thinking, he rushed forward, grabbed the man by the arms from behind and pulled him back just as the car sped passed. 

"Do you know how to drive?" he shouted after the car but it did not stop.  He narrowed his eyes in anger as the car disappeared into the distance.  He quickly turned his attention back to the man.  Realising that he was still holding tight onto the older man, he finally released him.  "Are you okay?"

The man looked a little shaken.  It was only normal for someone who had just had a close call.  It took him a moment to regain his composure before finally nodding his head.  "I think so, thank you."

He smiled at the man and stared at him for a moment longer.  At such close proximity, he could not help but feel a sense of familiarity from the man.  "Have we met before?" he asked with much curiosity.

The older man looked at him for a moment and smiled.  "I don't believe so but I'm glad we did, otherwise I might not have been so lucky.  How about I treat you to breakfast as a way of saying thank you?"

He almost leapt at the offer but managed to restrain himself.  "There's no need for you to do that."

The older man nodded with a smile.  It was understandable that the young man had declined his offer.  He probably had better things to do than spend time with a boring old man like him.

He stood and watched as the man continued on his way with his walking stick.  He waited until the man was out of sight, before he took out his phone and made a call.

"Yes, Boss," answered the person on the other line.

"I'm sending you a number plate," he said.  "I need you to find the owner."

"What did they do?"

"Almost killed my soon to be husband."