PART OF HER WORLD

Three years, eleven months, twenty days ago. He was mad again. The stench of whiskey on his breath when he came home was the precursor to the screaming and hollering. She had enough and was leaving him. Her bags, which she had packed in a hurry, lay emptied and scattered around the bedroom floor. All her clothes and prized possessions were strewn out around the room. Jason had hurled everything back out of them in a fit as he ranted and raved. The savage strike across her face sent Sophia reeling backward. As she had tried to grab the phone to call for help, he seized her before she could. He struck her again across the face. She had fought back for once, biting and clawing at him as if she were a feral animal. Her resistance only angered him more. “Jason!" She screamed as his palm struck the side of her face. The savagery behind the blow knocked her across their bed in an awkward pile. “You ungrateful b***h," he seethed as he flipped her over, pinning her by her long red hair. Sophia lay there stunned, unconsciousness threatening to engulf her. He straddled her waist and she’d watched frozen in terror as Jason drew his arm back. The man’s anger had turned to unbridled rage. The open-handed blows twisted into clenched white-knuckled fists. The entire time was as if she were stuck in a slow-motion picture. Sophia saw the blow coming but was unable to move. The expression on his face was one of pure fury. Hatred-filled hazel bloodshot eyes locked with hers. She caught the glint of her father’s wedding band, which she’d given Jason on their wedding day. The golden band shimmered in the bedroom light as the fist wearing the family heirloom connected with her face. Three years, eleven months, twenty days ago was the last time she saw his face. Sophia tried to push the memory away again as she sat under the old oak tree. She wanted to enjoy the quietness here as the last rays of the sun filtered through the tree's foliage and lightly warmed her skin. The park had become almost desolate as the evening settled over the city. The younger children had all gone home and now couples meandered about walking their dogs, chatting away. Sophia knew she should go home but it was nice just to sit here in the coolness of the early evening breeze. To listen to the world as it went by her was relaxing. Off in the distance, someone played oldies on a radio. The soft music floated through the air, making her want to stay just a little longer. She smiled as her eyelids closed and relished the coolness of the grass on her bare legs. Today had been a long one at the Center. She was still trying to learn all the tricks of the trade as it were. They had informed her she would have to wait a few more weeks before Charlie could come to live with her. Sophia was ecstatic about having a companion at home. The house was so quiet even with the radio on. Doctor Bentley Davenport wanted a complete evaluation done after the two settled in with one another. He needed to ensure they would be a good fit. Bentley had been her rock for the past year and a half. They had known each other nearly all her life and at one time her father tried to get her to date him. Back then, however, she only had eyes for her sweetheart, Jason. They had been so crazy about one another. Now given the way her life had unfolded, she wished she’d taken that suggestion. Over the past few weeks, as Jason’s release date neared, she’d become jumpy, nervous, and even broke down one afternoon during a group session. Bentley prescribed her sleeping pills and something for anxiety. They didn't help her a great deal. Although Jason wouldn’t be allowed to come anywhere near her, she also knew all too well how often men walked right through a restraining order. He still refused to sign the divorce papers and they would have to go through divorce court. The idea of going before a judge wasn't something she was overly excited about having to do. She still lived in their old country home. The house was on the outskirts in the rural area inside the city limits. The well-maintained home had been her family’s summer house for decades before Sophia inherited the property. They had the foresight at least to have a prenuptial agreement made. The legal document was the only reason her father gave his blessing. If they divorced, Jason would get nothing. As she thought about the past decade and mulled over the ‘what ifs’ as a song drifted on the wind. This tune played the first time Jason and she had danced. Straining more to hear the melody, she smiled. ‘Let me love you’ was still a favorite of hers, regardless of how her life turned out. The music playing in the distance was nearly hypnotic, easy to listen to, and relaxing. Sophia was more tired than she had thought. She tossed around the idea of going home again. In a few more minutes, she told herself as one of her favorite tunes began to play. Her head nodded ever so slightly and dreams began to creep into her head. Soon they took over, stealing away her conscious mind as she drifted. Whispers of the fading day slipped by and sleep stole her away. A sudden sensation of a presence brought her out of her slumber. Her eyes flew open and she tensed. The air temperature had dropped a fair bit and all the hustle and bustle of the park had fallen silent. Sweat, cigarette smoke and booze, and several different types of men’s body spray drifted on the night breeze. The rustling of material on someone’s body close by was followed by a low ominous chuckle. A hand grabbed her by the arm. The scream was cut short as a heavy sweaty palm clasped over her mouth and something cold and sharp rested on her throat. The horrid reek of stale cigarette smoke assailed her nose from the hand clasped painfully tight on her face. Do something her mind screamed in on itself, but the fear growing rapidly in her forced her to sit there unmoving. “This is too easy,” one of them said. "Nice rings, I bet they're worth a few hundred!" Another said, grabbing her by the hand. "The necklace too." Stay calm, you need to stay calm, she told herself over and over again as the tears began to build. Her grandmother's rings were yanked from her fingers and the watch was taken off her wrist. A set of rough fingers yanked her hair away from her neck and began to undo her necklace. “Oh yeah, really nice!" he said and pulled her to her feet. Someone undid the heavy zipper to her knapsack before rummaging through it. She hoped all they wanted was to rob her. “Pretty little thing ain’t she!” another said. The Boston accent was strong even with the little bit of a lisp the man had. “Be a good girl and you won’t get hurt.” The man holding the knife to her throat told her. Then he pulled her closer and sniffed her hair. Fear of what they were going to do when they found she wasn't carrying any money washed over her. * * *~~~* * * “I hate this damn job!” Asher said aloud as the garbage bag tore open and the day’s contents spilled all over the ground at his feet. A disgusting mixture of odors assailed his nose and he gagged. Dirty diapers, soured milk, a rotten meat sandwich, and a strange green slime now needed to be re-bagged. The halfway house coordinator, Dave Nickels, gave him two work details. He cleaned up at the park and served the seniors their meals at the nursing home. Working both jobs meant long hours and hard work for next to no pay. Most of the money went back into supporting the halfway house. Dave helped him to get the positions and he knew he should be grateful. He had been a few hours late getting here but that was because of his parole officer, Kristen. She’d been running behind on her schedule and her late meeting had totally messed up Asher’s day. He tossed the bag into the large dumpster by the groundskeeper's shed. Once he disposed of the garbage that someone had left on the ground beside the bin, he grabbed his picker stick. This part he didn’t mind and enjoyed the walk to clean the cigarette butts from the walkways that trailed around the park. After that, he would be done and could go back to the house. The park was usually deserted as soon as night hit. The place had never been a busy spot to begin with. Now, as he walked along picking up butts and other debris, he appreciated the quiet alone time. The rest of the men in the halfway house were all supposed to be reformed. However, several of them Asher had his doubts about. The way they acted and talked when Dave was not around showed their true colors. He knew they would be back to their criminal ways as soon as they left the place. Asher had never wanted to hurt anyone, his crime had not been an accident but the cop had died. That was five years ago. Now he was free but only because he didn’t pull the trigger and kill a police officer. His brother Vince did. A scream snapped him out of his thoughts. The shrill shriek in the distance was cut short. His mind quickly assumed it was a woman in trouble. It was unusual for anyone to be here, except maybe a few teens hanging out getting high or drunk down by the swings. Several local drug dealers hung out here too, but that was closer to the parking area. The terrified cry had come from the area near the heavily wooded edge of the park. A burst of adrenaline fueled his pace as he headed in the direction the commotion came from. The path led him to an area populated with ancient trees. As he rounded a huge oak tree, the scene came upon caused his blood to boil in his veins. They were no more than fifteen feet away. The light from a fancy light pole cast its glow down on them clearly revealing them. Asher recognized the three men from the halfway house. Max pressed a knife against the throat of a young woman who he held close to him. Eric was trying to pull something from around her neck as Rick was examining something shiny in his hand. Not a smart thing Asher thought and as Rick glanced up and spotted him, the other man froze for a moment. Rick relaxed, everyone in the house knew what Asher had been in jail for. These three thought his part in the crime was a big deal, that his offense had made Asher some sort of big badass. “Hey man, you want her when we're done, I bet she’s a screamer,” Max snorted as Eric managed to free the girl of her necklace. Rick moved in closer, gripping the girl's shorts and sheer horror washed over her face. This is something he had never walked in on before, not even in jail. The anger rose up in him as the lady whimpered when Rick tugged at her shorts, the vein in his forehead throbbed. “Get away from her, Rick!" he demanded. The other man shot Asher a hard glare. He realized neither man intended to stop what they were doing. “f**k off out of here Asher if you don’t want a piece of ass,” Eric said and moved to threaten him with a knife. Using the butt picker stick, he lashed out. The metal bar cracked him across the wrist holding the blade. With a slight yelp of pain, he dropped the weapon. Asher twisted and shot out with a sideways kick, catching the other man in the guts. The force of the blow knocked the air from Eric and the man crumpled to the ground. “Get your damn hands off of her.” Asher ordered through gritted teeth and moved toward him. He held tool, the sharp end of the stick pointed towards them. Rick put his hands up and stepped away. Max released his hold on the young woman and she sank down to her knees in the grass. “Now get the hell out of here and leave her stuff there," he told them. Max and Rick tossed the girl's belongings to the ground with a guttural mutter of anger before helping Eric up and they fled. Walking carefully over to the girl, he could see she was terrified. Tears welled up in her eyes, even though none had fallen down her cheeks. She shivered and shook. He could see how scared she was. “Are you ok?" he asked her softly as he bent down and touched her arm. “Please don’t,” she whimpered. “I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to get you out of here," he said as he stared into her face. She didn’t look at him, she stared off to one side of him. Asher turned to see who was behind him. He spotted no one, just the trees, and empty park benches. As he turned back at her, the pretty red haired girl still stared off behind him, her whole body shivering. His first aid training kicked in. She was showing signs of shock. He removed his shirt and draped the garment over her. He needed to get her to a hospital and notify the police. He set about collecting her belongings the men tossed in front of her. Her backpack was tossed behind her on the ground. The jerks had emptied her things on the grass. The only item he could find left in her bag was a white folded up cane. The girl was blind.