HER SHELTER

3

"Daddy"

"Daddy"

She kept whispering out of excitement and even started singing one of the Disney songs she had learned after watching it for a long time. She just felt this inner joy, but gradually it began to deteriorate.

Her father had not answered her in those little moments, for in his mind he was tense, but he had been promised a lot of money, so he had to see this through, even if he did not like the idea.

He had gotten involved with pretty dangerous people, and it was only a matter of time before he cut up to him.

He slowed down and took a turn taking them to a road that led to a lonely, deserted place where not even a single building could be put in sight. He was so close and the thought alone made him grip the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned out, he put a small smile on his face and, with a shaking hand, caressed his wife's hands. She was a bit taken about because he wasn't the most affectionate person and neither did he show them, but she gave his hand a tiny squeeze in her little way of assuring him that, at all times, she was there to share their joy, happiness, pain and above all, to endure all things that come their way for their sake and their daughters'...

He withdrew his hands with such force that she thought something had burned him. Taking a deep breath, she put it at the back of her mind. She was so sure that something was bothering him, but what could she do? He wouldn't give her an answer either way if she asked, so she could only hope that it was nothing serious that would cause an issue in the future...

They slowly approached an abandoned building and he pulled up. He turned to his family and said in a low voice:

" I will be back soon, I just have to get something from a friend", he had not even waited to get a response and zoomed out of the car like someone was hot on his tail.

His wife could not help but wonder who that friend was and why they had to meet in a deserted place like this. Still, she knew she didn't even know any of his friends to begin with, and even though she had tried to be physically and emotionally present for her husband, he had always given her a cold shoulder. She turned back and saw that Alma was sleeping, and she quickly smiled. Her baby must have been exhausted from all the excitement and waiting, she quickly adjusted her a little and wrapped a purple blanket she had carried in such a rush.

She kept on wondering why he wasn’t back, and slowly she was getting worried that something would have happened, so she came down from the car and went to check up on him even if all odds told him not to. She approached the building with such scrutiny and tried to call her husband's name, but soon began to hear voices and though she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help it. If her husband wouldn’t give her anything, she was prepared to get to the bottom of this at all costs.

“Are you sure they are going to be safe?”

“He said so, he will surely fulfill his promises, he never fails”, another voice answered.

She wondered why they needed to be safe, but she thought maybe it was not them but someone else who needed his help. After all, they had a home, a source of livelihood, and a child to look after and that was all that mattered. She could hear more voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying, and her husband must have gone further in, for she could not hear his voice. She left the building and went back to the car.

After a long while, he suddenly returned tenser than always and wouldn’t look her in the eye.

“wake her up. We have to meet someone inside”

“Inside that building, are you sure?”

“Do you think I would put you in harm's way?”

“I didn’t say that.”

She woke Alma up. She could see that the child looked rather rattled, but what could she do than obey her husband, she could see the questions in her eyes, but she looked away. She wasn’t confident she could answer them, or she didn’t have the answers to her questions.

As they approached the building with her husband waiting for her at the front, he quickly walked in with them trying to catch up to him. Alma was so shocked. Was her surprise inside there, or were they stopping for a bit? She couldn’t help but wonder. She quickly felt her mother squeeze her hand as if reassuring her that all was well and that alone was enough to calm her down.

He was ashamed of what he was doing and all he could think about was how he might have made the wrong choice, but still, he felt as if it was the right thing to do at that particular time. He led them to a particular door after getting past a lot of people on the way who kept staring at them like they were sore in their eyesight. On getting to the red door, he smiled at them slowly as if this was to be the last time he would meet them. He had made an achievement to secure their future and that was all that mattered, but the future held better plans.

The first thing Alma saw as she entered was the large men who, for some reason, were angry. They all looked like they were ready to snap at anyone who crossed their path, but she was sure she could make them happy, who couldn’t, she thought, with just one of her songs. She was sure they would smile. A child’s thought, if only she could look at the world any differently.

“Well, well, well, well”, a voice beamed from the door, and they all turned their heads towards the most powerful face that entered the room. He commanded power with the sound of his voice and the shivers and trembling she got was enough to make her hide behind her mother.

Thanks for reading.