The Assault

If there was one thing that parents treasured, it's nothing other than their own children. They are their pride, their comfort and the ones that will carry on with their legacies even when they are no more. It's such a wonder, how one could so effortlessly become so attached to a child who can't provide nor take care of their day-to-day needs, yet hold such a dear position in our hearts that the world will never be the same without them, neither will it ever be the same after we have had them. It's baffling, how someone will give birth to their child and abandon it as one would with a pack after taking out the candy. The society today is so disoriented and our mindsets are based on avarice and materialism. Where's the humanity? The compassion? The self-respect and sense of responsibility that comes with being a mother or a father? Someone out there has been tested with infertility, some other people have lost their child, some had stillbirths, and some weren't even fortunate to have lived long enough to see their child. Yet, someone has been blessed with one and decided to wobble their way out of the child’s life. Sometimes its the father, sometimes it's the mother, sometimes it will have to live with the absence of both parents. Worst yet, quite a lot of times, the parents will be present, but make the child so much wish that it had been orphaned and never met the parents. And that's exactly what Sarah had to go through in her 8 years of life. Her father, Adam Smith left their lives just a few months before she was born and she has had to leave with his absence ever since, at least until three years ago. He had unexpectedly shown up in their lives, demanding that he gets custody of his daughter since her mother was set to get married. He supposedly believes that she will be busy with her new family to spare time for her first daughter, the same with her parents. Had it been that he was someone to be trusted, her chances of agreeing would have been higher, but given that he wasn't any different from his former self, she had outrightly refused. Hence, they took the case to court. Whilson State law had a insufferable leniency towards fathers no matter how impetuous they were. Children will always belong to their parents and no one else, hence it didn't make any sense to separate them from each other no matter the circumstances. It didn't matter what chaotic records they have amassed or how many years they have spent without contacting the child. No, that doesn't matter at all. Whenever they feel like dusting their boots and sauntering back into the child's life, they are very much welcome to do so. And when Adam Smith, who hadn't been in his daughter's life for nearly a decade finally decided to unceremoniously bring himself back, the court had permitted him to do just that, and sadly, even more. The fact that he was back in their lives was rather disturbing, but not as alarming as the fact that he hadn't changed in the slightest and was now demanding custody. Hala had feared that he might eventually get what he wants as the odds were very much tallied in his favour. Her parents were old, hardly the right people to raise her daughter in the eyes of the court. She would willingly take her only daughter with her when she gets married, and her fiance had been very much open to the idea. But that heck of a law in the state dictates otherwise. As far as her father is alive and willing to take her in, then she would go to him. Hala knew for a fact that he still hadn't given up his ways and hardly has any decent job to take good care of Sarah, and Adam knew that for a fact too. But being such a fraud, he had successfully duped the court and presented himself as a decent person with a decent fake job and a decent apartment. Regardless, she wouldn't so easily relent and let him ruin the life of her sweet daughter. So she hadn't given up one bit. She had gone out of her way to make sure that they won the case and she could already smell victory quite close by. Hala had almost won custody of Sarah when fate decided to swivel and smack tragedy at her too high pillar of hope. Her fiancé, the financial manager of a wood works company was apprehended for embezzlement, a whooping sum that was too enormous for the court to miss. With his immaculate record now tainted, he hopes of getting custody after marriage went down the drain, but thankfully so did the marriage itself. She had never felt as heart broken in all her life. It had been much better to handle with Adam, at least she knew for a fact that scandal was his last name when she met him. But this had been so different. He had been so understanding, so genuine and just so perfect. Almost too perfect. But who knew that there was such a flaw in her perfect plan? Adam had taken advantage of the situation. He had appropriately deemed him unfit to take care of a child that wasn't his whilst properly rebuking Hala for her poor choice of a life partner and guardian for their only daughter. Granted that it may not have entirely been her fault that her fiancé was such a pestilence, it showed that her judgments weren't entirely to be trusted. If she couldn't detect a hint of disagreeable behavior in all their 5 years together, then she couldn't possibly assume that she could consider herself perfectly fit for child custody. And the preposterous court had very much been in agreement with him. The only thing that saved her was the fact that she had single handedly taken good care of Sarah for eight good years. Nevertheless, with his immaculate facade, the whole infamy with her fiancé had given Adam a plus one. She was so distraught, broken and on the verge of losing her single source of happiness to the man who had been the beginning of her tragedy in life. She had prayed endlessly for a miracle, hoping against hope that the clean reputation she had strived to build all those years, her disposition and her many years of well handled single parenting were strong enough to see her through. But it seemed as if her agony was only fueling Adam’s ascent up in the courts favour. At some point, Hala began suspecting that he was resorting to his cheap ways and bribing the court. He had already gotten the permission to see her and take her out whenever he deemed fit, the only thing remaining being her full custody granted to him. Just as she was nearing her lowest point, a miracle happened. Not the conventional miracles that bring happy endings and make our dreams come true, but the ones that brought a solution in the form of another problem. It was a different miracle, but a miracle nonetheless. On a rainy, thunderous Saturday evening, Adam came knocking on their door. She was surprised at first, and couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen such a dreary day for his visit. He had outrightly asked her to keep custody of her daughter, that he doesn't want anything to do with her and that his lifestyle was that of bachelorhood and fun. He was young and full of life and had no desire whatsoever to suddenly quit everything and start making sandwiches and singing bedtime lullabies. She was dying for it, he totally wasn't up for it. As such, it wouldn't hurt to make a little trade. He would let her have full custody of the girl and wouldn't press any further. But in exchange, they would have to pay him off. In spite of the warnings from her lawyers and advice from her parents, she had gladly accepted. He knew that her parents were well off, and the sum he had asked for was way below their capabilities. However, it wasn't a matter of a one time alliance, he was certainly bound to come back for more if they gave in to his request that one time. At last, against her wish, she had refused him the money. On the supposed day of the exchange, Adam came dressed in all his glamor fit for a millionaire. After speaking with his lawyer, they decided to withdraw the case. Why waste time trying to steal a buck when you could have the whole bank at your disposal? She had already proven that she would do anything to keep the girl, surely, pinching a few bucks from their goldmine wouldn't be a bumpy deal. He was so confident that this was his calling in life, only for her to back out when all plans have been set in place. The disgusting wretched woman! How could she have done this to him? Acting all angelic yet evil to the core. Why did she have to wait until after he had given up the case? Why didn't she say anything beforehand? Only for her to burst into a practiced hysteria and tell him that her parents had refused her the money. But Adam wasn't buying any of it. He never trusted Hala one bit and knew for certain that this was just one of the many bad qualities she kept hidden under the kind, angelic veneer. If she could successfully swindle someone like him, it's no wonder that she ended up with that swine of a fiancé, they were cut from the same wretched clothing. If Hala thinks that she had successfully gotten the upper hand in this, she was gravely mistaken. So grave that Adam could even see the imprints on the tombstones. HALA ASAD Here in lies your arrogance and pride. Rest in perfect peace along side your odds of living a cheerful life.