The Assault

CHAPTER 1

Hala brought out the chicken from the freezer, so stiff and frozen like it have never been in a different posture all it's life. One time after watching a movie where the protagonists froze to death in a failed attempt at hiking Mount Everest, she wondered why the cold was deadly to such an extent. As a young girl, she had thought that the chill simply wasn't enough to end a persons life. But thankfully, she came to the realization much sooner than later.

One time, when her mother asked her to get get some vegetables in the freezer, she had to wriggle and blow heat into her hands afterwards. And since then, she had realized that one should definitely avoid playing with fire, but its chilly counterparts were no less deadly.

As it was defreezing, she began with the yamballs. It has always been one of her favorite things to make, so simple yet so savory and mouthwatering. They were a staple in her house and a delicacy she served to special guests. And whenever she made it, she got praise.

Certain that it was soft enough, Hala mashed the yam, placed it in a bowl and added the sauce. It was one of her little secrets. When others simply added raw vegetables and seasoning to the mashed-up yam, she chose to make it into a sauce such that the ingredients get well incorporated into one another. Then she would add a little more spices before rolling it into balls. That's the secret, the sauce and layer upon layer of flavours.

Sometimes she would dip the balls in breadcrumbs to refine the contour and make them more elegant. Sometimes she would go for just the eggs but with a little curry or turmeric to give it a pop of colour. It had always been deep frying for her. Quite a lot of people will go for shallow frying, turning the balls up and down until all the egg dissolves in the oil and they end up with an unevenly fried yam ball. But if it wasn't a deep frying bowl with the oil almost entirely covering the balls, it was a no for her. When she felt that they were good enough, she took them off the fire and kept them away in a warmer.

She couldn't help but feel rather proud of herself for the dinner she had put together for her family. Alfredo, Shrimp rice, beef sauce, spingrolls, yamballs, a red velvet cake and cocktails. Maybe she really should take heed of all the advice and take up culinary as a profession. The passion she held for cooking could rival that of a bee to a flower, a book to a novelist and almost that of a mother to her child, almost. Because if she were asked to auction off her cooking skills and ditch her culinary dreams for the sake of her only daughter, she would do so without reluctance.

Just then, Sarah sprinted into the kitchen, nearly bumping into the sliding door that lead to the backyard. Billy the dog was given a hot chase, probably angry to have been woken up from its ritualist evening nap. Sometimes, one would think that Billy owned the family, not the family owning Billy. Billy fancied itself a king, only taking up its role as a protector when it deemed fit. But for the other times when it wasn't on guard, Billy whiled away the time chasing the family members or digging up Hala’s well-groomed garden. As Sarah crossed the door into the kitchen, he halted, huffed and turned away. No matter what, Billy knew not to step in her kitchen.

“Mother!”, Sarah ran up to Hala and hugged her, “what are you making? This place smells so heavenly!”, she exclaimed.

“We have pasta, snacks, rice, cakes, cocktails, and your favorite yam balls”, she was very much certain that Sarah will love the yummy balls and couldn't wait to give her a bite.

“Here, take a bite. Does it taste any decent, my dear? I think you may not like it as much”, she knew that it did taste nice, but simply wanted to get a reaction out of her daughter.

“No, mother, no. This had to be the best I'd ever tasted in my life. It's great!”, she giggled whilst doing a little tap dance.

“You totally should open a restaurant, mother. You'll become the best in Whilson State”, she admitted while taking another bite.

“Thank you, my little cutie! As if you knew that it was my dream to start a restaurant business one day. When that happens, I'll get you a little apron and cap and you will be our lead Chef!”

“Yes! I really can't wait. I'll make sure to make your restaurant the best in the world!”, she exclaimed.

“I trust you Sarah. I know that with you, there is nothing I can't take on in this world. We will be the best duo in the culinary world”

“Of course, mother”

“Now, why don't you go clean up for dinner? It will be served shortly and you wouldn't want to be on the table with your dress. Your grandma will scold everyone”, they both laughed.

As she watched Sarah saunter up the stairs, she couldn't help but thank God that her daughter was finally back and safe with her. She could still vividly remember the last time he returned her, after getting the sum he had stipulated, with extra charges for delayed delivery.

How disgusting? Taking your own daughter ransom. Since she refused him the money the first time he asked for it, he amended his tactics and decided to get it by all means. And the trouble had commenced.

The first time it happened, Sarah had wanted to take him to court for it, thinking that it was such a flaw to his perfect facade that the jury would use to restrain him from seeing Sarah anymore. He had taken her out like he normally did on the weekend, blatantly lying to her grandparents that they were to visit a relative of his in Montel, a neighboring state just two hours away from Whilson. They were set to travel that same day and come back on Monday since it was the holidays and school wouldn't be a problem. He had been so meticulously calm and honest about it that you wouldn't think he had something brewing up his sleeves, and given that the court had granted him every right to do so, they had begrudgingly agreed. Hala, who was out of town for a conference hadn't quite agreed when she heard.

She had seethed with rage, very upset that they actually left Sarah at the mercy of that vile man for a whole two days. She was terrified that he might end up tormenting her daughter or running away with her. Or worst yet, what if she runs into some kind of trouble? She didn't trust him one bit to keep a close eye on her. Even though Sarah wasn't the type to cause trouble, she still didn't trust Adam with a child one bit.

“Mum, this is such a bad idea. You could have called me up about it. Adam has made it clear that he didn't really want Sarah, it's the money that comes with her that he is after. He wouldn't be able to take good care of her, mum”, she cried.

“I'm sorry Hala. I just reckoned that since the court was involved, he wouldn't be able to do anything ludicrous. If he did so, he will damage his ruse”, she had tried to calm her daughter down, but by all means, it looked like she was fueling up the blazes.

“No, mum. Adam doesn't give a penny for his reputation. He simply craves to see me grieve. That's all. If I had known earlier, I would have gotten the lawyers involved legally. That way, if he tries anything reckless, he knows what will follow. The warrant enabled him to take her out, but not travel out of the state with her, and without informing me about it in the first place. He should have notified me about his plan to travel out days before, not wait up until I wasn't in town before doing so”.

“Please calm down, Hala. I'm quite certain that no harm will come to our sweet girl. Please don't get too worked up about it. You should call them now and know whether they have arrived safely. That way, you'll at least hear her voice and have some peace of mind”, she assured.

“Alright, I'll call him now. I hope he picks up”, but the phone rang endlessly until Hala decided to end the call herself.

“He might be busy with something”, her mum had assured her, ”We will try again later. Just calm down okay, he wouldn't dare try anything when he knows that the law will be strict on him”, despite her mother's attempt to reassure her, Hala had a feeling that things may not go well, nothing went well when that man was involved.

And she had never been more right.

Just when they were about to go to bed, they received the call of doom.

“I have your daughter, she's safe and well. But you wouldn't get her back until I get my money”, he spoke.

“Aren’t you even ashamed of yourself? k********g your blood for money? Are you insane, Adam?!”, she screamed.

“No, my senses are very much intact, thank you. But as I said before, give me the money and you'll get your daughter. I won't push for custody again”, he answered calmly.

“How sure am I that you wouldn't do so again? How sure am I that you wouldn't come back in the future for more money? If I settled you this time, you'll be out of my life forever. Do I have your word?”

“Of course, you have my word as a gentleman”

“Wait, how could I even think of believing a word that slips out of your mouth? You are no honorable lier, let alone an honourable gentle man!”

“What you have of me is not in any way a dilemma of mine. If you think I'm a liar, so be it. Heck, if you think I've never spoken any validity in all my years, I've got no problem dear. As far as it gives you peace of mind, I'm okay with it. But trust me on this one because it's your daughter's future that is at stake. Send the money and you get her back. And please be quick about it, will you? She is already giving me a headache as it is”, and with that, he hung up.

Hala had never found herself in an even more difficult situation. On one hand, there was the fact that she misses her daughter so dearly and just wants to have her back. On the other hand, if she gave in to his request, she wasn't sure that he wouldn't end up pulling a similar act in the future. Just like her lawyers had adviced. She wanted to take him to court at first, and her lawyers were very much in agreement. Even though that court could simply rule it out as a case of child k********g, hardly something deserving strict punishment for a father to refuse to bring back his daughter, the fact that he had made it apparent that he only wanted the money and not the girl wouldn't favor him in court. But the second time adam called to inquire about his money, he made it very clear that it was her daughter's life and well-being that was at stake if she was involved the court.

And Hala made a very emotional and irrational decision that she ended up wishing undone. She sent him the money and eventually got Sarah back, but she never got rid of Adam forever. He had taken her again, at school when Hala had been late to pick her up one day. The first time he took her, he had taken adequate care of her, treating her nicely, taking her to the park and to the film house to watch movies, shopping, and so much more. He had very well played the part of a doting father, making sure that she looked forward to their subsequent “travel”. However, he had made sure that Hala didn't know about it, going ahead to make the girl promise him that she wouldn't tell her mother of all their good times together.

“It will be our little secret”, he had told Sarah,” when it's the right time, your mother will know all about our adventures. When that time comes, I'll come and take you and your mum away and we will build a very nice house by the beach where you can play all day, and we will be one big joyous family. So just tell her that you like it here when she asks about your stay with me. I don't want her to know anything yet, if not the surprise will be ruined”.

And Sarah had nodded thoughtfully. Her mother had done so much for her. And now that her father was there and treating her nice as well, It wouldn't be so bad to be living in a house together with both of her parents, just like her friends at school.

Adam made sure that she still assumed he was mistreating her daughter so that when they went to court and she throws her allegations at him, her daughter will be able to say for herself what their little plan was and all the adventures they've had together with her father.

So when he took her from school for another adventure, she had willfully agreed. Hala had cried and condemned the authorities for being so negligent, but still had to pay him off before getting her daughter. Even though her lawyers had cautioned otherwise, she knew who Adam was and wouldn't want her daughter to see that side of him. The emotional trauma he had caused her during their time together was too much to bear. He was the terror in human form. And given that Sarah was still a child, she wouldn't want her to carry any such emotional baggage throughout the rest of her life. So she had paid him again.

And Yet again, he had come back for more. She had wanted to take him to court but feared that the judge wouldn't listen to her. She was the one that paid him numerous times in the past, so it was all her fault. Given that he had asked for a lesser sum then, she gave it to him. But thankfully, that was the last time he did such a thing. The next time she met him, he had changed so much. He wasn't the same person she knew. Apparently, he had seen the wrong in his ways and decided to change for the better. Hala was very happy for him, but she was no less cautious.

The last two years had gone by smoothly to say the least, with no court hearings and no Adam kidnap her daughter for money. And as she made the last few adjustments on the dinner table, she couldn't help but thank God for such a blessing.

Tonights dinner was even more memorable than the last, the sweet aroma and joy of togetherness blanketing the room in an atmosphere of happiness.