Chapter 3

Allen Flashback Seventeen years ago Yesterday dad wrecked mom to debris. She had red marks on her face and one of her arms was swollen with a big purple bruise forming just below her elbow. She was limping with one of her legs yet my mother had the patience of a tree. She looked cheerful and smiling whenever we were around her. Every day she would get up at early morning five and cook breakfast for all of us irrespective of the previous day course of events. I don't know from where she would get all that willpower from? She always suffered my dad's abuse not with a whimper off her lips. She told me and my little sister that we were her strength and she survives our father's ill treatment only because of the power we gave her. Dad had plenty of money with him but he did not spend a penny on us. He came home always drunk with a woman in his arms but mom never voiced any of her dismal feelings to him. She feared his attacks. With the little money she had with her we built our own secret paradise in the hell that dad created for us. Dad tolerated mom for two reasons. First was he needed a free cook and twenty four hour servant to satisfy his requirements. Secondly I heard him always say to mom that he was happy for me because he wanted a legal successor to all his illegal wealth. ***** Like any other night, dad came home from work completely drunk and beat mom to trash. I was silently watching mom from the corner of our little bedroom where we lived ate and slept from last three years. My four year old sister started to cry aching for our mom but I clasped my hand muffling her shrieks watching our mother suffer with soft snuffles. If our dad notices my sister cry he would get into his second round of mishandling, whipping Julie. Wiping her tear struck eyes after dad's assault mom limped into the kitchen soundless to prepare dinner for all of us. Two years back mom came home very late from work acutely disconsolate and dejected. I was the only person on earth mom shared her sorrows. I sat besides unspoken looking at her tearing eyes with so many questions. After a few minutes she dried her tears and told me she was diagnosed of third stage of cervical cancer. That night both of us couldn't leap an eye. My sister was too young to understand anything. She was the little angel of our house guileless and unblemished always happy in her little fairy land. She ate dinner heartily like always telling us the stories about her friends and slept sound. The next day morning I gathered courage of a lifetime. After my mother went to work, I tiptoed into my dad's room and told him about the condition of mom. I begged him money for her treatment and even talked to him of remitting back the finances with interest after I start earning. I told him I would work, do anything and everything he asks me to do to save my mother but as feared he was always a monster. He locked me in one of the rooms of our house and beat my sister hopeless who was too young undefiled even to know the reason for his strikes. Since the day the only dream of my life is to become a doctor and cure my mother. I wanted to earn a lot of money and with the money earned I wanted to place her on the highest throne of mankind, give her all happiness in the world that she had foregone all these years suffering the clutches of my dad. With the progress of time mom's sickness increased and the mistreat she suffered from dad also raised accordingly. On the days when she was unable to cook I started helping her but irrespective of the circumstances at home I studied very hard and obtained the best grades in school. Mom worked as a waitress in a nearby restaurant and with the little money she earned she bought things required for us. Today is my tenth birthday and I knew she was saving money for it since last three months. Yesterday while coming home from work she brought all the ingredients required for baking my favourite chocolate chip cookies. Like always keeping aside all sadness in her life she kissed my head wishing me a happy birthday with an enigmatic smile. Her forest green eyes sparkled with happiness whenever she saw me. Was it her confidence on me that I would one day end all her sufferings? Or it was simply her love to her son, I did not know. My sister and I were dressed in our school uniforms about to leave to school when my dad came out of nowhere and started beating mom for no reason. This time his batter was much severe. He picked up a knife from the kitchen platform and walked menacingly towards her as she tries to escape his hits. He was about to reach her and mom's eyes twitched with something. She looked towards me and commanded in a stern voice. 'Allen run, run away from here with your sister... for me." I walk hurriedly towards the entrance holding my sister's little hand obeying mom when I hear a screech followed by a thump. I turn back in alarm and see my mother fallen to the ground bleeding from the tine of the knife pierced in her neck, her eyes shutting off in pain. My heart thudded fast in anxiety seeing her hurt and was about to move towards her but her meek voice stopped me on my tracks. With the last ounce of energy left she voices to me an assurance. 'Allen do not worry about me, I will be fine. Run away from here with your sister otherwise your father will kill her." By the time my mother's words come to an end the beast was already pounding towards my sister like a wild hunter. I do not know what came over me at that moment. I emblazoned the valour of a soldier when saving his nation. Julie shrieked in pain as the fiend held her throat in an iron grip. I snatched the knife out of the muck's other hand and pierced it in his chest. Clutching the knife stabbed in his heart Ronald forced his steps towards me with a threatening howl. I pushed my sister behind me, pulled the knife from his bleeding chest and punched it into his upper thigh, this time arresting his legs. 'You bloody bastard....how dare you do this to me? I never laid a hand on you and thought you to be the legatee of all my properties but you happened to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. You want to protect that little bitch?" He pointed to my little sister and howled like a fearsome lion but couldn't take steps forward anymore. I impaled repeatedly on his injured areas getting him paralyzed in his place. He dropped to the floor and after a few seconds his movements stopped. I ran to my injured mother after making sure my father was dead. 'Mom wake up, open your eyes. Dad is not going to harm us anymore. He is laying there dead, I pointed to the corpse of my father speaking to mom. My sister crawled crying to mom's lap and started tapping on her cheeks with her little fingers. 'Mama wake up, open your eyes. Look, Allen beat daddy and he is not going to hit us anymore." 'Aah" mom opened her glistened eyes for a moment taking a staggered breathe and dropped her hand to the floor shutting her orbs. I pulled my sister from mom's lap to my chest. Julie brings her head out of my chest resisting my shielding arms. 'Allen, why is mama not waking up? She doesn't ever sleep before we go to bed?" I just nod at my little sister trying hard to control my tears. 'Mama will wake up soon Julie. She is feeling very weak so let us go out and bring something for her to eat." Julie nods and puts her little hands in mine enthusiastic to go out and bring something of our mother so that she would wake up soon.'Won't daddy beat us for not getting him food, Allen?" I look at my little sister whose blue eyes were sparkling with innocence and with an unsullied smile gazing at me. I shook my head to her unable to trust my voice. At the age of ten I am already a murderer. The most precious person I love in this world had already left me but the other one stands right beside me. I need to protect my sister and for doing that I need to run away and escape the cops before they get hold of my head. But...it was too late.