Selfishness

By Dhruv Makhija

Wind blew as my face felt the sheer cold. Running for two hours straight, exhausted, terrified and my insides turning. My world had been turned upside down. My daughter- gone.

It had all happened in the span of twenty four hours. It was a memory that I knew would continue to traumatise me. Brain hurting, chest feels like it has a brick upon it. I recall, twenty four hours ago, the only place my little Donna was still with me-my past.

“Dad, where are we going?”

“Yeah Mark spilled the beans. The cops are on us. I'm going into hiding.”

“OF COURSE I'M NOT LEAVING MY DAUGHTER BEHIND!!”

“Dad, are we going to come back?”

“I don't know, Ted, I don't know where we're going. But I'll do anything it takes. All we've ever done, I've been a part of it for my Donna. I've done it because I NEEDED her to have a better life. Even if it meant grabbing my conscience by the throat and suffocating it to death. I'll go to any extent to avoid the arrest. I'll do it for my daughter. I'll do it at any cost.”

“Dad, are we going to buy more toys?”

“You have the tickets? Alright, we'll be there in Belmond by tomorrow. We'll board the flight and we'll claim asylum in another country. The papers are ready.”

“Dad, is that an ambulance?”

“TED THEY'RE HERE!!”

“Dad, who are they?”

I hung up on Ted, grabbed Donna and ran through the backdoor. I buckled her in my car- a product of the deed that the police were here to arrest me for and stepped foot on the accelerator. It was the most tense ten minutes as I bolted across the streets, Donna by my side. We were on the outskirts. Some sort of relief is what blessed me for some time. 

“Donna, listen to me. We are being chased by some men and we need to not get caught. It's like a game of hide and seek. If daddy gets caught, game over. They will help you. Until then, you have got to stick by me. If we lose, Daddy will get a punishment and you won't be able to see him for sometime. Understand.”

My angel nodded.

I knew that my daughter would at least be looked after well enough if I were to die. A girl of three won't be bothered by the cops as they will help her. But I know that she won't be able to live without me. I know that I can give her the best life, a life she deserves. In trying to accomplish that I have gotten myself a death penalty but I would never not try to do anything for my Donna.

“DADDY WATCH OUT.”

A truck speeding towards us was the last thing I saw before I blacked out. Woke up to two muscular men talking as I lay down on the floor, wounded. “Yes sir, we got him. Yes before the police did. He won't be able to spill out the secrets like Mark. His daughter has been exported. Yes, she will be shipped along with the others for sale in the international market.”

My heart dropped.

I somehow got up and picked up the led pipe that lay a foot away from me. Blood filled my eyes as I hit the man whose voice I woke up to. “JOHNNY!! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!” More men filled the room and I rushed past them swinging the lead pipe left and right. That was two hours ago.

Heart aching, hope drowning. I felt my back pocket.

My phone was somehow still working. The screen was completely broken and I received the call. “ TED? WHAT? YOUR MEN FOUND DONNA?? HOW?? WHERE?? OH THANK GOD! YEAH, I'LL BE THERE.”

The police must've given up for now on active pursuit. That was the positive. Ted’s house was in the next block. A respectable and strong man. Like I was- before Mark exposed me during his confession. Luckily Ted was untouched by the scandal.

I pressed the doorbell. “Steve? Come in.” “Where's Donna, Ted.” “Donna’s just fine, let's talk, first. Do you know who those men were?” “I've got no clue.” 

“They were my men. Donna is at gunpoint in the next room. You do anything I'll scream and she's gone.” Brain twisting, head hurting, vision blurring. “You see I'm not excited about being on the run. Having you in the custody of the police was too risky and so was leaving you on your own. Because you were stupid enough to get yourself into this. So I thought to finish you off. Here and Now. But because I'm a good friend I'll strike a deal with you. I'm going to give you my car keys. You are going to the commissioner's house. You are going to take this knife and kill him. Then you are going to confess and receive the death penalty. You are not going to say anything about me. If you do, Donna’s done for.”

“What guarant” “I'll leave Donna in the St. Mary’s Orphanage.” “Why the commisioner?” “He’s the only one who’s connecting or trying to connect my name with this.” I pick up the keys and the knife. Ready to ignore another Donna and kill her father in front of her eyes because I wanted mine to have a better life.”

By Dhruv Makhija