by Ali Mehdi
Chapter 6
Micheal
Micheal looked himself in the mirror after splashing cold water on his face, he took his razor in one hand, but his hand was shaking so much that he knocked over the cup that it was in. He decided against shaving that night and left the bathroom to pick up another beer from the fridge. He stepped over discarded clothing and pizza boxes to reach the kitchen, which had seen a tornado hit it with dishes piled all over the kitchen counter tops, the oven open with crumbs of bread covering the pan inside, stains covered the tiled floor and he noticed that he forgot the fridge door open. It wasn't like anything would go bad, as nothing could be found inside the fridge except for a couple beers, some store bought desert and frozen pizza that he had picked up the night before.
He was almost within the can's reach when he heard banging on the door. Who could possibly disturb him at this time? It was probably Tom who had forgotten something at his place after their card game this afternoon. He approached the door and unlocked it. He opened it while it creaked on its hinges, he kept forgetting to oil them. He forgot to do a lot of things, and if he were to remember them he wouldn't be able to sit down after all the chores he'd have to do, and all the problems he'd have to take care of: from the growing pile of bills on his coffee table to the eviction notice that was on top of the TV unit, he knew that he would have to take action eventually, but that time could be postponed and he kept himself busy drinking in the meantime. He thought of his daughter, probably sitting in her room busying herself with music or lying down reading a book. He knew he should take better care of her but time flew by so fast that he realized he didn't have the time for anything these days. Especially after his wife passed away, everything seemed distant and terrifying, she was the only person that was capable of managing his anger issues and making him a better person, which was something he disliked to think about, but now she was gone, and he was alone raising a rebellious teenager who only cared about having the best of everything.
But now an old man stood in front of him in his doorway, wearing torn clothing and holding an envelope in his hand. He wasn't in the mood to talk, as the man was either a salesperson or somebody giving him another bill to add to his pile. He cursed the man to go away and slammed the door shut. Turning around to go back to the kitchen he heard the sound of paper sliding underneath the door and took a look downwards to find the envelope at his feet. He picked it up, and his hands trembling with rage this time, grabbed the door's handle and opened the door while screaming at the top of his lungs "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE YOU OLD GEYSER!", Only to find the hallway empty, only the sound of people talking through the walls reaching his ears. He was pretty fast for an old man. He bent down and picked up the envelope, tearing it open. A small object fell to the ground as he took out the note, but he didn't pay any attention to it.
By the time you open this letter, I will be in your building's lobby. By the time you reach the lobby, I will have gotten in a cab and be on my way to somewhere far away.
You may wonder who I am, an older man knocking at your door late into the evening, but know that I will have changed your life forever onwards. You will never live the same, and you will grow to hate me with every breathe you take. You will fall asleep at night cursing me. Therefore I will not hide my name from you, so that you can properly address me in your thoughts: my name is Robert.
In the afternoon, I was walking on the Brooklyn bridge, what I was planning on doing there is none of your concerns, your selfish self would not care anyways, but what happened was that I saw a young teenage girl. That girl was climbing the railing and I ran as fast as my old legs could carry me and I grabbed at her before she could fall. Before she fell down into the cold waters underneath the bridge, only she wouldn't feel the cold of the water, only the cold of the wind around her as she dropped down towards the abyss. She would have had thoughts of regrets, probably screaming and crying as she dropped, with no one there to save her. She would probably be thinking of the only person that actually cared for her in her life: her mother. But I was there, and I was the person who saved her.
The idea is probably beginning to form in your head, of who this girl is. When I asked her for her name, she said it was Christina. But not your Christina, because blood relations mean nothing to me, the people we love grow on us because of the love we give them, not the blood that ties us together.
I will not tell you my intentions, nor what I plan to do with your daughter, so I will only provide you with one thought: she will be safe for the rest of her life. She will grow up, outside of your reaches, since you will not be able to find her no matter what you try to do, you can call the authorities or hire an investigator, she will always be one step ahead of you. She will continue college, she will go on to university and earn a degree in something that she feels passionate about, she will meet a man and fall in love. She will live every breathe onwards for that person, she will share all her secrets with him and give him her heart, because he will be a man that deserves it.
Take a look at the object that is in the envelope, it will be your last memory of a precious girl you call your daughter.
What I will do is not because I hate you, because I set my feelings aside for this part of my plan, to keep Christina's future at mind. Although I actually do hate you with every fiber of my being, and wish that I could have done a great deal of pain when I will come up to your door, I know that it will do nothing but to lightly appease my anger. I hope you grown old, and live a long life. I hope you manage to overcome your drinking problem and actually become a good figure in life. I hope you manage to overcome your hatred towards me, not for my sake but for your own, because you will realize it is in vain. And once you overcome that anger, you will realize that what I did was good, and you will put your feelings aside and thank m-
The note seemed to be torn at that point, cutting the rest of the word in half, and hiding the rest of what was written from Micheal's eyes. He began trembling, first his hands, then his entire body started convulsing. He crumbled onto the ground into a ball of tears. He felt like the world was crashing down around him.
He felt something jab him in his thy and picked up the object in his hand, only to realize it was the smooth onyx stone his wife had gifted his daughter a couple weeks before the accident. That meant that what the man said was true, as she slept and breathed with the stone in her hand. For her to separate herself from it meant that it was all over. She was ready for a new start, and he would not be a part of it anymore. He walked towards the window and wiped the layer of dust and grit off of it, which didn't seem to cause any effect, so he opened the window and stare off into the distance. It was snowing. A light and gentle snow that was always told brought good tidings and symbolized change. Only time would tell, but first, he had a daughter to find, and a man to be held accountable for his actions.