The next day when i reached there, alice was already there in the confrence room, she looked pale surrounded by group of men with cold faces that looked to me like wolves ready to leap on a helpless sheep.
Her aunt and uncle were sitting outside they also looked tired and frustrated. I waited outside for sometime, they were questioning her they had already taken our statement all that they were looking for was an opening.
Alice was still sitting there when I was called in,. the effort it took her to get off the seat and look up at my face made me realize in how much pain and loneliness my little girl was. I remembered steve's face when he had returned from afghanistan with Lilith in a coffin. They had gone their to cover the war and lilith became just another tragedy of the long war but steve could never accept it. He said her death was not a tragedy of war but a murder. I lost both my friends that day. After that i sought refuge in Alice after that she became my life I cared more than her father for her, who was rarely around and even if he was home he never had time for her and now i had lost Alice too. I wanted to say something but couldn't and i could not
take my eyes off her either after all Steve had made me, her godfather. My thought's were broken by a voice asking me to sit down. After the damned questioning i was heading towards my car, when alice walked up to me and said
"Do yo mind giving me a lift back home?"
"Where are you're aunt and uncle"
"I sent them home"
I wanted to say no but then I remembered her face from before and I could not say no to her. She followed me quitely to my car.Just when i was abut to start the engines she handed me a letter.
On the envelope was written my name. I immediately recognised the writing and i tried to hand it back to her.
"It was for you he gave it to me before he left that day. He told me to make sure you read it"
"If not for him do it for me atleast" I could not refute those eyes the eyes that i had fallen in love with twice.
"Jhon i know that you are broken by what i have done.. I don't know what my friendship ever gave you and why you stood by me when everyone left my side. I can never tell you how much i admire you and our friendship and what all it has given me but yet still i can't stop now not even for the sake of our friendship. If you find it in you heart please frgive me. For years i tried to know the reason of lilith's death and now finally that i know it i can't hold myself back. I can not forgive the one that is responsible for her death. I have found someone who has agreed to help me if i help him in return. I was always the one talking abut faith and god's greatness but after lilith's death i realised you were right god and faith are worthless and meaningless in this world. I cannot accept that She is dead while he is not. I have evidence that he is the one but i want to be the one who punishes him. I am sorry for all the pain and trouble this will cause you and jhon just like you had been a father to alice before make sure you remain a father to her in future too and dont let the bitterness in this world get to you like it got to me"
I cursed him under my breath you damned fool. Even after 13 years you could just not let go it. He had even signed it under
the name ahmed the name he took after lilith's death the name that was his reminder of revenge. That fool traded fhis faith for revenge instead. He persued it just like
his faith with relentless efforts and self sacrifice. I rembered all the old times all those times i tried to talk him out
of this hatred but all in vain.He even sacrificed alice for it or maybe he was hoping that i could save her. I hated him he took me for granted and now he had even burdened me with taking care of his daughter the last thing i wanted to do right now.I started the car and headed for her home.
"Do they have anything against you?"
"Besides my I-card that they recovered from your fathers body and the fact i was on holiday that day, nothing much"
Suddenly she started looking glomy again she was feeling guilty or so i thought. We both kept quite for the rest of the journey. As i dropped her off she came to my window and said
"I was the one that stole and gave your card to him and i was the one who made you take leave that day saying i was not feeling well and wanted you to come. Then why didn't you tell them all this? Thats the right thing to do why should you face more trouble because of me and my family. I promise i'll make things
right for you i owe you this much"
She was already in tears and she started to move towards her house her back was facing me and that moment i knew i was going to losse her too if i didn't do anything. I ran towards her and wrapped her in my arms
"If you do anything stupid i won't forgive you" She looked up at me and broke down in my arms. There's nothing more reliving than crying out in th embrace of people you love. People passing by looked at me hey could never understand the pain we both were going through. I let her cry her heart out. i rembered the last time she cried like this was when she realized her mother was dead. Icried along with her
"I am sorry dad i have put you in trouble and that too knowingly"
"Children always put their parents in trouble" I could finally have the heart to forgive er maybe steve's apoligy helped me realise sumthing important i was not angry he betrayed me i was angry because i thought he didn't consider me a friend anymore.
"It's my job to protect you and i shall go any length to do it" my voice was breaking off the tears were hard to hold back i suddenly realised how much i had lost and how much i was going to lose. My job my salary my house they were trival things the most important things in my life my daughter was just about to go away from me i could never have survived that.
"I was scared i was going to loose you. I was scared that you will leave me i already lost my mother and my father was never there you were all that i had and loosing you would kill me. I could never look at myself after what i did to you. I never believed that man would decieve you i thought it was just a journalist investigation. i hate him"
"he was a man who lost too much at the hands of this world and was left with just hate and bitterness"
"He was a killer"
"We all are beasts within alice and that beast has no place for reason all. Wenever our loved ones are hurt or in pain we loose sight of reasons all we want is to protect them or harm those who harm them"
"Did he really do it. was that the letter as all abut?" i could see the pain that answer would bring to her
"I don't know whether he did it or not but all i do know is that he loved us both and he was sorry"
I looked at alice and my heart told me this is what you're friendship gave me steve a daugter something that even i didn't knew i wanted you gave me a piece of lilith a piece of you, a legacy of both of you the only people whom i ever truly loved. what else could i have ever asked for? I will always be her father i promise.
Her aunt and uncle were sitting outside they also looked tired and frustrated. I waited outside for sometime, they were questioning her they had already taken our statement all that they were looking for was an opening.
Alice was still sitting there when I was called in,. the effort it took her to get off the seat and look up at my face made me realize in how much pain and loneliness my little girl was. I remembered steve's face when he had returned from afghanistan with Lilith in a coffin. They had gone their to cover the war and lilith became just another tragedy of the long war but steve could never accept it. He said her death was not a tragedy of war but a murder. I lost both my friends that day. After that i sought refuge in Alice after that she became my life I cared more than her father for her, who was rarely around and even if he was home he never had time for her and now i had lost Alice too. I wanted to say something but couldn't and i could not
take my eyes off her either after all Steve had made me, her godfather. My thought's were broken by a voice asking me to sit down. After the damned questioning i was heading towards my car, when alice walked up to me and said
"Do yo mind giving me a lift back home?"
"Where are you're aunt and uncle"
"I sent them home"
I wanted to say no but then I remembered her face from before and I could not say no to her. She followed me quitely to my car.Just when i was abut to start the engines she handed me a letter.
On the envelope was written my name. I immediately recognised the writing and i tried to hand it back to her.
"It was for you he gave it to me before he left that day. He told me to make sure you read it"
"If not for him do it for me atleast" I could not refute those eyes the eyes that i had fallen in love with twice.
"Jhon i know that you are broken by what i have done.. I don't know what my friendship ever gave you and why you stood by me when everyone left my side. I can never tell you how much i admire you and our friendship and what all it has given me but yet still i can't stop now not even for the sake of our friendship. If you find it in you heart please frgive me. For years i tried to know the reason of lilith's death and now finally that i know it i can't hold myself back. I can not forgive the one that is responsible for her death. I have found someone who has agreed to help me if i help him in return. I was always the one talking abut faith and god's greatness but after lilith's death i realised you were right god and faith are worthless and meaningless in this world. I cannot accept that She is dead while he is not. I have evidence that he is the one but i want to be the one who punishes him. I am sorry for all the pain and trouble this will cause you and jhon just like you had been a father to alice before make sure you remain a father to her in future too and dont let the bitterness in this world get to you like it got to me"
I cursed him under my breath you damned fool. Even after 13 years you could just not let go it. He had even signed it under
the name ahmed the name he took after lilith's death the name that was his reminder of revenge. That fool traded fhis faith for revenge instead. He persued it just like
his faith with relentless efforts and self sacrifice. I rembered all the old times all those times i tried to talk him out
of this hatred but all in vain.He even sacrificed alice for it or maybe he was hoping that i could save her. I hated him he took me for granted and now he had even burdened me with taking care of his daughter the last thing i wanted to do right now.I started the car and headed for her home.
"Do they have anything against you?"
"Besides my I-card that they recovered from your fathers body and the fact i was on holiday that day, nothing much"
Suddenly she started looking glomy again she was feeling guilty or so i thought. We both kept quite for the rest of the journey. As i dropped her off she came to my window and said
"I was the one that stole and gave your card to him and i was the one who made you take leave that day saying i was not feeling well and wanted you to come. Then why didn't you tell them all this? Thats the right thing to do why should you face more trouble because of me and my family. I promise i'll make things
right for you i owe you this much"
She was already in tears and she started to move towards her house her back was facing me and that moment i knew i was going to losse her too if i didn't do anything. I ran towards her and wrapped her in my arms
"If you do anything stupid i won't forgive you" She looked up at me and broke down in my arms. There's nothing more reliving than crying out in th embrace of people you love. People passing by looked at me hey could never understand the pain we both were going through. I let her cry her heart out. i rembered the last time she cried like this was when she realized her mother was dead. Icried along with her
"I am sorry dad i have put you in trouble and that too knowingly"
"Children always put their parents in trouble" I could finally have the heart to forgive er maybe steve's apoligy helped me realise sumthing important i was not angry he betrayed me i was angry because i thought he didn't consider me a friend anymore.
"It's my job to protect you and i shall go any length to do it" my voice was breaking off the tears were hard to hold back i suddenly realised how much i had lost and how much i was going to lose. My job my salary my house they were trival things the most important things in my life my daughter was just about to go away from me i could never have survived that.
"I was scared i was going to loose you. I was scared that you will leave me i already lost my mother and my father was never there you were all that i had and loosing you would kill me. I could never look at myself after what i did to you. I never believed that man would decieve you i thought it was just a journalist investigation. i hate him"
"he was a man who lost too much at the hands of this world and was left with just hate and bitterness"
"He was a killer"
"We all are beasts within alice and that beast has no place for reason all. Wenever our loved ones are hurt or in pain we loose sight of reasons all we want is to protect them or harm those who harm them"
"Did he really do it. was that the letter as all abut?" i could see the pain that answer would bring to her
"I don't know whether he did it or not but all i do know is that he loved us both and he was sorry"
I looked at alice and my heart told me this is what you're friendship gave me steve a daugter something that even i didn't knew i wanted you gave me a piece of lilith a piece of you, a legacy of both of you the only people whom i ever truly loved. what else could i have ever asked for? I will always be her father i promise.
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