Chapter 1 The Child’S Pov
- I was only six when it happened. On that fateful night, I
- lost my family. Yes, I watched my dad fight for his life. He tried to hold on,
- he wanted so much to live for me. But no, I was there when they took their last
- breath and I was unable to do absolutely nothing to save them.
- Everyone says that I should be happy, they all tell me to be
- grateful to him and praise him for saving my life, but what is life without a
- family?
- It was the noon of Christmas’ eve and Jackson Rich had
- invited us to come and celebrate Christmas with him and his girlfriend, Arianna.
- Mum said that he planned on proposing to her on Christmas and
- they would both be getting married on Valentine’s Day. Mum also informed me
- that he had requested that I be his little bride, while my brother, Junior,
- would be the little groom. I was overjoyed by the news and I started counting
- down from that day.
- However, when I had asked mum when Rich would be taking
- another wife after Arianna, but mum had hushed me and clearly told me that he
- is entitled to one wife, just like my dad. This realization made me sad because
- I had always thought that I was going to marry Rich someday when I grow up.
- Don’t get me wrong, I was only a little child and Rich
- appeared to be like the only perfect thing next to daddy. He was smart and even
- below the age of 25, he was already dad’s business partner and dad said that
- his rare business ideas make them a lot of profit.
- He was dad’s very good friend and there was an age gap of
- over ten years between them. Notwithstanding this fact, dad made him a
- cosignatory to his business due to his utmost dedication and sincerity. Dad
- also named the business after me and him, AnnaJay Empire. Maybe it was this
- name that sent those crazy ideas to me.
- I was young but knew so much about dad’s business more than
- my mum and my elder brother, Junior who was more interested in science courses.
- “Come on dad, can’t we wait until tomorrow? The proposal will
- be tomorrow right, and we can get there right in time for that?” I protested.
- “We are not just going there for the proposal. Rich wants to
- spend more time with us as family” dad responded.
- “But dad, Rich is not family. Now I wish we have a grandma or
- an uncle or aunt to visit” I lamented.
- “Your dad referred to Rich as family, because he had proven
- himself to be more than a friend” mum replied.
- “Yes darling, Rich will always be there for us in any
- situation. You should never forget that” dad added.
- “Okay, dad” I murmured.
- “Let me get my wristwatch, I think I left it at the garage
- when I was fixing the car” dad excused himself.
- For some reason, I don’t want to go out tonight. I was having
- a very unusual feeling. I don’t know if it was because I don’t want to be there
- when Rich would finally put the ring on Arianna’s finger or if there was
- something else attached to this. I turned to Junior just to confide in him and
- get his support.
- “Junior, I feel a bit tense about this trip this evening,
- don’t you feel the same too? We should remain here and go to Rich’s tomorrow” I
- said.
- “I don’t feel the same, Anna. I think you just can’t bear to
- see Rich get hooked by another” he replied and giggled.
- “Stop that, Junior. I have always warned you against making
- fun of your little sister” mum corrected him. “See, dad is here now, let’s
- leave”
- ………………………………………..
- We were in the car and I was playing with my toy when I heard
- dad exclaim. His exclamation was followed by a scream from mum and then Junior
- joined them. I could not understand what was going on or why they were panicking.
- However, I noticed that it seem as if dad was not in control of the wheel and
- the car was swinging from one part of the road to the other. It was getting off
- the road.
- Junior stretched his hand on the car handle on my side and
- opened the door. And without saying anything to me, he pushed me out of the
- car.
- I landed on my right shoulder. It was a great fall and I
- screamed from the effect of the pain I felt.
- As soon as I landed on the road, I heard a very loud bang and
- I looked up. It was our car, it has collided with a very big tree and it was
- not moving anymore. But then, I could not hear the voice of anyone again. They
- are all quiet now.
- Now that the car had stopped, I can go and meet them. I
- looked around and discovered that I was alone on the express road. There was no
- sign of a car or a human approaching.
- I decided to get up and run to my family. In the process of
- doing this, I applied so much force and it caused me pain and I screamed. I had
- dislocated my right foot in the fall and I fell back on the road. Even the pain
- from my right shoulder was immeasurable. I took my hands to it and saw that I
- was covered in blood.
- I attempted to get up again, but this time I was more careful
- and when I did, I leaped to the car on one foot. It was as if the walking was
- taking forever for me to get there, but I was determined to go meet them.
- When I got to the car, I peeped at the back door, the door
- where Junior had thrown me out from and I saw him lying with his eyes closed.
- His legs are on the seat but his head was daggling downwards. He was not moving
- and blood was dripping from his head.
- “Wake up junior, I am here now nothing happened to me and I
- am not mad at you” I called.
- I shook him vigorously but there was no response from him and
- so I decided to go report to my parents.
- “Mum, you warned Junior just this afternoon, didn’t you? See
- he is playing dead with me after pushing me out of the car. Now tell him that I
- am not ready for his game” I called out to my mum.
- I tried to open her door but it refused. But from the window,
- I could see her staring at me with eyes wide open. I wondered why she was
- looking at me without saying anything, and why some parts of her face appeared
- to be painted in red.
- With a feeling of disappointment, I leaped over to my dad’s side
- and opened the door.
- “Dad” I called as I noticed that he was trying to make out
- some words.
- I was oblivious of what had just happened. I did not realize
- that I have lost them and would not see them again. I never knew that I was
- left all alone to face the world.
- “What happened here, little girl?” I heard a voice ask.
- I turned to see who it was, and I discovered that it was a
- lady dressed in white.
- “My family” I murmured.
- The stranger appeared nice. And she held my hands trying to
- lead me away from my dad but I was reluctant to step even an inch away.