PROLOGUE

The small girl took hold of her father's little finger, grasping it tightly and tugging it. The father looked down to see the girl splaying her arms wide with bit of a drool escaping her slightly open mouth. An action she often used to indicate that she wanted to be carried in her father’s arms.

The father chuckled and giving a soft smile he picked her up and into his arms. The girl wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her arms around his neck as her father cradled her into his arms. Finally adjusting themselves the duo started walking towards the ice-cream shop.

As they started to cross the road, a terrifying scream pierced the air. The father whipped around to see a man pointing his gun at a woman who was bending down trying to shield her smaller son from the gun, the man demanding something from her.

The father placed his daughter down,

"Stay here, I will be right back" he instructed her with a small smile so as to not scare his daughter. The girl wondered where her father was going, her lips almost quivering and unaware about what her father was going to do.

The father then ran towards the woman and the boy hoping that he could save them, while dialling 911. As he neared them a shot was heard. The father looked up to see the woman lying on the ground with a bullet through her left chest now bleeding profusely. The little boy stood there crying, tears falling rapidly from his sacred and terrified eyes as his small hands tried to wake his mother up, his small hands getting tainted from his mother’s blood. All the while the shooter had the gun pointed at the boy.

The father immediately increased his speed and tackled down the shooter before he could pull the trigger. Their bodies rolled on the footpath, grasping and pushing each other while the little boy ran towards his mother who was lying on the footpath.

Suddenly another shot was heard. The boy turned his head to see and to his horror found more blood oozing out from the two men that had been fighting.

The little girl who had been watching this from afar, now scared and uneasy ran towards the scene.

As she reached, she saw a man removing the limp body of her father that lay over him.

A cry of anguish came out of the girl's mouth. She raced towards her father's body bending down shaking him and continuously chanting " Papa! Wake up!". The man looked upto his daughter and gave a small grin as if trying to comfort his crying and terrified daughter “It’s fine, my love. I am fine”

The shooter stood up, dusting his clothes. He now picked up his gun that lay on the floor and started pointing at the little boy ignoring the crying girl and her dying father.

A malicious grin on his face "It's a pity you have to die so young. Only if your mother had answered my questions" he said without any remorse.

As he again started to pull the trigger of the gun, police sirens were heard.

Someone had informed the police. It seemed that the man at the almost closed ice-cream shop across them had witnessed it and quickly called the police.

The shooter cursed and quickly stuffing the gun, he gave one last look to the crying boy and ran away from the scene leaving both the children crying and heartbroken at the loss of their parents.