An Ill-Fated Encounter

On a normal day, inside Delicacy Umbrella, a popular fast food restaurant. The bustling place appears to be a beautiful picture from a healthy distance. But as we zoom in, we find details that are not as pretty as they seemed. Every single person sitting in that restaurant has a story behind being there at that particular time. Like zooming in on a photo to see its ugly details, we are going to find out about the life of Bob and Collin, a father and son who look as if they are just some other customers having family time.

Collin, a 9-year-old with teeth yet to grow completely, was having a burger in a rather messy way to end up leaving a stain made of ketchup on his t-shirt. Bob, his father had his gaze stuck on Collin adorably eating the burger. He looked content watching that sight, even with a stomach empty since a time that was enough to have him starving by now. Colin swallowed a bit intensely like he had something to say.

"Dad, are those men still coming for you? Then I will better hurry up and finish it," Little Collin read the vigilance on his father's face.

"Not at all! No one is coming, Collin can take his time."

Collin began to take bigger bites out of the burger. Bob was on alert, checking his surroundings every now and then. As soon as Collin gulped in the last drop of cola, the father and son duo left the place. They were on their way down a street. Bob had Collin's tiny hand holding in his giant one. Their arms made a crooked V from both the ends.

"Are we going to mom's together, or is it just me?" Collin interrogated.

"Nah! Dad is just gonna drop you there. Your mom said she is missing Collin, not dad."

"But you said that she has a new family now and that she doesn't love me anymore."

"What did I say about not listening to daddy when I am drinking from the brown-colored bottle?"

"You never lie when you drink that." Collin was hard to convince otherwise, because he was aware of everything happening around him.

Collin's parents were divorced and his mother had remarried. Bob had once felt lucky to have his custody but at that moment, with all the danger that was lurking around, it was something that he regretted the most. And he was on his way to willingly take Collin to his mother.

"Will you never come to take me back?" he asked, lassoing him in place.

The constant movement of Bob's feet halted at the question. He put on a fake smile and proceeded, "of course not!" he denied firmly. "In fact, I am afraid that you wouldn't let me take you if your mom manages to sweet talk you into living with her forever; she is a clever woman."

"I am not a child anymore." Collin shook his hand and freed it from Bob's grasp. He went on to walk further on his own.

Bob was crestfallen to see him all grumpy, and he followed him from a distance. Meanwhile, Collin walked ahead like a stranger.

"Always treats me like a child, as if he is some adult himself," Collin muttered to himself. "Why get yourself in trouble in the first place?" He was whining, and suddenly kicked a pebble lying on the street to show his frustration.

A sudden breeze of air went past. The sun was greeting a goodbye for the day. Collin kept walking without even looking behind for once, until it felt too quiet to him. He turned back to catch a brief glance and found that Bob had disappeared. He tried to find him taking a few steps in the opposite direction. He looked for him, with a surety that was he around somewhere. What he didn't expect was to see a crowd of people surrounding something that had attracted them, making their own plans of no matter.

Making his way through the crowd, Collin found his dad lying on the ground; he was stabbed in the abdomen. Collin, crying loudly, silenced the whispers of people surrounding. The nine-year-old knew nothing better than that and he cried his heart aloud, shaking the motionless body of Bob. He trusted those passerbys to do the next right thing. A fairy tale world and reality cannot coexist, this reality check came complementary.

"Did anyone call 911 yet?" A random voice from the crowd asked.

"The guy was stabbed, and I think we all know who may have done it. Does anyone here want to save him, meddling in their work has never brought any good to people."

Everyone, including Collin were aware of the cause and the reason of this incident. But those who shivered at the name of the one behind it, didn't dare coming ahead to save his life.

"Is that his son? My god! Poor little child. He looks the age of my Ursula." A middle-aged lady covering her face with a handkerchief, even avoiding the air around the blood-bathed man, pitied the boy.

Collin was not listening to any of that, he was expressing his emotions just the way he could. Those who he believed were adults, turned out to be less of humans.

However, not all people become less humane as they grow up. "You don't have time or guts to get involved in the investigation, but you sure got time to spare watching him die... Brilliant!" George came forward. "Well, no need to bother, just help me get him in my car if you are grateful for not being in his place."

The man was in his thirties and just as an adult should, he understood the plea that the crying child was making loud and clear but something that none was able to comprehend. People came forward and they carried Bob to George's car that was parked around the corner of a street. Collin followed him, leaving his footprints in red with the little shoes that had their soles soaked in blood. He went on to sit in the backseat of the car, where tall Bob was lying with his legs folded to fit in. George saw the little Collin and stopped him.

"Hey, little boy, wipe your tears first. I can have my car seat stained with blood but tears… No," George said. "Your daddy will be alright. Trust me with that. "

Collin sniffed in his dripping snot, wiped off his tears, and nodded adorably looking at him. George opened the door to the seat beside the driver's and asked him to get in. Collin saw Oriel, a beautiful girl child, just about his age already sitting there with a blindfold on her eyes.

"Get in fast, you can fit perfectly with her," George instructed Collin. "Oriel, keep that blind fold on, alright?" he told his daughter. The child looked pampered and protected from any kind of darkness.

Collin got in the car and they were on their way to the hospital. Collin's eyes began to go wet again as he looked at the reflection of his father in the rear-view mirror. Oriel and Collin, somehow managing to share one seat were frequently having their arms collided with each other.

"Daddy, Is somebody here sitting beside me?" Oriel inquired.

"Yes darling, he is a really handsome boy."

"Can I take a look at him?" her hand reached for the blindfold, on the verge of pulling it off.

"No! you can't... Oriel. I am repeating. Keep that on!" George was trying to keep her from seeing the blood and suffering of the man in their car.

Suddenly, a collision happened from the rear which made Bob to drop down from the seat. Before George could know what just had happened, another hit came and crystallized the fact that someone was intentionally doing this. Frightened Oriel held on to Collin's arm. George sped up and changed the lane. But a rampant SUV came right behind them.

"The son of a bitch is trying to kill us!"

"Daddy,"

The area was sparsely populated and the road they were going down in the dark, was completely isolated. There was no turn that he could take to elope from it, before he smashed in again.

"Listen to what I am saying." George asked for their attentions in the moment of intense fright. "You little boy, I am entrusting you with my daughter just like you are doing me with your father. "

"What do you mean?" Collin could make nothing out of his words.

Right after a collision, when another was on its way, George opened the door of their side and pushed Oriel and Collin out of the car. They fell rolling over the empty road, getting scratches and cuts all over. The car went scampering past to them and followed it the rampant SUV. Oriel removed her blindfold and looked at Collin, a face that she saw at the moment she had lost everything.

The moment was a desperate one and both of them were hurt, but that was all the two little ones were left with.