IV

DELILAH

Sitting on the stairs outside the church, I take a deep breath. There is no one here near me. There is a main road away from the church, due to which there is not much noise here. There are also many trees around the church, due to which there is a lot of coolness here. There are also trees on the side of the stairs, due to which there is a shadow on my head. I am glad that I did not need to roast under the sun in this rotting heat. 

After running for a long time, I found a better place where I would be able to keep myself safe for a while. 

I can't thank the Lord more for the refuge this city church has given me. I am blessed to be here outside the Lord's temple right now. I am not completely alone. 

I sigh and pull the mobile out of my jeans pocket. I dial dad and he picks up the call on the first ring. 

"Delilah, how are you?" He asks as soon as I put the screen near my ear. 

"I'm safe, dad. For now," I whisper the last two words, looking down. Another sigh escapes my lips and I feel tired. 

"Good." He also sighs over the call. "I've talked to my friend and he said—"

"We can discuss it later, dad. Now, I want to know what you've done to them so that they're after you. Dad, you know, they said you've deceived them, that's why they want to know your location and I don't know next!" I almost yell due to frustration and the next, I sigh heavily, asking, "I'd that true? Did you really—"

"I'm sorry, Del, you have gone through it, though it's all my fault," he cuts off me, admitting he deceived those gangsters. They were not lying. 

"Dad… why did you do that?" I am more than worried now. We are a normal family, wanting everything normal and these gangsters are not normal at all. 

"They're dangerous, you know?!" My eyes widen as I yell over the call. I wish he was right in front of me so I could scold him in a better way. "They had guns! They pointed that gun at me, dad! They looked murderous! What would you do about that?!" 

I hear him sighing over the call while I reach to caress my temple. 

"I didn't know they'd come to the address —"

"God! Dad, please! The thing is why did you do that? I don't think they were normal citizens. They even refused to tell me about their identities."

"They did?" 

"Yes, they did! Now care to tell me, who are they, and what's wrong you did to them? And how are you going to solve this mess?" 

"Um…" 

"Dad!" I cannot believe it. "You need to be serious!" 

"I'm sorry, Del. You know my problem," he says apologetically and I nod, though he cannot look at me. 

"Del, as I said, I contacted my friend there. He'll be there at any moment to take you to his place. You'll be safe there and you have to stay there until I get back, okay?" 

"And my studies?" This is the first thing I care about the most. After dad, of course. 

"You can't go out, Del. They'll be chasing you everywhere. And I request, give you mobile to—"

"Oh no, dad, wait!" I whisper and quickly get up as I spot a car that is a few meters away from me. I gulp hard, thinking if the car belongs to Mad, Carlos, or Morris — that was his name, right? 

"Del, is everything okay?" I hear my dad asking through the call. 

"There's a car, dad. What if it's those gangsters?" I start taking steps back, ready to run for my life. 

"Maybe it's my friend, Del. I saw his message. He said he has traced your location!" This is… creepy. "You can check," he adds and I decide to do it. 

Clutching the mobile near my chest, I take slow steps ahead, reaching for the road laid in front of me, which leads to the main road of the city. I take a deep breath when the car reaches me and I can feel the loud thump of my heart against my chest. 

What if… just a 'what if' has to control my fear. I just wish it was my father's friend. 

The expensive-looking black car stops and the door opens. I keep my legs steady in order to run away if I spot one of those gangsters coming out of the car but no. 

I exhale in relief when I see a handsome — dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, tall guy leaving the car. He does not look like a threat at all. He looks like a casual, easy-going guy. He even passes me a small smile of assurance when he catches me involuntarily taking a step back. 

"Hi, I'm Waqas Salazar, the son of your father's friend. And you're Delilah, right?" He asks with that smile not leaving his lips and extending his hand. 

I slightly nod, mumbling, "Hi," while accepting his hand. Surprisingly, I find his hand warm which comforts me as my hand is cold. Probably because of running sweat through them. 

He chuckles. "You don't have to be afraid, okay? You're safe now," he tries to reassure me. 

I stare at him blankly, nodding my head. I quickly reach my mobile as the call is still ongoing. I press the screen firmly against my ear and ask, "Dad, your friend is Salazar?" 

"Yes, Del. He's the one. You can go with him." It is like he has heard what Waqas said to me. 

"Okay, dad." I cut the line and gave him a nod of agreement. All the time, he is looking at me, amused. I blame those gangsters if I am looking funny. They made me run aimlessly and I bet I would be looking like a mess. 

"Come." He moves to his car, opening the passenger seat door for me. I slide inside, keeping the mobile in my lap. He follows the other side and gets inside.