The King Stands

It was the first time he ever slouched. Sweat drops kept pouring down the face, but he was not aware. When they irritated his eyes, he let out the tears. "God, please take this back.. '' he kept murmuring behind. The image of the blood-drenched driveway kept flashing in his mind.

Earlier, he rose in his office like most days. A regular thing, even though Badra nagged a lot. ‘A trade off for everything the job has gifted’ in his own words. Otherwise, ending up in the streets like old friends from the ‘children’s home’ would have been the only option.The career as a policeman owes to the tough upbringing. Ruthless in the job, goons feared the attitude to their bones. They named him Choodan. No rogue was spared, the whole circle had to go clean. Once during his early days, there was a plot to finish him off. They rigged the subordinates and made sure he will be alone during the routine night patrol. That night, he was surrounded by a gang at the market. One of them stepped forward and swiftly slashed him down with a sword before he could reach for the gun. He was left to die there, hoping someone will find his dead body on the coming day. There was no trace of him for many days and no one bothered to give a second thought. Precisely after four months, the one who slashed him down was found to be killed and hung upside down from a lamp post at the same place. A note was also there in the corpse that said ‘Love, Choodan’. The goons were further terrified to know that Choodan has just assumed charge on the very morning. He started hunting down each one of them. Rest of them feared what Choodan was capable of and turned into allies. Top members of the system also became his good friends. He turned down their ‘rewards’ fearing commitments. Anyway, the fear became true soon enough when his hunger for power took over. During the hectic years, family was his only getaway. They helped surviving all the tolls taken for being corrupted. 

Nyla, his little princess meant the world. The ruffian played with her like a younger brother. Unfortunately, things started to get worse as many more approached in the office to get done with their dirty jobs. He was dying inside. And it was frequently taken out on Badra. Badra was well-educated. She used to run her late father' s textile business. But after their marriage, he insisted that she should be staying at home like an 'ideal' woman. Her brother tried to manage the company for some years. Later, he sold it without her knowledge. This crushed Badra and since then she has grown depressed. Her husband’ s rage issues and the new alcoholism made it escalate. She even stopped taking care of Nyla properly.

He received his cut from the deal with a loan shark that day for covering up for an accident caused by the loan shark' s son. To return the favour, a private booze party was also thrown for the officers. He courteously ignored the mobile phone that kept ringing while boasting before others with a glass of liquor in his hand. The party was over just before he was about to black out. All drunk and cranky, he somehow made it to the car and checked his phone. There were seven missed calls from Badra. He called back and on the other end of the phone, it was Nyla weeping and yelling, 'Amma slipped and fell in the bathroom…. she can' t get up… there' s blood… please get here fast.. please help Amma'. 

Devastated, he jumped into the car and rushed to Badra. He couldn't control the vehicle or the see the road properly. The car was rammed through the fence of his house. He got out and ran even before it stopped. The door of the house was open. Blood was dripping on the steps of the bathroom. He saw Badra lying on the floor, her face lifeless. He sat down beside her and rested her head on his lap. The back of her head was fatally injured. He gently called her name and tried to wake her up. She showed no response. He realised that he had lost her. Her eyes were wide open as if she had endured pain for quite some time before she passed. That is when he was reminded of Nyla. How will Nyla cope with this?

Nyla was seen nowhere while entering the house. Worried, he got up and looked for her inside the house. He called her name out loud, but there was no answer. She must have panicked and ran outside for help, he thought. Hoping to find her, he came outside. There was a stain of blood in the car' s left front tyre that trailed to the back. The whole driveway was covered in blood. As he came near the car, he discovered the tiny foot of Nyla jutting out from below the car. He pulled her outside. She was also so still, like how her mom rested in his lap a few moments ago. 

When he accelerated his way through the fence, Nyla was standing at the driveway, waiting for her dad. He ran over her with the car and didn' t even realise in his maniacal condition. Nyla' s neck had been almost severed. There was nothing to be done anymore. 

'My wife and daughter has been killed. Please come as soon as you can.' he said in an impassive tone after dialing to his station. They showed up immediately. When the crime scene was examined, one of them tried to help him get up. He said 'No, I can stand up on my own.'