Chapter 2 - The Reason
One day Todd was out jogging at three a.m. like he always does. It
was still very dark out and he couldn't see the ground very well. Suddenly, up
ahead, he saw
an accident or something. There were red and blue lights flashing. An ambulance
and a police
car for sure. When he got close enough, he could see what it was. There were several
police
cars and an ambulance. But there weren't any smashed cars. So he jogged a little
closer. Then
he saw the woman sitting on the ground crying. In her arms she held a little boy.
He must have
been around five years old.
The woman was mumbling incoherently
between sobs. Todd figured if he could get a little closer, he might be able to make out what
she was saying. His jog turned into a slow walk so he wouldn't startle or anger the cops. He
inched closer, then he could hear her. "Why did he have to kill my baby? Why? I gave him
my money and he just laughed. Then he hit my baby, why my baby?"
Todd
never saw tears fall like that before. It was just like a faucet. They were gushing down her
cheeks. He took another step closer and then he saw the blood. It was all over her. On her
face, her hands and her shirt was completely drenched with blood. It was all around her on
the road. She sat in a virtual puddle. The blood didn't seem to matter to her, she just had
to hold that boy in her arms. She kept on saying "why me? Why him? Why? Why did it have
to be my baby?" And she just sat there, in all that blood, holding him tightly.
Todd took another step closer and then he saw the boy. His head was split wide open. It looked
as if he was struck on top of his head with an axe. The gash was big enough to put your whole
hand in. Todd cringed. He felt the urge to puke, but he somehow held a straight face. He didn't
want to attract any attention.
Just then a police officer said "alright
ma'am, let the paramedics take the boy now, we have to clean up this mess."
She clutched him even tighter and said "why? He is just a baby, why did he have to hit
my baby? My only son. Why?" She pressed her face against the opening on the boys head
and cried some more. If love could have fixed a wound, it would have worked on that one. The
police officer apparently understood, because he didn't press the issue. He just let her have
her moment of grief. He looked around for something else to do and then he saw Todd.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I was just jogging by
when I saw all this and I just stopped to see what happened." Todd answered.
"Did you happen to see two guys around here?" The officer asked. "One of them
was probably carrying an axe, did you see anything like that? Or maybe a car flying by with
two guys in it?"
Todd thought for a second and said "no. I don't
think so. I didn't even notice a single car since I turned off my street about a mile back."
"Alright then, did you get a good eyeful here?" The cop asked.
"I guess so." Todd shrugged, looking down. He took the hint and walked away. He could
still hear that woman crying as he left. All the way across the street and half way down the
block, he could still hear her. He was still walking. He knew he was supposed to continue jogging,
but his feet just kept walking, unable to pick up where he left off.
Suddenly
Todd was sick to his stomach. He began to weep himself. That poor woman, he thought. How terrible
that must be. And then he threw up. He saw last nights supper again and added more to it. He
wept some more and then he tried to jog. It was only a walk still. He saw a water
outlet on a house and decided to get a drink. He splashed his face a few times and washed off
his tears. Then he drank some, to get that nasty taste out of his mouth. It tasted like a rusty
pipe, but that was still better than the alternative. He drank some more and then he began
to jog again. He was still in a daze, but he was at least moving on.
He wondered
how that poor woman was ever going to pull herself together. Todd had never had any kids of
his own, but he knew what love was. He had lost the love of his life a few years earlier. They
were planning on having a couple of kids one day, when they were financially better off. But
that day never came. Todd would have been a good father too.
He tried to shake
it off. He picked up the pace a little and tried to concentrate on his running. He began to
focus on where he was stepping and where he was going. Anything, except what he just saw.
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