Two, in One Heart

This is a journey upon which I chose not to embark; notwithstanding, the journey had begun. I am suddenly left alone, completely powerless. To my surprise, I find that there is an unfortunate lesson to be learned. My teachers are scavengers. My lesson is the understanding of complete and utter helplessness. I now have insight as to how a small creature must feel when it sees its offspring ravenously stolen from its loving nest by the self-seeking actions of a bird of prey. What can the small creature do in the wild when a hungry predator sets in flight, its next meal? For any loving heart to accept this lesson is a massive undertaking; yet, I find mine still beats. This is the place where my complete misery is in accord with my lifetime of hope. “Leave my little girl alone! Don’t you touch her!” I screamed ferociously as if my voice alone should separate my three-year-old daughter from her hideous abductors. Tragically, that was not the case. All I could do was watch her petrified green eyes get snatched away from mine. “She’s so innocent, leave her alone!” There was a time in my life that I had the ability to protect what was most important to me. I was once physically endowed; albeit, for a very short time. I had the strength of a race horse and I was as cunning as its jockey. As it happens, that strength had been taken from me. I was, however, rendered one final defense. I had the ability to plead vulnerably and dreadfully as if my voice alone should save her. Biblical scripture crept into mind as I pleaded with God and Isaiah to bestow upon me the power that was given to Jesse: “He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.” One in great desperation will often pray for supernatural intervention to rectify any injustice with which one is confronted. That was my hope but not my miserable reality. My words were impotent. My words were in vain. Again, I heard her frantic, outstretched screams, “Daddy, daddy, come get me, daddy!” She looked at me beseechingly as if I had forsaken her. As the two hideous monsters forcefully pulled her tiny body into their old, dented, black car, I noticed that they ripped from her neck, her crystal necklace. It was the necklace she proudly purchased two days ago with her own money. It fell to the ground in three pieces. This was symbolic because like her beautiful necklace, the three members of my beautiful family were also ripped apart by those same monsters. Her voice was not only dainty but also terrified as she called for me one last time. “Daddy!” She sounded even more shaken. I was once naive to the evil in the world, however, I have recently become aware of its ubiquitous nature for it is this world that is an Augean stable. Indeed, evil has and always had a distinct imprint upon this unfeeling earth. It is this pernicious imprint that is the source that causes change in man; none are more nefarious than those who relish in that change. Once upon a time it was I who was amicable; it was I who viewed life through the lens of a decent man. I once believed that man had the ability to create a wave in the ocean with the toss of a simple pebble; I lived a life of promise and hope. I was once a man of principle. Those days are long gone. Yes, there was a time when I was exposed to only light; but now it is, above all, darkness that shadows my every step, for now I see life through the lens of a dishearten man. But Gabriella had been my one glimmer of optimism. It is she who has been my refulgence within this gloomy state of mind in which I found myself these three years past. Undeniably, Gabriella was my bright, full moon that illuminates a cold, winter’s evening. It was the moment of my daughter’s abduction that I became aware that I shall be happy, no more. I felt a sharp pain to the back of my head, and then, darkness!