Angel (part 2)

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Angel (part 2)


2.

He ran down the stairs of the train station, walked briskly across the hall, through the turnstiles, and out of the station. The night crowd was still thick. There were the families going home, the hungry diners at the delis and McDonalds, the all-night revelers going to the nightspots in the city.

When he found a coin-phone at a shop, he fumbled in his pockets for the last few coins that were his entire fortune. He called home and almost immediately, his wife picked up the phone. She sounded relieved. “Oh, we were so worried about you, are you coming home soon?”
“I love you, honey”, he said. He had wanted to say that from the time he came out of the station. There was a short pause and he thought he heard her sobbed,
“I love you too,” she said, and added “I bought some food from the KFC. It’s not much, but I thought on the night before Christmas, we will have something better…”
He was trying hard to fight back his tears.
“I will be back soon,” he said. “Tell Ah Girl daddy loves her too.”
“I will. And another thing, a HR person from the logistics company that you apply for a job called this evening. He said they would like to talk to you again, two days after Christmas.”

The night was cool. December nights in the tropics usually are. A breeze was blowing, and he thought he heard carols drifting with the wind. Overhead, the sky was a canvas of navy blue, strips of cirrus clouds floating like wisps of candy floss. The street lights shone like welcome beacons, casting warm glows on the crowds hurrying under them. From where he was, it would be another few minutes to reach his home, if he walked briskly. Trying to fight back his tears, he told his wife that he would be back home soon.

He hurried along the corridor of his apartment block, hoping to reach home as soon as possible. His daughter was already at the gate, waiting for him. He squatted down and hugged her, something he had not done for some time. His wife, beaming, walked across the tiny hall to greet him. Behind her, on the dining table, was a red and white paper box. No turkey, no ham, and the fried chicken were getting cold, but he knew that it will be the most delicious chicken he will eat in his life.

As he prepared to walk into his house, he turned his head to take a brief look at the sky. A tiny point of light sparkled, and seemed to wink at him. He smiled, his tears of joy now flowing freely. He knew somewhere up there, there was a little girl who had watched over him.


15.12.06

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End