Bits of life

F-24 Words-675

to our place with our hearts rather heavy with some kind of grief, grief that someone in the family tried to cheat and betray an older member of the family.
The incident at the bank was reported in the evening gazette. It was made out to be more sensational than it actually was. Of course, it cannot be denied that what happened at the bank that morning was quite dramatic and out of the ordinary. People did not get to see the way the thieves were nabbed and put behind bars, every other day. But media played big role in conveying news such as this with exaggeration. Now it would spread to far off regions and people would be put on the alert.

Uncle Rod and his wife came rushing to our house after they heard it through uncle Jeremiah.
Rod looked sad and serious. He never expected his son would entangle himself in something as infamous as a bank robbery. What he did amounted to it and nothing less.

“John, I am sorry this had happened with you. You know how Oliver is. He is not capable of something as heinous as this. How he came to be in this mess is as mysterious to me as it is to you all,” Rod uttered.
Uncle John remained silent.

I could see his wife in tears as my mother tried to console her. I realize how difficult it would be to parents when their children turn to bad ways and find themselves in dire straits. Often, people would blame it on fate. It might be an easy way out. But that’s not all. What about a man’s mind and will? We cannot ignore hard realities.

We went to meet Oliver and Jake in the central prison where they were to wait till the trial began.
We parked our car and neared the jail house. The warder at the entrance checked our identity and had let us in. We were taken to a cell which appeared to measure 9x9 square feet. Oliver and Jake were sitting on the floor looking vacantly out through the bars of the cell. On seeing us, they got up and started crying. It was eerie to see them in such a sorry state. Oliver was five years younger to me. That made him twenty. He had everything in life he ever wanted. He went to a private school unlike me. He was lucky enough to go to the best college in our state and his education was of high caliber. He being the only child was pampered and was given things that he wanted. Why did he do it? That was question that played on all of us.

“Uncle John, please forgive me. I didn’t do it for my sake. It was for Jake,” sobbed Oliver.
“A sin is still a sin even though you did it for someone else, son,” replied uncle John.
He appeared as though he was not moved by Oliver’s tears.

Oliver started his story of how and why he and Jake plotted to manipulate and loot uncle John’s money as reported by him.

“After I graduated, I opted to get into my father’s business. My dad was happy that his son would now assist him and take over the reins one day. That was my initial idea too. I threw myself into work with enthusiasm. I worked late into the nights and used to keep dad’s paper work up-to-date, besides supervising and assisting at the building sites. Dad used to pay me the salary he would pay to anyone in my place. Within three months I mastered almost all departments in the business of construction. I was absolutely happy at the way my luck had turned and at the offer of a good job at my dad’s own company. Perhaps I started becoming a little complacent and smug. My friends’ circle grew and the parties were becoming more frequent. I remember we had started partying during day time as well and on any day we wanted.