TWEEN WOLF

An hour after midnight, a bright blue Aston Martin DB5 automobile arrived at a roadside facing an old orphanage one late summer in Montreal. From where he sat inside the car, the driver took a quick glance at the orphanage and saw that it was dark without lights. He figured the inhabitants were already fast asleep inside the house and removed his seatbelt to leave the car. He opened the door of the car to leave but the woman sitting beside him gripped his left wrist. At once, he stopped moving and looked at her. Then his eyes fell on the little baby that was resting against her bosom.

“Honey, are you sure you want to go ahead with this?” she asked for the fifth time, hoping he would change his mind about stepping out of the car and peered pitifully at him. She knew what he intended to do and it was clear that she was in doubt if he was about to the right thing. He returned her look with a hard look on his face and looked at the back seat. There he saw another infant baby girl neatly dressed in a cradle which he had left lying on the back seat ever since he started driving from his house.

“I thought we’ve already talked about this.” He answered, smiling and fondled the right side of the wife’s hair.

“I know but—” She replied, trying to persuade him but her voice failed her.

“You know we’ve no other choice.” He replied, knowing that she was still in doubt of what the plan they had come up with to save their two children.

“Can’t we think of another way to keep the babies safe?” she inquired hoping he would rethink his decision.

“I’m sorry but this is the only way they can both survive.” He answered and all hope of getting him to change his mind vanished from her sight.

“It’s painful to let go but I don’t see why you’re bringing this up now.” He explained further and looked straight at her. She drew away from him and he felt bad. She was already at the end of a losing battle and arguing with him any further would make things complicated than they already seem. He knew that she was still upset about him leaving the car with the baby at the back seat even though they both agreed they would do this for reasons best known to them. Before she could stop him any further, he pulled himself through and carried the cradle from the back seat to the front. The baby crackled and he fondled her cheeks with the left side of his thumb but his fun time with the baby did little to impress his wife who didn’t budge at the sight of him playing with the child nor did she show any sign of motherly affection towards her second baby since she already knew it was going to be the last time she sees her.

“Come on, Charlene, we don’t have time to discuss this. We have to catch up with the train before it leaves us behind.” He said but she said looked the other way. Her eyes were already filled with tears and he knew that it was hard for her to let go of her child but he had already made a decision. A decision that is separating both mother and child possibly for the rest of their lives. He got out of the car taking the baby along with him and brought his head down to the car window.

“I’ll come back for her when things have settled down, I promise.” He said to Charlene but she ignored him. He felt bad that she looked away but he left anyway, heading straight to the orphanage with the cradle in his hands. He had not gone far when the storm started rolling in and the wind began brewing harshly. Cloaked in with the darkness, He hastened his footsteps on the walkway that led to the door of the orphanage building as he felt the violent wind brushing aside his leather black coat and black trousers. He strolled patiently towards the door to avoid being swept away by the wind which had gotten violent as soon as signs of an intending storm started approaching in the dark clouds above the house.

He arrived at the doorstep of the building and crouched down to drop the cradle with the baby inside on the small porch. Then he climbed the staircase to find the doorbell. He rang the doorbell twice as soon he found it and ran back the way he had come to the car to avoid the heavy downpour of raindrops that followed as soon as it started raining. Charlene watched him as he tried his best to avoid being drenched by the rain from where she sat in the front seat of the car. He got to the car and entered inside almost immediately as the rain intensified its falling on the earth from the stormy unsettling clouds above them. He stole a glance at Charlene and saw that she still wore the same expression she had when he left her. He ignored her and started the car engine before driving out of the vicinity.

As he drove the car to the next street, he checked his wristwatch to ensure that he had lost track of time for them to catch on with the train they intend on boarding to the next city. Despite the hard strokes of rain that kept hitting the windscreen of his car, he kept driving at a constant speed through the empty dark streets thanks to the help of the wiper blades that kept making it easier for him to see the road. His mind retraced back to what had forced him to make such an awful decision of abandoning his child at the orphanage was something dreadful he could hardly forgive himself for. He knew he had lied to Charlene that he was coming back for their daughter and he hated himself for it but he had no choice. He would do anything to keep his family from being hunted down by those whom he called his frenemies and believe it was the right choice taking Charlene with him out of the city. Taking his other daughter would have added to his burden of leaving the city discreetly and it would have impeded their chances of ever surviving from the ongoing war between his own kind and mutineers of his own making.