A Coin

It was one of the darkest alleys of the suburb, littered with overflowing garbage cans. He sat there with his back against a wall. A street lamp, far away, was casting a very dim light on his face, still his face was hardly visible.

Something glistened in his hands, he clutched it, and banged his hand against the floor.

A little boy was standing on the roadside, with a balloon in his left hand, and clutching his grandmother's arm with the other. His grandmother was handing a similar silver coin, making payment for the balloons.

A fair, a lady dressed in elegant clothes paying the man at the booth with a silver coin, to buy a ticket for a little boy standing next to her.

A bicycle shop, a dapper man paying the mechanic a silver coin, while nearby a little boy merrily rides a bicycle in small circles.

He clenches his fist so tight, his nails start digging his flesh, tighter, tighter, he lets go and pockets his coin.

A very beautiful afternoon, a car driving on a beautiful country road slowly approaches the bridge, after a few seconds, screeching sound of the tyres, a giant splash!

He bangs his head against the wall, his head feels numb and he looks relieved. Within seconds, the numbness starts to disappear, images start flashing in front of his eyes, he bangs again and the numbness returns.

He gets up and starts walking, the images at the back of his mind waiting to haunt him and he is aware of it. He starts running, cars, bikes, trucks, he wishes, wishes strongly that all the noise, all the commotion should occupy his mind, but his mind still wanders along the road, near the river. He clenches his fist again, a drop of blood trickles down, he loosens it, still no relief. Slowly, steadily he walks back to the alley, tears filled in his eyes.

A boy is choking in the car, struggling to get out, the murky water makes it impossible to see. He starts kicking and hitting the wind shield, but the water softens his blows. He doesnt know how long it took to break the glass, he squeezes his way out, his lungs start filling with water, he hurriedly starts swimming up, he can feel his body going numb. He reaches the surface, gasps for breath, simultaneously looking around, he cannot see anyone, he screams "HELP!!". Takes a deep breath, and dives in the water. He cannot see the car, he keeps moving down, bubbles escaping his mouth, finally he spots the car. He swims faster, feels the broken glass, he tries to open the lock of the gate, but its stuck, he gives it another shot, still stuck, a final pull and the door unlocks, he pulls the door with all his strength, and manages to open it. All his breath has escaped, he swims inside the car, feels a hand at the wheel, he pulls, at the same time his other hand searches the back seat, he feels something, its a shoe, he pulls. Next thing, he remembers is swimming upwards, clenching hands.

He sits in the alley, his face buried in his hands, crying painfully.

A soft bed, a hand stroking his little head gently, his little body curled up, his head resting in her lap, his outstretched hand holding a silver coin, he is crying, but the crying was peaceful.