Together

An Old Bachelor

Jack

" You are indeed a fighter,"I said to Mark, who was lying in the hospital. " Unfortunately, you know everything about my illegal dealings. You will have to go because your absence alone can guarantee your silence. Mark, who must have heard every word of mine, was unable to move. I looked at the machines which indicated a stable heart beat and pulse. He had turned twenty-six a few days ago, and it was indeed sad that he would not see his twenty-seventh birthday.

I shook my head and removed his mask, cutting off the oxygen supply.

"Farewell mate.........." I said before I left. With Mark out of the picture, I looked forward to a new beginning.

********

" Teacher Jack, you are so good at art. Why don't you try your luck to develop further? "

" I have yet to find inspiration. You find it funny," I said to the first student of mine.

" The art world.......it is not easy. Apart from talent, you need much more........ You have to...... "

" Teacher Jack, I believe in you. I am sure that you will make it big some day. As for inspiration, you are inspiring, your work is inspiring......... "

" Well...........you flatter me, Celia, but I cannot ignore that my studio has only one student. You promised more, didn't you? At least make some effort to ensure that your teacher does not remain hungry. "

" College has just begun, teacher Jack, and I am.......... "

" Celia..... I was joking. Come, I will take you to my special room with the most special paintings. If you want, you can be my next muse. "

" I would love to, Teacher Jack. "

" There, you are smiling again. Your smile makes you more beautiful. But first do come and see. Don't be in a hurry to commit. "

As the eighteen-year-old girl, shunned by many due to her obesity, followed me, I knew that I had her in control. She belonged to a broken family and could do anything to prove her worth. She was the ideal candidate who could be trained to take on a few roles that Nia had executed well. I intended to make her the new female leader of my gang and for that I would train her well.

Robert

" So let's get this very clear.........that offender, Mark, is not out of danger yet. "

" No Robert............"

" Joseph, I think he was stable....he was..... "

" Someone tried to take his life at the hospital. And the police have informed us that the cameras on that floor had mysteriously stopped working that night. They like us suspect his boss had a hand in it. "

" And our client........ "

" The police have sent her to a secure place. She has already given her statements and wants Mark to serve in prison. He married her and later sold her. "

" We should add our own security layer in the hospital as well as around the client. Let the word about Mark's death be spread far and wide. "

" Hmm.....'"

As Joseph got down to work, I could not shake off the injured face of my client when I had first met her at the police station. She could not afford a lawyer and I chose to help her because she reminded me of my mother who was also a victim of abuse when I was five years old. In my profession, I knew that women were not saints. At the same time, men who abused their wives could not be forgiven either.

Each day as a lawyer made me wonder where our morals had disappeared and whether humanity sounded good in motivational speeches only. When a mail notification informed me of another case I had won as a divorce lawyer, I looked at the word 'marriage' I had subconsciously scribbled on a paper in front of me. The skeptic in me was winning each day and while I knew that there was a girl I loved, I was unsure that I would ever have the courage to take vows with her. In all probability, I was on the path of becoming an old bachelor.