The long night

It was the first day of the month and I was very happy to get my salary as I was returning home. I used to work in a small factory so my salary was not much but it was quite enough for me and my daughter Lucy who lived happily and peacefully in our small home. It was past Ten so the alley near my house was very quiet and there was not a single soul to be found anywhere. I reached the front door of my house and rang the bell but there was no response. It was weird but I again rang the bell and waited for a while but again there was no response. I knew I was late but it wasn't that late for my daughter to go to bed. So I shouted her name "Lucy" two to three times but there was only silence. Now, I started fretting and ran towards the window to take a peek inside the house.

But as I reached towards the window I was surprised to see that the window was shattered and the small pieces of glass were lying outside. I ran towards it and took a quick look inside the house but it was dark so I wasn't able to see anything. I again rushed to the front door and tried to open it many times but it was all for nought. The gushing of the wind and deep silence scared me and negative thoughts were all I could think of at that time. I was worried about my daughter so I started looking for something to break the door. After some search, I found a metal rod lying in a corner. I picked it up and started hitting on the handle of the door. I hit it many times and kicked it as well It took some time to get loose and one final strike separated the handle from the door. I threw the rod and hurried into the house and started searching for my daughter.

I again shouted her name but the result was the same as before. During my search when I entered the living room it was dark so I switched on the lights and saw the most unexpected thing. My daughter was tied in one corner of the room and her mouth was also tied with a piece of cloth. I was shocked to see my daughter in that condition and tried to go near her. As I was moving someone grabbed my left hand tightly and put a piece of metal on my neck. The cold feeling of that piece of metal put chills down my spine. I knew that it was a gun and when I tried to look back a deep low voice murmured in my ear"Sush! Don't move or I will shoot you". After hearing those words I was terrified and didn't try to look back.

He pushed me towards my daughter and told me to sit near her quietly. I slowly walked towards her and sat near her as I was instructed. He had a pale face and he must be in his mid-30s wearing a leather jacket. He slowly approached us with his gun and searched me. He took my watch, purse and my salary and tied me also with a rope which he already had in his big black bag. He had already taken other valuable things into his bag and was ready to go. He put a piece of tape on my mouth and said" I am going. Don't try anything or you will be dead meat". After uttering those words he went out of the room. We could hear his footsteps going far away from us. When we were sure that he had gone so we tried to untie us. After some struggle, we have almost untied us then suddenly we heard quick footsteps approaching near us. That noise grabbed our attention and in a few seconds, a man entered the room it was the gunman.

Both I and my daughter were shocked to saw him back and was wondering why he came back. He quickly turned off the lights and told us not to make any move or he would shoot us. We were still confused when we heard a voice echoing in the valley it was the police car's siren. The police were patrolling the area. So the gunman wasn't able to escape and was forced to come back here. As the police car was passing near the house he was watching them from the window. I tried to make some noise but he threatened me with the gun and my small resistance was futile. When the police car was gone he cautiously looked outside the window and took a deep breath. He sat down there quietly. As he was sitting there my daughter who was tied behind me again started to unite us. The gunman was looking at us tine to time so we would not make a move. I just wanted him to leave the house as soon as possible but he was just sitting there. My daughter was still trying to untie us. The clock was ticking slowly as time passed. The gunman was still sitting and my daughter was still trying to untie us cautiously so that gunman would not notice. It was nerve-wracking and my heart was pumping as fast as a car engine.

He was still watching outside and in the meantime, my daughter was able to untie us. As the rope fell I felt relieved and started walking slowly towards him. But he heard my footsteps and turned briskly with the gun pointing at me. I thought it was the end for me suddenly again there was a police siren and he turned back to take a glance and I knew that was my chance so I threw a hard punch on his face and he accidentally dropped his gun but the punch didn't affect him much and he was in his sense again. I tried to catch him but instead, he took me down as he knew some fighting technique. He was over me and started choking my neck with his hands.

I struggled and tried to move him away and my daughter hit him in his head with a lamp which took him down quickly. I pushed him off over me and with the help of my daughter we tied him tightly and called the cops. In a short, the police officers were here and handcuffed him and took him to the police station. So we were able to save our belongings and my salary.