THE POISONOUS MUFFLE

It was a normal Sunday night. My dad invited his boss for a "professional" meeting date on the dinning table of our mansion. He seemed to be very happy and excited about the meeting. I always saw such a beam on his face only when he had such meetings and visits with his boss. He decided what to wear and what the menu will be for the dinner. He took care that evry dish being cooked will be miss Yohana's favourite.

A day before, on the Saturday evening he asked me to join them, As his only daughter and alive family member so far, he wanted to introduce me to his wonderful boss. I wasn't interested and I had already planned the sunday dinner with my friends as Sunday is the most relaxing day of the week and you would love to spend it with the ones who comfort you. Attending their business meet would be boring as hell for a lively teenager like me.

"Am sorry dad, I am busy with my own plans for this weekend" I said.

"Oh wow! I mean okay, have fun with your friends" he replied.

I knew the reason of his excitement and also the reason why he feigned to be okay.

"If you would've informed me earlier about this, I could've changed my schedule for you" i assured politely.

He said, "no worries, it's just a business discussion, you will be exhausted for sure"

After giving a deep thought about it and talking to my friends, asking them to postpone the dinner plan that night, the next morning I approached dad.

He wished, "good morning!" More cheerfully, eagerly waiting for the sun to set and the dinner date to take place.

I wished him back and said, "dad, my friends cancelled the plan. I am free today and ready to join you and your boss tonight for the dinner"

As per my idea, dad turned unhappy yet he pretended to be okay and said, "why not!"

I continued, "I had to ask her about some internships, I hope her knowledge will be useful"

"Of course! Miss yohana is damn intelligent and beautiful, a perfect personality I ever saw"

I nodded. Trying to give a good reply to her appreciations.

"I am sure she will impress you" he said.

After waiting for a. Whole afternoon, his boss, Miss Yohana visited us for the dinner. she had a confident body carriage and fair look with blond hai and beautiful eyes. Her beauty was quite impressive, as dad said. In her first impression she showed that she was An independent women who handled a well versed company. Her way of talking and overall personality was up to mark but I wasn't getting a good vibe from her, she seemed more mysterious and cunning to me, which was exactly opposite to her outer self. She greeted me with her bold, politer voice, "Maria! Good eve"

I greeted her back. Of course she knew me. But I just heard about her. she brought some sweet, expensive choclate muffles for us. Dad went gaga over her silver sleevless dress, he kept admiring her beauty and her outfit. I definitely felt awkward about it, dad wasn't supposed to flirt with her boss, especially after knowing the truth that his wife was dead. while enjoying the bread and turkey, we had a long discussion about dad's personal life, my educational life and so on. I took some important information about business internship, she assured me to help me built my career and looked up to me as her daughter but they didn't utter a word about their business. Dad kept asking about her family, she kept doing the same. This conversation was more irritating than the business one

After a heavy dinner we were served with our desert, which was the yummy caramel pudding. Miss Yohana and dad gulped the pudding. Dad was a sweet tooth, he asked our maid, Leena to serve the muffles in a plate and bring it to them. I wondered if he was still hungry. No sooner did Dad took a bite of a muffle, A spoon of the caramel pudding fell on my black dress and I excused them, heading towards the washroom.

After cleaning my dress I came back to the dinner and found my dad's head lying dead on the table and his mouth was frothing heavily. Miss yohana was baffled and scared. She was trying to wake my dad up.

I turned to her with my suspicious and scary eyes, "why did you do this to dad! What did you adulterate your muffles with!" I yelled out of fear.

She was too scared, "I don't know what just happened" she fumbled.

I went near my dad and checked his pulse hoping that he was alive but my misfortune already besieged me. My dad was only a pale, cold, dead body.

I glanced at miss Yohana and called the police immediately, they arrived within no time and arrested miss yohana after listening to me and my maid's statements

I shed lots of crocodile tears on the shoulder of Leena, who consoled me.

"Good job" I whispered to her happily.

"Justice is everyone's right, Maria" she assured me.

Yes! I killed my own dad, who killed his wife, my mother a year ago since he was caught red handed in an extra marital affair with his boss miss yohana. I was searching for the right time and the Sunday dinner became that opportunity when Leena served the 'poisonous muffle' to my dad indeed my mom received justice. 

What is revenge? Is it really important and ethical to be vindictive at times? According to me it's a yes. When someone has committed a bad deed, he/she should get back what he/she sowed. 'everything is fair in love and war' revenge too! Maria was a strong girl, who lived in suffocation with her father after her mother's death knowing that his father and his boss murdered her and made their crime look like and accident and that night, she freed herself from it.

-Suha Mutwalli