Berceuse for The Suffering (Complete)

9. {Broken Man}

Two decades ago.

As Martin sat in the cold and sterile halls of the police station staring at Lyli, his mind drifted to the night before. Had he dreamt it all? He wondered. Then his eyes scanned the telephone sitting at a desk near them. Should he call his wife and confirm it?He argued mentally. Just then a shadowy figure suddenly emerged from the shadows. The officer, with a commanding presence, drew nearer to Martin, locking eyes with him.

Upon reaching them, the officer's voice boomed like thunder, causing the air to vibrate with an ominous tone. The words that escaped the officer's lips sounded as sharp as a blade, cutting through the atmosphere with a fierce intensity. Well, that's how Martin perceived it. His mind was still marred by what he saw the night before. A scene that he now wondered of true or a figment of his tortured mind. The thought that his daughter said she hadn't been home when he clearly saw her there committing a crime with her mother raged inside him skewing his mind.

Shaking his head, Martin looked at the officer and then heard the man say, "Hello Mr. Adams. I need to speak to your child about what happened to her." The voice he heard was laced with nothing but concern. He was losing his mind, Martin thkigt to himself. He couldn't even comprehend what's what anymore. But he tried to play it cool. He tried to look normal.

So Martin turned to his side. The small, unassuming figure of his daughter sat quietly beside him, her eyes cast downward, as if wary of the officer's presence. The officer fixed his gaze on this figure, his eyes kind and reassuring.

With a smile etched on his face, the officer knelt in front of Lyli and with a soft tone asked where she had been and who she was with. The words lingered in the air like a dark cloud, sending a chill through Martin's body. His mind once more reeled to the events of last night. Lyli was supposed to be home. But she said she hadn't been home for days. But what if what he saw was true, what if she had done what he saw she did? What if she tells the officer about it? Martin's heart suddenly took a thundering beat.

The officer sat there, his presence exuding understanding and kindness which Martin regarded as a way to calm and assure Lyli that everything was okay -but Martin couldn't help a sense of unease wash over him, a complete opposite of what should be. He felt like he wasn't truly there. He was somewhere in their kitchen gazing out the window watching Lyli and Linda strike a child on the ground.

The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity until finally Lily slowly lifted her head staring at the officer with uncertainty. The officer's kind eyes scanned her every move. Then she looked up at her father and smiled.

As she turned back to the officer, her face took on a vague expression, her words heavy and laden with meaning. "I don't know who I was with, or where I have been," she said, her voice detached. It was as if the words were spoken by someone else entirely, as though they were a whisper carried on the wind, lost in the vast emptiness of the world.

The officer noticed this and that's when he stepped away from them. He approached a female officer who threw a glance in Martin and Lyli's direction.

Soon the police officer was making her way toward the father and daughter, her footsteps seemed to echo with the weight of the situation. Without a word, she lowered herself into the chair across from Lyli and her father, her imposing presence yet somehow laced with kindness making itself known.

Looking down at Lyli, the officer's voice was measured but laden with concern as she asked, Are you sure Lyli? Maybe someone told you not to say anything?

Lyli shook her head.

"Can you tell us how you got to the side of the road?" The officer asked patiently.