Revived Souls

P A R T T h i r t y

______________________________________________
|T H I R T Y|our Anxiety
______________________________________________
I could hear the clock ticking in the distance. My eyes were glued to the wooden roof trying to have a good look at the present situation.

I was under arrest for the kidnapping of a young child - Regen Braun. My Genie. It was all her mother's doings. Her mother, Margo Braun had accused me of committing a felony. And here I was holed up in the courtroom for the arraignment. My parents were here too along with my very furious brother who had bought in a lawyer to set the bail.

I was sat on the wooden chair awaiting for the judge to make the appearance. It was hard believing that I would have to see the deadly scary court rooms and police stations. Again. Only this time I was the suspect.

A minute flew by and the judge - a forty something female who had a spectacle perched on her nose finally showed up muttering a few apologies.

"Miss Deborah Ridlers, under the Californian law, you have been accused of kidnapping a six year old girl, Miss Regen Braun. Her mother had provided us with phone call evidences of how you and Mr. Flynn Raymond had threatened to kill her daughter if not provided the ransom." The judge blares on in a monotone.

My mouth formed an o as I took in her words. Phone call evidences? What did that even mean? Fear and anxiety got a good hold of me. Genie's mother was delusional. That was a given.

"So, Ms. Ridlers, based on the charges pressed by Mrs. Braun, what is your plea? Guilty or Not Guilty?" Her bespectacled eyes bore into mine shoving a hard gaze in my direction.

I took a long gulp and attempted to cool myself down. I had nothing to be afraid of. I had not been involved in anything. Yet I was, in one way or the other. Because I did lose Genie all thanks to my insanity and reckless behavior. Admittedly, I was the last person to have seen her before she was kidnapped.

"I plead not guilty." I made my plea and looked down at my feet. I had no idea what the phone call evidence was all about. What if they never find Genie? What if I go to jail for something I had never done? What if Genie is no longer breathing?

I stopped breathing. Almost. My thoughts had journeyed across a forbidden track that I should avoid.

"Well, in that case, lets have a look at what you were indeed saying on the phone with Mrs. Braun." She said resuming her monotone as her lips pursed in a tight line.

Oh no. Then I heard the phone call which never took place.

"Hello." Margo Braun answered in one breathe.

There was a few shuffling sounds heard on the other side. A voice then replied, "Hello, Braun. Doing good without your lovely daughter?" The voice was an exact replica of mine. I gasped loud not able to contain the surprise.

"W-w-what? You have my d-daughter?" Margo Braun's voice was caught up in a few sobs. "What do you want?"

"Money." My duplicate voice proceeded to have a hearty ruthless laugh. "Braun, your daughter is living on a thin line. Seven million dollars or she dies."

A male voice mirroring that of Flynn's spoke next. "Braun, I hope you live happily with knowing your daughter died all because of her good for nothing mother."