Who's the victim?

This.

It was a rainy evening and I was enjoying my evening walk with my old and torn umbrella. It was a muddy street and it was not supposed to be a crowded one. I could not see any living entity apart from some dejected street curs. Suddenly, I saw a white ambassador approaching towards me and after a few seconds the taxi slowed to a crawl and then stopped. A stranger got down and handed me over an envelope by wishing a very happy birthday to me. Surprisingly, it was not at all my birthday. Very surprised at this gesture, I looked around, thinking maybe he meant someone else, however, the street was empty.

"Sorry, I think you have the wrong person. It's not my birthday today.", I said.

At this, the stranger went back to the car and talked to someone through the window of the back seat. Seconds later he opened the car door to let out a very well decked, middle-aged man, and went back to his place behind the steering wheel. The man was dressed in white from head-to-toe and had a slight pot-belly. His thick white hair was coiffed back on his head. All in all, it seemed like he had stepped out of a salon. He stank of money.

All this time I was very confused, not to mention scared. It was an empty road and a stranger suddenly approaches me, obviously, it screamed "danger" in the highest volume. I wanted to turn my back and run. I wanted to scream. But I knew both were fruitless. They were two people with a car and there was no one around to hear my screams.

"Happy Birthday, my darling.", said the well-dressed man, snapping me out of my reverie. This was getting weirder by the minute. I tried very hard to remember his face but in vain. I was sure I'd never seen him before.

"As I've already mentioned to your driver it's not my birthday, also who are you?". I snapped. I was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

"That is not how you speak to your father, young lady", the man frowned.

Now, this was definitely weird. He was NOT my father and I exclaimed as much. But he very conveniently seemed to ignore that.

"Now that's enough. Stop being upset and come home. Your mother made your favourite cake.", he said and grabbed my wrist, trying to pull me into the car.

At this time, I let go of all rationality and screamed. I screamed and violently tried to pull my hand from his strong grasp. He seemed unperturbed and kept trying to force me into the car. I fought with all my strength to make him let go. By this time, hearing my screams, some people came running. On momentary perusal of the scene, they came to my aid and cornered the man. He seemed furious. Violent even. His red-rimmed eyes oozed hatred for the people who interfered. He screamed at them to not interfere between a father and his daughter. He had dropped the sophisticated act and seemed like a cornered animal.

All this time, I was in a state of shock. I had never faced such a terrible and dangerous situation before. My mind seemed to go into overdrive. I was extremely focused on what was happening in front of me but my body was unwilling to react. It felt like I was watching a movie. My mind seemed unwilling to accept the full magnitude of the situation but when he screamed, I snapped back to reality. When he claimed to be my father, it seemed to give them pause as no one likes to involve themselves in family matters. However, I immediately shot back that he was a complete stranger and begged them to help me. Convinced they ganged up on him and beat him up with newfound energy. The driver so long was refusing to get out of the safety of the car. However, on witnessing such commotion, he opened the door and fled. Finally, the man was given over to the police.

ONE WEEK LATER

My mother had just received a phone call. She picked up the receiver and was frowning the entirety of the call. Finally, after what seemed like ages she hung up and pressed the ridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb.

"What's wrong?", I asked her meekly.

Looking at me she let out a big sigh and came and sat beside me. Uh oh, trouble. I tried to keep as plain a face as I could. However, she gently ruffled my hair and said,

"It was a call from the police station.". Immediately, my mind relived the entire situation from a week before. Seeing my eyes grow as big as saucers, she comforted me and continued,

"That man...was not a bad person", she hesitated, "he was simply troubled."

Then she confided in me the entire story. That man is a very rich and respected businessman. He had a beautiful family consisting of his wife, Priya and a daughter, Mira. Seven years ago (when the daughter was of my age), she was killed in a car accident. She was the only daughter of the couple who had conceived her after a lot of waiting and praying. Priya, not being able to accept the shock killed herself and left behind an insane man desperate to find his daughter.

On the day of the accident, which also happened to be her birthday, Mira, had fought with her parents and left home. She was driving along the highway when a speeding car came and hit her. She died on the spot. The mother killed herself a week after. Since then, the man would get momentary bouts of insanity where he would wander around looking for his lost Mira. He would try to find his daughter in young girls around her age and physical appearance. He had done this a few times before as well, however, this time the police finally caught him.

A lonely tear trickled down my face as I heard this. I had hated that man and cursed him quite loudly in my head. When I was asked to give a statement, I unleashed my full wrath on him. Maybe I was not so much the victim as he was.

"Where is he now?", I asked, my voice breaking.

"He has been handed over to his brother and is living there. He is also given care and treatment. Hopefully, one day he will come to accept the truth".

I hugged my mother and silently cried into her shoulder.