He was sitting in that alley, it was totally silent - No honking of cars passing by, no squealing of mice, no barking of dogs. He was muttering on his own," It was such a pleasant day, they were such pleasant times. If I would have stopped him then, I would have got both of them, beside me, now. But I couldn't do anything,then. Nor, I did anything now".
"I'm USELESS", he shouted at the top of his voice, and that's when the dogs barked, twice, or thrice. Not only he muttered, he was dreaming...dreaming of moments... moments he would never forget.

********Dream********

Splashing water. Sound of the waters hitting the beach of Gotham Bay...

Just another Gotham day...

Gotham River was prohibited for the residents, it was only for transportation. But who cared. The people from nearby colonies and slums came to the riverbank, everyday, at 3:00p.m., and went back to their homes within 6:00p.m. - it was the time when the local police stopped patrolling that area.

People went there with their families, to spend their time in the water, for comforts; or they went there to spend their time by the riverbank, soothing their minds out of the scenic beauty of the sunset.

One of the families present there was Adam, and her wife, Viola. They were there, with their 4-year old kid, Jack.

Jack was a naughty boy then - always jumping around, always excited. He wanted to jump and splash into the water, like other adults did. But he couldn't. Because he had a father, who cared for him the most; who always kept him away from the depths of water, dangerous for a 4-year old. If Jack were to come into the water, he was carried by Adam, his father - he was lifted from the arm, to an extent, so that, only his feet touches the water.

Whenever his feet touched the river water, he started to paddle his feet, splashing the water around, expressing that he was eager to get into the water. But he couldn't, until he was 7.

When it was almost 5:30p.m., all the families grouped, and started coming back to their homes. Just as the other families, Adam was coming back home, with his wife and kids, when Flint, Boyle, Freddy, and Jerry, his 'casino' friends called him, in their drunken voice, from a narrow alley beside the 'Deluxe Guaranteed' Bar and Casino.

Adam used to go their everyday. He gets drunk to hell, plays poker all night, gains money, loses more money, and then comes back home. That night, when he was called, Viola pleaded him, not to go there for, just one day. But he refused. Jack saw his father being angry for the first time. His eyes were blazing red. He saw his mother backing up in terror, just like a scared cat. Adam made an expression, intended to hit her, but didn't - there were people around; what would they think.

Viola clutched the hand of Jack, and left that spot. She went towards the home.

Jack reached his home, with his mother. The house was not that big. Just the one where a family of three, can live a simple, and happy life. But the house carried a family, which was strange... WEIRD.

There was nobody, better than Adam. A loving father, a beloved husband. An ordinary citizen of Gotham city. He used to visit churches, rallies, society meetings, then go to his work. Adam feared the god.But that's just daytime. Twilight was the time when god feared the Adam; it was the time when the insidious spirit, the vampire, the beast in him came into power. He turned into a hideous, drunken bastard, who knew nothing, but whiskey, poker, and casino-friends, as soon as the moon hit the skies. He visited the 'Deluxe Guaranteed' everyday, danced with the strippers, wasted money as if his daddy owned a bank, and then came back home, irritated his wife, teased her, tortured her.

Jack and Viola entered the house. Jack ran and jumped on his bed. Then he went to the Study table, took out his notebooks and started completing his school assignments, while have completely forgotten what happened half-an-hour ago.

Viola was aware. She was too terrified. She decided to go to the bedroom. She locked the door, gently. She hid herself under the bed. Then she thought, if Adam shows up and knocks the front door, Jack is to open it. What if he harms Jack ? So, she got out of that bed cavity, and ran towards the living room. She went where Jack was studying.

Jack fell asleep, in his chair. She went there tendered Jack for a moment, worrying how Jack would grow up in such an environment. Then, she took a chair, sat by him, where he was sleeping, put her head on Jack's shoulder, and went on for a nap.

After half-an-hour or something, her sleep was disturbed by strong bangs and punches on the door. It was 9:07 at night. She was scared to hell. What would be of her now ?

She approached the front door in haste. She opened the door, to find out it was a postman. The postman said her, he had been knocking the door for five to ten minutes, and also said, that there is a mail for her. As the postman had his hand to reach for the letter in his bag, he felt a strong hit on the back of his head. Viola saw it - a glass bottle cracking on the back of postman's head, and his whole body collapsing down. She could see a figure, right across the postman. It was Adam.

He said, in his drunken voice, while he was wobbling across the lawn, to reach Viola, "What the hell...is my wife doing...with some uniformed man...in this dark of the night ?

Viola spoke loudly, in terror and surprise, "ADAM, he was a postman...you hit him". She muttered to herself, "What are we gonna do now? What if the police comes ?"

Adam approached Viola, grappled her hair, threw her inside the house, saying, "Some postman". He kicked the lying postman, four to five times, in anger. He, then got inside the house. He saw Viola. Her head was bleeding a little, by being hit by the edge of some furniture, as she was threw inside the house by Adam. Adam, at first, closed the door of the room, where Jack was sleeping. Then, Adam feigned as he picked her up. He said, "Oh...poor thing...got hurt baby...I'm gonna heal you...in a moment". He went towards the kitchen, yelling, "Where...is that goddamn...first-aid box ?". He picked up the box, where Viola kept her cooking spices, and said, "Here it is". He approached Viola, who had her eyes closed in pain. He took a pinch of salt, pepper and chilli powder, and sprinkled it over the wound in Viola's head. Viola jumped up in a terrible cry, in pain, in agony. Adam gave a smile of the devil. Apart from these two people, there was a third one, who watched the scene through a keyhole, helplessly.

**************

This painful memory was disturbed by the sirens of police vehicles and screech of those tyres. Somebody reported the murder...the murders, Jack knew. But he couldn't be sure whether he was seen at the scene or not. He knew he had to move on, or he would get caught.

He didn't know where to go...

He didn't know where to hide...

He didn't know what to do...

But he moved on.