As Wiliam began recounting the events to me, I listened intently, absorbing every word he spoke.
“I learned about Ansell’s father’s profession as our bond grew stronger” he said, his gaze still directed at the wall in front of us.
“He was probably the first person with whom I became so close that it was practically impossible for me to break the friendship, especially when he didn’t want to become the same as his father. It’s different now, of course, as he’s become no different from his father. But back then, he wanted to distance himself from his father’s world. He always kept the desire simple to lead a simple life with his wife and children away from all these guns and blood. He witnessed his father torturing his mother and most probably his father was the reason of his mother’s death so he didn’t want to become like him because he used to love is mother a lot”
He drew a deep breath.
“He was nice as a person so I thought that could keep the friendship with him but I never like his closeness with you because I knew his reality and I never wanted you to fall into this world. But no one could control the fate”
He chuckled at the irony of the situation because, no matter how much he tried to save me from it I am now so deep into this world that it is practically impossible for me to come out.
Listening to him, I could feel the complexity of emotions he must have experienced during that time.
“After college, when I joined the job, he was forced by his father to take up the gang but he was not ready for it. Still, after coming under pressure, he took small business that involved less crime but still, he was earning a lot from them” he said, his voice trembling slightly.
“As we used to share everything with each other, he told me the way he was making money and it was exciting for him as well because somewhere he had the genes of his father and no matter how much he denies this world, he cannot ignore the beast that was inside him, with which only I was aware ”
I felt shiver run down my spine as he mentioned the hidden. “BEAST’ within Ansell, the same side I had glimpsed through his actions.
“While he was my best friend, I couldn’t help but feel envious of the easy money he was making through shortcuts, while I was working so hard for 12 hours a day only to get a handful of a salary. I wanted to make money and that greed for money has taken me here”
His eyes finally moved away from the wall and met mine.
“So that’s why you joined the Mafia?” I asked him.
“Mafia?” He asked me back, equally confused by my question.
“Yeah, I got to know that you joined the Mafia and this is where you were bringing so much money” I said.
“No, not exactly the Mafia” he told me. “I fall into the trap gambling ”
Gambling?
My eyes widened because I could not believe that he was into gambling all these days and all of us were unaware of it.
“I wanted to make a lot of money and I became sure of one thing, I could not do it because of the job I was doing. The only way to earn a lot of money was through illegal activities. I didn’t want to take help from Ansell so I started going to casinos and playing cards there ”
His huff was heavy with regret but it was of no use now because the harm had already been done and was irreversible.
“In the beginning, luck was on my side. I kept winning game after game, earning a significant amount of money. I used that money for our home, for you, for our parents, and even for my girlfriend at the time ‘
. Yes, a few months before the news of his death came out, he was spending a lot of money on us and he didn’t even tell us the source from which he was earning it.
“The allure of money blinded me” he admitted, his voice tinged with sorrow. “I became so consumed by it that I failed to see I was heading down the wrong path. When I witnessed the smiles and happiness on your faces because of the things I brought home, I got even more entrapped by the taking leaves from work and spending hours in casinos”
I could hear heavy regret an guilt in his voice as he told me about his secrets.
“Then one day I had a very big fight with my opponent because he was cheating. He was not alone but his entire team was with him and when I protested, they attacked me. They were four or five in number while I was alone. I need held and the only person that I could recall at the time was Ansell because, from the start, we always used to be better whenever someone needed us”
He blinked several times, as if trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. I could see how broken he was because of the fact that the friendship that was once do beautiful had shattered completely.
“Like every other time, Ansell came to me within a few minutes but what surprise me was that he was not alone. His father came with him and that was the day when I got to know that more than half of the casinos were owned by his father ” he released a deep breath.
“He fought for me and that day little did I know that soon he he was going to fight me” he huffed. “That day he introduced me to his father and told his father about our friendship and the way he could do anything for me. His father banned those boys from his casinos”
He looked up.
“With those boys out of my way, I thought that now I could resume what I was doing and make money without any problem but little did I know that I was moving towards my doom”
He paused for a minute.
“What happened after that?’ I asked him in urgency, keeping in mind the limited time we had.
“Those boys whom Ansell’s father banned became my enemies, and I wasn’t even aware of that. I kept on playing my game and earning as much money as I could. I even left my job but didn’t let anyone know about it as I was spending my time in the casino” I could see guilt in his eyes every time he remembered those days.
“After around two months I played a big game that had the potential to change my fate” he explained with a heavy sigh, the guilt evident in his eyes as he recounted those days. “I got greedy and played that game without realising that it was a trap. I kept on bidding, hoping to win in the end, and I placed all the money I had. But I didn’t stop there. I even took out loans and, it the end, lost everything”
His shoulder slumped as he looked down in defeat. I placed my hand on his shoulder, offering silent support as he continued to speak.
“After losing everything, I felt into desorption but didn’t let it show on my face. I lost my job all my savings, and I was in debt. I didn’t tell Ansell about it, partly because I didn’t have the courage to share my story of failure with him while he was succeeding in life and partly because he was busy with his own life ” he explained, his voice heavy with emotion.
He looked up.
“Then one day, I received a call from a unknown number” he continued, his voice trembling. “I still don’t know where that call from, but the man promised to give me money in exchange for delivering a bag to a particular address. I agreed, thinking that there might be drugs inside the bag since I had become familiar with those things while staying with Ansell. I was so desperate for money that I didn’t care about who had called me or whether the call was authentic or not”
I couldn’t believe that so much was going on his life and we were completely unaware of that.
“With the hope of getting money and paying back the debt so that I could live a simple life again, I agreed to complete the task. At home, I said that I was going on a business trip so I would be busy as the address where I had to deliver the bag was out of the city. Everything was normal until I reached the destination, which was told me. When I went inside I was locked and trapped there. I couldn’t escape, and someone injected me with something that made me lose consciousness. I have no idea how many days I spent in that darkness, but it felt like 2 to 3 days to me”
Ok, now I get it. The days during which Desy claims my brother tortured her-in reality, he was not even in his senses.
“And then, after those dark days of just trying to survive, someone came to see me…” He trailed off, his eyes haunted by the memories. “I thought that maybe that person had come as a light but little did I know that it had come to make my life dark forever”