Daddy's little girl

His eyes open and is met with the sharpest rays of sunlight, beaming from the window. The curtains

are open just enough for the rays to shine directly on his face.

It's a sharp ache as his pupils adjust to the sudden exposure to light. Although the sleep is

preferred, this ache comes with a warmth. There's just a warm feeling

that comes with the early mornings, especially when you wake up without an alarm. Suddenly, the sound of crows outside, mixing with the birds chirping, doesn't sound so bad.

It's less than 40 minutes since he woke up, and he's already ready for work. "Daddy!" his little angel yells as she runs out of the kitchen and down the stairs. "Yeah, honey, what's up?"

She pauses for over 5 seconds to fully think about what she wants to ask, and the best way to ask without getting disappointed. "Can we go to the movies today?"

"No, honey... not today."

"Why?" she asks.

"I have work. That's how I provide for this family."

"This is the 100th time you're saying this. I know you have to provide, but can't you spare one day?

It's been years since we last went."

"I already told you... I don't have time. Go tell your mom I'm leaving."

"But sir, I-"

"NALA, I SAID NO!!"

It's 4 p.m., and Nala is about to close school. She stands outside with her little sister, Isabella. They

both are waiting for their mom to come and pick them up. Nala is furiously upset. Today is her

birthday. She's turning 13. Not only did her dad forget it was her birthday, but he also refused to go

with her to the movies. Suddenly, a boy who's crushing on her and hell-bent on proving himself to be

a man worthy of her attention walks up to her.

"Hey, Nala."

"Hey, Jonathan."

"Happy birthday."

Finally, someone remembers. This caught her attention.

"Umm.... Wanna go to the movies today? My older brother could act as a guardian for us. He'll leave

us alone once we get in."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's your favorite movie too."

Nala attempts to give a default answer of "No," but she remembers how angry she is at her dad.

"Alright, cool. I'll be there."

"Great. Let's meet up beside the movie theatre."

It's 7:45 p.m. on Monday evening. Nala walks to her mom, Natasha, who's about to leave to get the

groceries for a late dinner. She had overslept after dropping the kids home from school. Her daily

tasks are unbelievably stressful, given that she juggles three different jobs in less than 12 hours.

"Can I go stay with Dad in his office?"

Apparently, her dad works at an insurance company just around the block. It'll be a 15-minute walk

at best, and they don't have a "no children policy" too.

Nala uses this excuse to escape to meet her crush at the movie theatre. Dad stays over the night at

work most days, so she can come home anytime before 11 p.m., or actually meet her dad and sleep

over with him.

She took an Uber to the theatre. Just in front of the reception is her handsome little man looming

about. Something's different, though; he's looming alone.

Where's his older brother? she thought.

Before she had the chance to ask him herself, he greeted her with a "He ditched me" story.

"He left me, Nala. He left. Some girl came along, and he took her in instead of me."

Her little man stood still, trying to explain himself while holding back tears. In the end, he's not older

than her, by age or maturity.

"It's fine," Nala replied. "Let's just take a walk, and I'll head home."

Pleased to hear this, Jonathan drew closer to her as they walked down the street by the theatre and

explored their way into a dead-end alley beside the theatre.

"Alright, Jonathan, I think it's about time I head home. It's been fun talking with you."

Jonathan smiled as he asked her if he could walk her home. She kissed his forehead and led the

way. They walked, booked an Uber, and started heading out of the alley to the road. Right as they

got out of the alley, what seemed to be a (2001) silver SUV truck pulled up in front of them. They

had finally realized that the truck they had spotted following them all this while was actually coming

for them and not just driving along their way.

Jonathan stands still as he is struck with fear. The side door of the truck slides open, and a male

figure quickly hops out of the vehicle. There were three others inside-one at the back seat, one in

the passenger's seat, and another as the driver. They were all like shadowy figures, mixing with the

midnight darkness. The one who had hopped out looked very weird. His voice sounded like an old

man severely struck with a cough syndrome, so much so that he practically lost his voice to the

strain. He laughed after every sentence like he was living a comedy, and he was the star character.

His laugh had a crooked and sinister strain to it. He would manage three echoes of laughter before

he ran out of sound and just kept jerking like he was still laughing but grasping for breath, also

strenuously.

He turns his head backward to speak to someone inside the SUV.

"Hey, Jimmy... Looks like we don' got ourselves a couple. HAAA HAA HA..."

Jonathan quickly pulls his phone out of his pocket to try and call the cops. But nearly as quickly, the

male figure rushes toward him and lands a heavy blow on his head-so hard that Jonathan flew down

and dropped motionless instantly.

Before Nala could make out a scream, the male figure grabbed her and held her mouth tightly, lifting

her into the SUV. The doors shut speedily, and the car drove off.