Payback with Interest

 

The worst of the winter chill of 1958 was fading away. As Pablo Ramos submerged his ankle boots into a muddy lake, he noticed his own reflection - a frail shadow of himself that he barely recognised, having lost the best years of his life. He splashed the cold lake water onto his face, trying to clear his head for the morning ahead of him. This had taken months of planning, perseverance and preparation to materialise, nothing could go wrong now, he couldn't let anything go wrong. His eyes were red - with rage, with pain, with passion.

Pablo began his march towards the village market. His oversized jacket hung over his lean shoulders. The gun in his breast pocket brushed against his chest as he took long, determined strides. His skin was dry, pale and wrinkly, having spent the last eighteen years behind bars.

He used to be a family man, married with three kids, and earning a decent living from his large farm by the lake. Prison time had taken away everything that he built - a family which had deserted him, a farm which was grabbed away by his cousin and his youth suddenly taken away in a moment.

Pablo had managed to escape prison last night, with the help of a guard who assisted him for a bribe, a bribe which Pablo didn't have the money to pay for. The prison break was Pablo's first ever crime; he was wrongfully convicted for a grocery store theft and the attempted murder of its owner, Frank McKay who was at the till. Frank accused Pablo of attempted murder with revenge in mind, owing to a price dispute between them over the rice produce that Pablo supplied to Frank’s store. For the police, it was the store owner’s word against Pablo’s and the police trusted the victim over the accused. Pablo’s ordinary dream of a family life was shattered.

As he continued his walk through the village; people barely recognised him. Although Pablo spotted a few familiar faces, he didn’t acknowledge them. He wondered how his children looked now, and whether they would remember him.

Not letting his thoughts slow him down, he continued to march on. Just before he entered the market, he saw a policeman across the road. Unsure of what to do, he stopped, bent down and pretended to tie his shoe laces. He was easily hidden between the crowd gathered at the market. Once the policeman was out of sight, he proceeded swiftly, checking his pocket occasionally to ensure that the gun was still there.

 Soon, he was at the door of Frank’s grocery shop. Pablo waited near the door patiently for the customers inside to leave. The moment he got a chance, he pushed the glass door, entering casually like any other shopper. Frank was at the till, counting and arranging the cash. Pablo marched straight towards Frank, staring into his eyes with absolute rage. He quickly removed his gun from the pocket, aimed it at Frank’s forehead and waited for him to look up. As Frank turned his head to face the perpetrator, his eyes bulged in horror, realising who he was facing.

 The next minute, Frank body lay lifeless on the empty till, blood had splashed onto the glass windows and the floor. The gunshot had scared the birds away. The brief silence was replaced with police sirens as the dead body was surrounded by a large crowd of family, relatives and on-lookers.

Meanwhile, Pablo sneaked back into the prison, handed over the stolen cash and the gun to the prison guard and resumed his sentence. He didn’t care what happened with him next, and whether he would have to spend the rest of his life in prison. His inner peace was restored after eighteen years and he let himself smile, having accomplished his mission.