The Reckoning
Julio, aka “El Diablito,” loved
trouble. He hated school as
he did not like being told what
to do. He was a handsome young
man, and by fifteen fathered his
first child, which he would later
abandon, like so many others.
At sixteen, he joined a gang and
got a taste of the violence and crime
involved in that life style. By the age
of twenty-one he had killed his first
man, and was sentenced to fifteen
years in prison for the murder and
robbery of a factory worker and father
of two who was on his way home from
work.
He had shown no remorse for the
crime even though that man’s young
wife appeared in the courtroom, weeping
for her deceased husband. But she knew
that somehow sooner or later God would
avenge her dead husband and father of
their two little girls.
Diablito, eventually was released from
prison and soon was up to his old tricks.
even though he was on parole. He didn’t
care about consequences of going back
to prison, and he made a habit of
targeting working men and women and
robbing and stabbing some of them even
though many begged him not to hurt
them.
One afternoon shortly after dusk he
saw an elderly man coming from a local
food store. The streets were empty and
Julio knew it was the first of the month
as he had seen the man taking money
from an atm.
The poor man did not know what was
happening, as El Diablito,” stabbed the
poor man over and over and took his
wallet to buy alcohol, drugs and party
with some hookers.
Weeks later, his hunger for money drove
him to look for another victim, and he saw
a young woman withdrawing money from
the same atm machine as the elderly man.
He waited until she walked into a dark
alley and began to follow her.
It was dark, and it had also started raining,
the perfect situation for El Diablito, to
claim another victim. He was sure no one
would see or hear her screams for help.
The woman seemed to notice him
following her and she began walking
faster and he could almost sense her fear.
Then suddenly, she stopped and turned
around. Diablito was happy, he muttered
to himself, “She is so scared, that she
knows she can’t escape.” So, he pulled out
his blade, the same one he had used to rob
so many of his victims.
The knifes blade gleamed in the moonlight
when suddenly, several shots rang out hitting
their target. Diablitos head began spinning
as he dropped to his knees. Now, he was the
victim, as the smoke rose from the gun barrel
and drifted away, so was his life.
Then the woman lit a cigarette and in the
instance before he died, he saw her face.
”You, you’re the wife, of the first man I
ever robbed.” He stammered out. “Yes,
I never forgot how arrogant and smug you
looked in court that day, and I swore you
you would pay!”
“Please call an ambulance.” “Why? You
never cared about anyone, not even your own
mother who died of a broken heart while you
were in prison. I promised I would avenge my
husbands death, and now its your turn to pay
the price for your cowardice! As a matter of
fact your tombstone should read, Here lies a
coward who made his living robbing innocent
people!”
The woman started walking away into the
night, as several dark shadows appeared
before Diablitos eyes, the smell of sulfur
hanged in the air, but there was no fire nearby.
Only, the loneliness experienced by someone
who had always turned his back on God and
had always embraced the Devils lifestyle.
When the police finally arrived, they noticed
that he had a look of sheer terror upon his
face, almost as if he had seen the Devil
himself! As far as the person who had taken
the career criminal down? No one ever knew
who it was,and no one really cared!
The Moral of the story is: Don’t do evil
things, because sooner or later you will pay
a price. So, never play with the Devil!
Frank Solis Copyright 2021
All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment