Losing Benny

Clutching Benny, she sprinted across the dusty terrain. The ocean raged, waves crashing against the cliff’s edge. The midnight black sky was lit only by a solitary sliver of moon. The mingling scent of salt and manure was normally quite a pleasant one, but today, it was vile and unfamiliar. Glenda panted, gasping for air. Colored dots flashed in front of her eyes, and her head started to spin. She hadn’t run like this in decades, and her old, wrinkled legs were giving way. She stopped in the middle of the road, trying desperately to catch her breath. Around the corner of the curving road, a faint glow started to emerge. Glenda didn’t have much time.

She dashed forward, ignoring the burning sting in her lungs. Her eyes squinted as she looked around, and they settled on a patch of thorny vines draping over a weeping willow. There seems to be nothing behind it.

The faint glow that Glenda had seen on the arch of the road emerged as a police car, it’s headlights blinding those who saw it. Using her arms to shield Benny, Glenda rushed through the thorns, feeling their blades tear across her skin. To Glenda’s horror, Benny’s cheek was dotted with blood. His hazel eyes looked into Glenda’s faded gray ones, and he gurgled in reassurance. 

Glenda bit her lip in an attempt to keep the moistness out of her eyes. She skulked in the shadows of the cave, hoping it would keep her and Benny hidden. Stroking his hair with her right hand, and blotting the blood with her left, Glenda resigned in thoughtful silence.

Maybe she shouldn’t have done it. Perhaps Glenda should have ignored all the signs and done nothing. Because just a few states away were childless parents wondering if they would ever see their son again.

“No, no. Don’t go there. You did it for Benny. You had to do it. He is safer now,” Glenda thought. In a phantasmagoric flashback, Glenda recalled the heaps of whiskey bottles and broken glass that littered the floor of Benny’s parents home. Of course she did the right thing.

The sirens wailed, and the blue and red rays danced on the cave floor. Glenda stood up and covered her hand over Benny’s mouth, praying that he wouldn’t make a sound. She heard the low murmurs on the walky talky.

“Suspect is in the cave, backup won’t be needed,” said a voice outside. Goosebumps prickled Glenda’s skin as she tightened her grip on Bennys mouth. 

A police officer entered the cave, moving his flashlight against the walls. The beam was edging towards Glenda and Benny. It was inches away, then centimeters, and finally, it shined directly at them.

The blinding light hurt Glenda’s eyes, and its heat burned her skin. Benny started to cry. The police officer, a middle aged man with a scruffy beard, spoke to her in a cold voice.

“Miss? You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Please hand over the child.”

“You don’t understand. Please don’t do this. Please.” Glenda pleaded. “I love him. I’ll take good care of him.”

“You have the right to an attorney and a civil trial. You have the right to a…”

Glenda’s throbbing heart drowned out the policeman’s voice. All she wanted was rights over Benny.

More police officers came, with crisp uniforms and bulky weapons. They stared at her with judging eyes. 

The police officers spoke to each other in hushed whispers. Glenda tried to listen, but her throbbing headache didn’t let her.

“Ma’am please. If you show resistance, your sentence may increase. Hand over the child peacefully. If you don’t, we will have to take the child by force, and you risk hurting him. If you really care for him, let him go.” said another officer. 

“No. No. No. Please no. Please— his parents— they were alcoholics.”

Benny started to scream. Glenda winced, clutching him even tighter. She remembered how he would cry like this when Glenda’s son – Benny’s father — would come home reeking of whisky and slurring his “r”s. Back then, Glenda hugging Benny would be enough to comfort him. But now, it proved ineffective

“Ma’am, this is your last chance. We will have to take the baby away. Please hand him to us peacefully, we don’t want to hurt either of you.” the young police officer said.

Glenda hugged Benny closer. She had imagined their whole life together. She would raise Benny, be there for his first words, his first steps, his first day of school. She would offer him advice and comfort him in times of sorrow. She would watch him go through life, and be with him every step of the way. She would be like his mother.

But a mother never hurts her child. She will never do anything to put her child in danger. 

Glenda looked at Benny. She wiped away his tears, and whispered to him, “I’m so sorry.”

With a sob, she gently placed Benny in the police officer's hand. She had lost what she loved more than herself; more than anything in the entire world. She had lost Benny.

by SRIJA GHOSH