A man was sitting on a chair and drinking beer while watching TV. He was 5'10" and had a lean body. His hair was blonde in colour and he had blue eyes. His name was Carl Alisson.
Carl drank some beer and changed the channel to a news channel. The news channel was reporting about a murder. The reporter said, "Good morning, everyone. My name is Sarah White from the Daily Exp News. Today, I am reporting on the news about the murder of the bar's owner. The victim's name is Thomas Deckins. He was a black man in his 60s." The camera showed the bar and the rapid movement of cops, probably carrying out their investigation.
Carl commented, "Another killing? Don't they have any other news to show?"
Sarah said, "Thomas was killed brutally. According to the reports, he was first stabbed three times in the stomach and finally, he was shot in the head. As you can see the cops are investigating the crime scene. But the question is, will they find the culprit? Does he/she will be prosecuted? Or like every other case, this case will be just covered in the dust, lost among the other unsolved crimes."
Suddenly, there was a knock at door. No one had ever visited him that early in the morning. Carl turned off the TV. He got off from his chair and walked towards the door. He opened the door to find a man standing at the door.
The man was wearing a professional suit. He had black hair and he was holding some documents in his hand. One could identify easily that he was a lawyer in profession.
He asked, "Are you Mr. Carl Alisson?"
Carl replied, "Yep, I am." Carl was confused as, to why a lawyer would visit him this early in the morning.
The lawyer extended his hand for a handshake, which Carl awkwardly shook.
"My name is Shawn, Shawn Williams. Can I come in? It would be better if we sit down and talk. If you, don't mind that is." Carl nodded his head and motioned him to follow him.
"Close the door," said Carl.
Shawn nodded and closed the door. He followed Carl into the living room. Carl handed him a chair and he, himself sat on a sofa. Shawn sighed and sat on the chair. Shawn had heard that Carl was bit rude but, he didn't expect that he was not even subtle about it.
Carl drank the rest of the beer. After finishing it, he asked, "What brings you here Mr. Shawn? Judging by your attire, I can safely assume that you are lawyer. Did someone sue me or something?"
Shawn scratched his head and replied, "No, no one has sued you. I am here talk about you on different matter."
"Go on. It's been a long time since someone has come to my house this early in the morning."
Shawn lowered his eyes. He said, "I don't know how to tell you about this. Mr. Alisson, about one month ago, your sister, Mira Laumbart and her husband, Justin Laumbart, had passed away in an accident."
Carl was devastated from hearing the words coming out from Shawn's mouth. It was as if a part of him died from that news. Not because of Justin, he was heartbroken from the news of his sister's death. He never liked Justin. He had always opposed the idea of his sister marrying Justin but, his sister didn't listen to him and cut off all the relations with him. Apparently, she chose Justin instead of him, her brother.
Carl maintained his composure and didn't show any emotion in face. He monotoned, "It's unfortunate. What does that have to do with you being here"
Seeing him not reacting at all, Shawn was shocked. He didn't know that Carl was the type of person who would not show any of his emotions to anyone. He thought that expressing yourself would give the advantage to the people around you, especially your enemies. This was what Carl learnt recently. However, Shawn assumed that Carl was an unsympathetic man.
"Your reaction to your sister's death is like this?!"
Carl scoffed, "Should I cry or something? Look, Mr. Shawn, I honestly don't care about their death." He told Shawn those words no matter how much it had hurt to dismiss his sister's death like nothing.
Shawn yelled, "How can you say this about your own sister?"
"She was not my real sister. I was adopted into the family. So, no I don't care about. By the way, she was the who left me for that bastard. I think for her, I am not her family."
Shawn rubbed his face with his hands. "How the hell did they believe this fucker would take care of her daughter?" Shawn murmured to himself.
"Are you a friend of hers or something? If giving this news was what, you were here for. Then, you can go."
Shawn gritted his teeth and scowled, "Yes, I was a very good friend of both of them, both Mira and Justin," he forcefully handed Carl the documents, "sign this. As much as it haunts me, sign this. This, in your hands, is her will and the custody of her daughter."
Hearing the word 'daughter' shocked Carl to his very core. Mira had never told him that she had a daughter. Then again, who was he kidding, Mira had never contacted him in the last 5 years.
Carl yelled, "I am not going to sign it and certainly, I am not going to take any responsibility of her daughter. Send her to some foster care or something."
Shawn smirked, "You don't have any choice, Carl. Take care of her or go to jail. I am a lawyer and I, very well know how to send someone to jail. I can have you entangled in many twisted cases. Don't taste my patience. Just sign it."
Carl cursed Shawn in his heart. He was no longer the man who wanted to fight anyone. Honestly, he wanted to stay away from all kinds of trouble, and it would be idiotic to offend a lawyer. Living peacefully, was all he wanted.
Shaking his head, he signed the papers. He looked directly into Shawn's eyes and stated, "You probably know yourself that I will not be the suitable guardian of a little girl." He handed the papers back to Shawn.
Taking the papers back from Carl, he stood up from the chair and started to walk towards the front door. He opened the door and went out of the house. Just before going, he said, "I know you are not suitable to be her guardian. But remember one thing, both Mira and Justin trusted you. They believed you will take care of their daughter, your niece." Saying this, he closed the door after him.
Carl closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the sofa's back. He still remembers the day on which his sister had cut off all the familial relations with him. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and cursed, "That motherfucker! He didn't tell anything about her and what do I need do. Argh, I guess, I will be in for a surprise then." The surprise which he was dreading for.