The voice of a killer

05) Birthday Present

'Martha, don't you think he's too young for this? Technically he's still a baby' said the man, after taking the woman aside.

'You didn't see him at the orphanage. If you did you won't talk like this. I'm his mother, I could feel him'

'May I ask since when?' the lady did not took the remark lightly. She looked as if a snake was beaten up with a stick. She gave a frightening look and said,

'You could take him wherever you please Cullen. But I will notice him. He's special. He's not an average 3 year old who is only good enough for crying.'

'I've been with him for nearly 7 months he practically knew what's to be done all the time. I just had to support him. He took things quite easily. It's just a dog.I don't think he'd be scared. Moreover it's his birthday, I want to surprise him.'

The man understood that he has no power to stop her. She glared at him and went back. Then he rolled his eyes back to Sam who was sitting on the ground with his bag pack. He felt pity for the unfortunate kid. But more he watched him, he realized that Martha's words carried some truth. A child at this age won't be thinking about anything except for a lollipop. Seeing the way his eyes cautiously attend to everything around this new home make him less worried about him.

'Maybe Martha could be right. There couldn't be anyone like Sam' he thought.

The boy's eyes met with his. He looked around for an excuse to hide the fact that he was analyzing him. Then he walked towards the rest as nothing happened.

'Sorry, I have problems with my memory. I often forget where I keep this door key. Must be a sign of aging. It would be best if you keep this with you Linda 'he said to the black haired woman who came with him to the airport. Both laughed.

Sam was the last to enter the room. The house was decorated and a huge cake was on the desk. 'Happy Birthday Sam' all cheered as he entered the room and broke into a birthday song. Sam was not used to this much attention but evidently he was happy. Cullen went upstairs and returned with a huge camera in his hands. He took photos of the event on that cheerful day of July.

They talked and laughed for a while and then went into inner parts of the house. It was clean tidy and pleasant. Sam was given a room to keep his things and he was allowed go around to have a better look.

After wandering a bit he returned to his room and looked through his window. (He was beyond happy to have a window to suit his height. It reminded of the orphanage but he was still happy. He had only good memories with peering outside the window.) He heard a knock on the door and it was Martha.

She entered the room with a wrapped box in her hands. She offered it to Sam wishing him a happy 4th birthday. In it he found a stuffed toy, to be exact a dog. It looked very much like the stray dog which he saw yesterday before leaving. In a way he knew that was it but didn't wish to question it. As long as it's his mother's birthday present for him and looks and smells good he felt no wrong. Moreover his mother was looking at him with a genuine smile. Her eyes sparkled.

'Do you like it? I thought you liked dogs' she said.

The boy nodded and gave her a cheerful smile in response.

He didn't talk much and it was not surprising at all. He was quite an observer.

Edith, Tom and George entered the room.

'Have fun' Martha said and left.

The children looked friendly. Sam knew they weren't average kids in his mother's opinion. So that he wanted to get to know them. They looked as the same age as him.

They played for a while, talked a bit and the day was quickly over. It was not so clear whether Sam liked their company or not. He wanted to keep in touch with them so that his mother would be pleased. And he sort of liked there interests as well, since they inquired about his dice game and enjoyed it.

Time went by. And the adults let the children to be as they were. Sam grew up to be the same as he was. When he was six years old he had become a Sudoku champion. He was quite a genius. His dice was still there with him to calculate luck, but it was almost replaced by puzzles. He was able to take in a lot data at a time, process them quickly and come to a conclusion faster than the rest. He had been an observer for the life time. And he continued to remain that way. He didn't talk much and was not overly fond of the rest of his gang as well. He preferred to be in his room with Toby (The stuffed dog he received as a present when he's 4), watching outside the window listening to the sound of the breaking waves.

His mother had gone on a business three months ago and will be coming soon. All that time he could not be said to utter more than 50 words in total. Edith was closer to him than the other two. Tom and George were twins and technically were inseparable. So his only company was Edith. Yet she was the same kind as him and didn't wish to talk, unless it was quite important. For three months (even before at many times) Cullen and Linda looked after them. Later Sam had got to know that they were his aunt and uncle.

He heard a knock on the door and he opened it. It was Edith and she had some good news with her.

'Mom will be coming tomorrow from Kenya' she said and smiled.

Sam was excited same as when he was taken from the orphanage a while ago. He nodded and gave a smile in response.

Next day morning his mother returned and took them all for fishing. It was the first time that he went on fishing. Martha taught them how to attach worms as the bait and how the ignorant wish would come to eat them. She expanded how the fish come to attack the worms and get killed. She described step by step how the hook go through their body, how painful it is and how they eventually die repenting over their decision to attack the worms. The description was quite disgusting and fearful. But the children listened to it with excitement. It's not like they missed the content they were merely interested in the fate of the fish.

Then she grabbed a knife and showed them how to cut a fish, cook it and make him edible. She always was good at convincing people.