Punishments

Chris' life followed the same schedule day in and day out. He went from the shelter to the store and back. The money earned at the store was enough to sustain him. After a lengthy process of getting help from social workers and Roger, Chris was also able to get his own bank account to save the money.

During this time, Chris was also able to know Roger and Nina a little better. Roger's wife had passed away a decade ago so he had been raising Nina on his own. But instead of Roger taking care of Nina, it was more like the two of them took care of each other.

When Nina found out about Chris' situation from her father, she began packing extra lunch for Chris from the very next day. Even though the two of them didn't talk at all, Chris was able to feel Nina's caring nature. She also came by on weekends to help clean the store or help out at the counter.

The conversation between the two began with Nina asking Chris for help with her school project. "Hey Chris, Dad says you are great with computers. Can you help me with my assignment?"

Chris nodded and began teaching Nina like a teacher. Impressed by Chris' skills, Nina began asking for his help more and more until Roger asked him to tutor Nina in the evenings. "You are very smart. Why don't you tutor Nina for an hour or two every day? I'll pay you for it. And I'll see if you can join Nina's school from the next admission. A smart guy like you shouldn't waste your talents by joining the workforce at such a young age."

Roger liked the hard-working Chris who diligently did his work and even helped out with other work at the store when he was free. His store was even seeing increased sales due to Chris. He wanted to help the kid as much as he could.

Although Chris didn't want to go to high school, he agreed to take the qualifications test instead. Just like that, he became closer to the Murray family. The father and daughter treated him like a family as well. Roger also recommended Chris to stay in an empty room at one of his friends' houses.

Things were slowly starting to improve for Chris. He began finding programming jobs online and continued to save up money. Slowly, his online reputation was growing as a reliable genius programmer. At one point, his fame had grown big enough that he even began getting recruitment emails from companies like Microsoft, Google, and to his shock Vought.

Just like that, 2 years passed and Chris had gained the legal status of an adult. He had saved up quite a bit of money, a lot of which he had invested in stocks of blue-chip companies and tech stocks that he knew would rise. With the money and passport prepared, Chris was ready to fly away to Europe.

But on his trip, there was an additional companion, Nina. After a long fight with her father, and Roger having a long conversation with Chris, Nina was allowed to go to Europe to study with Chris. Due to Chris' influence, she had begun to take an interest in software as well.

With Chris' advice, Roger's store had grown quite a lot and his employees had increased as well. Leaving Roger with the store, Nina and Chris boarded a flight to Europe. After many twists and turns, armed with advanced knowledge, his own skills, and bitcoins, Chris with Nina on his side jumped through the ladders of success and established himself as a tech giant in Europe.

After sticking together with each other for almost five years, Nina and Roger also fell in love and got married. And from their marriage came the biggest joy of their lives, their daughter Athena. They wished for their daughter to be strong and wise just like the warrior goddess.

....

Chris' thoughts came to an end when he was standing right in front of the doors to his daughter's hospital room. He froze up, unable to take even a step further. He wasn't sure how he should face his daughter. He had failed to protect her when it was his job. He had failed as a father.

A tap on his back brought him out of the pit of dark thoughts. Alex spoke next to Chris, "What are you waiting for sir? Athena is waiting. You shouldn't make her too long, you know how fussy she gets when you make her wait."

"Yes." Chris steeled his resolve and opened the door. The moment the door slid open, his eyes immediately found his daughter in the room. He saw her looking at him with a bright smile. His heart broke at that smile. The little girl was bandaged from head to toe. The bruises on her face hadn't healed yet either.

"Daddy!" Athena shouted cheerfully at Chris. She almost jumped out of the bed but the caregiver quickly pushed her down to the bed gently. Chris also ran to her and hugged her gently.

"I missed Daddy so much. Where were you, Daddy? And where is Mommy?" Athena's innocent weak voice brought tears not just to Chris' eyes but also Alex, the bodyguards, and the caregiver wiped their eyes. It was a very bitter feeling.

"I missed you too. I missed you a lot. I am sorry I was late. I promise I will never be late again. How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?" Chris wiped his tears quickly and checked on Athena.

"No. The doctor said I am very strong. It hurt a little when I woke up but the doctor gave me an injection and now it doesn't hurt at all. I didn't even cry when getting the injection." Athena answered proudly.

Everyone in the room had smiles on their faces. A cute child could heal all the pains in the world simply with their words. "Yes, our Athena is brave. Just like the goddess." Alex praised.

"Right, Uncle Alex? I am very brave right?" Athena tried making a brave pose but the casts hindered her movement.

The doctor arrived mid-conversation and chimed in as well, "Of course you are. All the other kids cry when they get an injection but Athena didn't. You are a very strong and brave child. Now can I take your father from you for a moment? I'll send him back right away, I promise."

Athena seemed to think for a moment and answered, "Just for a moment then. You promised to send him back right away."

Chris stood up while caressing her face. He followed the doctor outside. "What is her condition doctor?"

The doctor sighed, "Like I told you before, just her waking up from the coma is a miracle. Her recovery should go well since she is still a child but how much she recovers will have to be seen. We need to observe more for now and run some tests."

Chris looked grave at the doctor's answer. A month ago, the doctors had told him that only a miracle could wake his daughter up from her coma. Her daughter had been given that miracle. Now he wanted to pray to any higher power that existed out there to heal her completely.

Still, Chris asked with hope, "So there is a chance that she will be completely fine?"

"I don't want to raise your hopes when the test results haven't come but we hope to make sure that Athena can have a normal life." The doctor answered politely. He didn't know who the little kid or her father standing in front of him was but the entire staff had been notified by the hospital director to pay special attention to them. And so they did.

"Thank you, doctor. If you can help my little girl have a normal life, I will be eternally grateful. Alex!" After thanking the doctor, Chris called out Alex's name.

Having been his secretary for years, Alex could tell what Chris wanted just by the way his name was called out. Alex answered, "Yes, a bonus for everyone involved in treating Athena has been sent through the hospital director. We will hand out another bonus when she is discharged."

The doctor's eyes lit up when he heard of the bonus. He walked away quickly after profusely thanking Chris and Alex. He was mumbling something about putting a rush on the tests.

 When the doctor left, Chris flopped onto a metal chair next to him. He sighed heavily and looked at the sky. "If Athena can wake up then maybe she had a chance too. I should have waited more." Tears were flowing down his upside-down face as he mumbled.

"You know that it's not true. She was already gone by the time she got to the hospital. You can't continue to sit there blaming yourself. Who will take care of Athena if you are like that?" Alex scolded Chris with reddened eyes. His hands crossed behind his back were clenched so hard that his nails were digging into the skin.

Wiping his face, Chris smiled wryly and patted Alex on the back, "You and me both, buddy. You and me both." The two men once again entered the hospital room.

When she saw her father enter the room, Athena asked again, "Daddy, where are Mommy, Big Bear, and Tall Bear? I don't remember anything after the first big boom happened."

Chris stiffened up at the question for a moment but gathered himself and answered, "Mommy has gone to punish the bad guys who hurt our little princess. The Big bear and Tall bear went together with her to protect Mommy."

"Yes. Bad guys should all be punished. They hurt me, mommy, and my friends. But I miss Mommy. Can't she come back, dad can send someone else to punish the bad guys." Athena pouted.

"I will try, baby. But you will have to rest now and get better so than you can see your Mom as a strong and healthy girl." Chris patted her cheeks lightly. But in his mind, the same sentence was ringing over and over again, 'bad guys should all be punished'.