Short Story Draft

".....Found the body of a woman known to be Martha Abellson, a general hospital doctor, in a fish pond in a city park. The police said that this was an act of premeditated murder. The murder was thought to have happened around 1 am earlier, there is no sign of physical violence on the body and the face of the victim, but... "The woman's reporter paused to swallow with an uncovered panic. "The face and the body of her is skinny and wrinkled of the blood clot caused in the reckoning by hundreds of leeches are now their size is as fat as purple eggplants and... And her tongue is gone."

On a long journey from the city of London, deep into the forest, across a creek, and through a valley with a steep ravine, there is a life of peace and quiet. There was an old little cottage where there sat an old man in his late seventies who sat back in his old rocking chair. He smoked a cigar from his pipe, observing the smoke coming out and spreading before his eyes. The smoke seemed to form a familiar face, which made him sad.

"Dr. Abellson is known as a good woman and has no enemies during her career, but recently it heard the news that Dr Marta had killed her patient for a misdiagnosis. Now the police are on the lookout for the patient's data and searching for his family's allegedly assassinations."

"Old Daddy John!" cried a voice. "You owe us a story."

Then Old Daddy John woke up from his reverie.

Every day in the morning, little children had gathered and sat on the porch of his cabin. They watched him smoked cigars and sighed before they cried to tell a story.

"Oh, naughty kids, what should I tell you? I've told you everything I know and now it's your turn. Tell me what your goals are. Old Daddy John wants to know." 

The children told one by one with a burning spirit. Some aspired to be teachers, pilots, polices, farmers, and more. But what intrigued him was a pretty little girl who said, "I'll be a doctor." And at that moment Old Daddy John remembered an old memory. Then he told a story.

"Once in this village there was a happy family consisting only father and his son. When the boy was 17 years old, he told his father to work in town....."

His son is a treasure and a life for the father. When the departure date had been set, the child got sick for a whole week. The father took his son to the hospital by passing through the valley, ravine, river and forest. The doctor was a woman about 35 years old, he examined the boy in less than a minute and told the father, "Your child has end-stage renal failure." She tried to comfort the father with his happy smile as she said it, a happy smile as if she had just won a lottery.

The father and his son came home. The boy was always taking large-sized medicine—5 until 7 once a drink. There was a small size, but the boy said "this little guy is the bitterest." His muscular and large body, now turned drastically thin and pale. The medicine did not make him better but worse.

And the worst thing came. The boy vomited and his body was so hot. The father did not know what to do because his son's body was weak like a boneless fish. Finally he took his son to the same hospital and his son was examined by a different doctor.

"Have your son been treated before?" asked the doctor.

"Not yet," lied the father. 

"He's suffering typhoid, but it's now very bad, Sir."

The father took his son home because he did not have the cost to pay for all the advanced medicines and treatments. But unlucky, the child died on the way home. His only hope, happiness, and future had gone forever.

After the death of his son, he determined to take revenge. For days, weeks, and months he roamed the gardens looking for leeches. And after collecting ten full jars, he kept in the house. Then he went to town and kidnapped a doctor who misdiagnosed his son and took her to his hut. The female doctor was her mouth in a gag, and her legs and hands tied with rope. In the dim light of the full light coming in from the crevices of the broken window, the Doctor's body wriggled in disgust and fear as her whole body were filled with leeches, sucking on her blood—sucking on her life. One by one the leech broke away after their bodies were as fat as  purple eggplants.

"Ah I forgot one thing, that good father cut off the doctor's tongue in return so she will never make a wrong diagnostic... Again." Old Daddy John ended.

The little girl who initially aspired to be a doctor looked moody and said, "then I'll be a teacher." Old Daddy John smiled.

"What happened to the father then? Was he arrested and taken away?" asked an innocent boy. 

"Of course yes," answer another boy boldly. 

"Is he alive?" asked another innocent boy. 

"Yes," said a child knowingly.

"What is he doing now?"

"Maybe he's taking a nap, or sitting in an old rocking chair, holding a cigar, and telling story to naughty kids like us."

Old Daddy John smiled again.

One child thought hardly, looked at Old Daddy John and said, "Is that you?"

Suddenly it rained heavily, and the children went running to their homes after saying goodbye and grateful for the story from Old Daddy John. They promised to come back tomorrow morning,  and the next tomorrow morning, and the next tomorrow morning again.

Old Daddy John sucked on his cigar, emitting a faint smoke forming a familiar-looking face again.