I never thought my debt would force me to do something as horrendous and vile as this. As I grabbed by black ski mask and leather gloves, I reminisced how life was this time last year. I was happy, at home, with my beloved wife and two children, Maya and Sophie. We lived in the rough part of town, but we were happy with our life. But one day, everything changed for the worse. My wife, Karen, left me, along with nearly all the money in our joint bank account and my two daughters. All I had left was our house, a mountain of bills just waiting to be paid, and a broken heart. The bank was threatening to take my home if I did not find a way to pay the rent, which added to my misery. Fortunately, after endless nights filled with anxiety and no signs of work, I came up with the most practical and reasonable solution possible: kidnap the Loan Officer’s daughter and hold her for ransom until I receive enough money to pay off my bills.

I quietly slipped out of the front door of my small home, careful not to wake my neighbors. I slowly unlocked my run-down 1984 Toyota and slid inside, starting the engine. I pulled the address of the family out of my satchel and entered it into my navigation device. I heard a car door slam nearby and turned to see what was going on. A dark figure was making its way up to the house next to mine.

“Who’s that?” I asked as I rolled down the window.

“Larry? Is that you?” the voice replied.

I immediately recognized it to be my next door neighbor.

“Uh, yeah. Hey Rob. Why are you up so late?” I asked.

“Just got back from the bar,” he replied as he began unlocking his front door.

“Oh. Sounds fun. Listen, I better run. Have to catch an early flight. I’ll see you when I get back,” I said as I jammed the key into the ignition and started the car.

I rolled up the window, leaving a very confused Rob standing on his doorstep. I just hope he’s too intoxicated to remember what he just saw.

“Turn left,” The electronic device barked at me.

I slowly pulled out of my driveway and turned left onto a nearly deserted road. My headlights shined in the road in front of me, illuminating the hard gravel. I looked over to the screen of the GPS, where I was informed of being thirteen minutes away from my destination. After about ten full minutes of driving in silence, I saw the front sign for a neighborhood which was obviously where I was headed. I pulled up next to the gate code device and entered the pin written on the, now damp, piece of paper. The gate immediately opened and I entered. I began looking for a house with the address: 313 Banyan Lane, and eventually came across and large, two story house with Christmas lights strewn across the spacious lawn.

Sighing, I parked my car where I could easily escape, and pulled the key out of the engine, throwing in down on the passenger seat. I opened the trunk to find my black ski mask, leather gloves and a roll of silver duct tape. I pulled the rough gloves over my shaking hands and slid the mask onto my head, adjusting it so I could easily see out of the eye holes. I slowly walked up the front driveway, trying my best to not look suspicious. Discovering that the front door was securely locked shut, I tried to back sliding glass door. I pulled at the handle, and the door easily slid open, allowing me to enter.

Walking into the warm house, I was immediately greeted by the smell of whatever the family had for dinner just hours before. Only the moon illuminated my path, so I opened the refrigerator door to allow just enough light for me to see where I was going. I decided to try to look down the hallway next to the kitchen first, but to no avail. I then slowly crept up the carpeted stairs where I found a white, wooden door with the name “MORGAN” spelled out in pink letters. I opened the door and stepped inside.

I assumed Morgan was the one curled up in a twin size bed, sleeping soundly with a stuffed Mickey Mouse under her arm. I walked around her pink room, where I found a small moon shaped night-light illuminating the area around the head of her bed. My daughter, Maya, had the same exact one, but she unfortunately left it in her room at home in the haste to dessert me. I fiddled with a small, floral box on her dresser, and when I opened it, a loud chime of music rang out, screaming for attention. Morgan immediately opened her eyes and looked around wearily. Suddenly, when she saw me, her body tensed and a scream erupted from her mouth, which was soon covered by my gloved hand.

“Shh! Please be quiet!” I whisper-yelled into her ear.

A salty tear ran down her tiny cheek as she tried to fight back. She was, fortunately, too tiny to cause any significant damage. As I carried her out of the room, I turned to see her lonely stuffed animal lying on the bed. Turning around, I grabbed the toy and handed it to her, feeling sympathy for her parents. I knew that I would not, ever, hurt this child, but I needed to do what was best for my family first. I carried her down the stairs, her muffled screams no match for the duct tape that was now around her mouth. I slid out of the sliding glass door, walked down the driveway and opened the back door of my car. I gently put her down on the seat, carefully putting the seat-belt around her waist.

“Please don’t worry,” I said to her, with a trace of sympathy in my voice. “I promise nothing bad will happen to you. I have daughters your age, and I just need some money to help them out. You’ll be home soon,” I assured her as I closed the back door and opened the front for myself.

I could not help but feel terrible for what I had just done. This poor little girl, now clutching her Mickey Mouse toy, was obviously frightened.

“Do you want a milkshake to feel better?” I asked.

She nodded “yes”.

“Alright, I know this really great place I used to take my daughters. I’ll take you there, and then we’ll go back to my house. It’s obvious that I’m the one that took you, so I’m sure you’ll be back with your mommy and daddy tomorrow. Everything’s going to be alright. I promise Morgan.”

I put the key into the ignition and began driving towards to the only ice cream parlor I could find, and I hoped that maybe this little girl could be my ticket to happiness.