Looking For A Reason to Live

Looking For A Reason to Live

by Paul McCann

Being part of a gang wasn’t a choice Albert made it was the only option for him to survive . He came to Australia illegally on a boat as a refugee and ended up in  a detention camp . He couldn’t speak English and was facing deportation back to the Middle East where he had come from . The big problem was that if he returned there, he would face execution from those he was trying escape from . So, in desperate times , people do desperate things and Albert became a desperado and tackled one of the security guards one evening and tied him up then stole his uniform and walked free out the gate.

He stole a car in the car park and drove at speed to the nearest town where he saw a train station and got on board a train to a place between nowhere and freedom . As he was still wearing the uniform no one bothered him or gave him any grief . When the train arrived at busy looking town Albert decided to get off the train and try to find a place to stay for a while .

He made his way unhindered from the train station to the town centre .

Outside one of the pubs a crowd of bikies had parked their bikes .

Albert liked the looked some of those bikes and noticed one of them had the keys in the ignition so he thought to himself.

“This one must be for me :”

Just as he was about to climb on and start it up, he was grabbed by one of the gang . A fight ensued and Albert was able to handle well . Another one of the  gang grabbed Albert who spun into a fury bringing the biker to the ground. Now enraged he began screaming in Arabic to a crowd of the gang who surrounded him. With knives in their hands .

One of the gang was able to understand Arabic and spoke to Albert who explained his situation and how he only wanted to escape from the authorities and how he was scared that they would send him back to where he would face an execution .

The biker spoke to the leader of the gang about the predicament Albert was in and how they could use that situation to get him involved with their drug operation . His language problem could work in the gang’s favour and being a lone wolf also made him an asset to the gang . It was put to a vote and Albert was elected as a new member of their gang .

Albert quickly adapted to life as a biker and was making a lot of money but there was always something in his heart that knew that it wasn’t right but he had no  choice .He had to stay in the gang because of his language barrier Then he was picked by the gang leader to execute a rival gang leader .

This job brought back memories about where he had come from and he wasn’t happy about having to kill another man . He struggled with the though of what he had to do , it was becoming clear to him that he needed to runaway from the gang , just like he had to escape from the gangs where he had come from in  the middle east .

On the night of the hit he was accompanied by another gang member ,

Albert threw a few fast punches that knocked out his accomplice ,. Then he tied him up , burnt his motor bike and took off into the night like a bat out of hell and never looked back .

He rode all night and in the morning light he saw some bags of clothes that had been left at a charity bin and helped himself to a new outfit .

Dressed a little more respectable he walked around the small town where he was . He noticed a young lady with some car trouble and stopped to lend a land , Albert noticed one of the spark plug leads was not on property and the battery terminal was very loose and was able to get the car started for her . She was very grateful and thanked him in Arabic . Albert was overjoyed when he heard her speaking his language and he unloaded his whole life story in about twenty minutes ,

She told him her name was Doris and had taken a shine to Albert and immediately wanted to help him . She had a two-bedroom flat and offered him a place to stay with her . Then explained she was a university student doing a nursing degree and was in the process of getting her permanent visa . had a flat nearby . She told him that she would introduce him to a few people she knew who taught English and he didn’t have to go to university , he could attend a local community hall and the lessons weren’t  too expensive .

Albert had a lot of money that he saved during his time with the bikie gang .

The next day he started his English lessons . Six months later he was able to read , write and speak basic English .

They fell in love and put together a plan .

As dangerous as it was Albert and Doris would return to the middle east to get married and afterwards Doris would return to Australia and continue her studies . During that time Albert would apply for a spouse visa and if and when would be approved  he could legally come to Australia where they could be reunited and begin a new life . It was a workable plan and one that had many risks however it was really their best option as Albert could now live in Australia illegally. Time passed and the plan came together in their favour . Albert managed to keep a low profile back home , they communicated frequently and Doris set up an on line English class for Albert to continue his studies . Both of them now had plans for the future and a reason to be together and live the rest of their lives in Australia

The End