It is half past seven and still Sandhya is breaking over some calculations on her desk. She can’t be at peace still she gets that right and leave for the day. This calculation of hers has made her forget the ordeal at the dawn and her beautiful dream of hers.
It being that time of the year, when the nights are longer and days shorter…it was just being a little late than a pleasant evening it appeared as night. She hurriedly glances at her watch on the right hand and sets to get going, coz her lanes will get deserted and even being in a car it was a bit scary to pass through those streets.
Her house is anew in the area; some suburbs of the city, which is yet to be explored and overlooking the Bay of Bengal. It was such a scenic place, but deserted, quite calm with the lovely breeze of the sea. Sandhya wanted to be away from the crowd of the city, yet accessible place. She got what she wanted and joined hands with her dad to build this place.
She starts from her office, gets into the lift hits the basement key, when she sees a tall guy walking briskly towards the lift and motioning her to stop it for him. They way he tells her, there is something that her mind relates to it; she ignores it and hits the button to open the doors wide.
When he quickened his pace, he hears his name being called and turns…Ka…r…thi…k….! She keeps looking at that turn of head, towards the sound and she finds her eyes also move towards to it.
In that event, she missed the pair of eyes that said, “Mam, I am sorry…you carry on” and turned the other side, the last tilt that head could take, she caught at the right moment, something struck a chord. She missed it and with a sigh she got to the buttons on the lift and continued her journey.
The basement was almost empty with a few cars around; it is unusually late for her. She has never stayed so late even on requests always had her timings right and kept to it. The tube lights in the basement were hazy and some were flicking for want of light itself and was creating an eerie feeling to the whole place.
She could find a guard lost in thoughts and unmindful of the surroundings in one corner of the area. She wonders even if she shrieked will he be able to hear, the thoughts sent shudders through her backbone and with haste unlocked her car doors and locked them. The sound of the car doors locked gave her a sense of safe feeling, with the ignition she gave the sleeping engine a kick-start and slowly and gently maneuvered the blazing blue Hyundai Getz out on to the ramp.
She kept going with her favorite music being played on, keeping her company on the long road ahead. Leaving the shears of the city lights, crowds and sounds, she drives into the roadway of her abode, the lonely and quite life that was hers…she looks around there is not much cars and her car lights giving her enough light to pass through the way.
She looks into the rear-view mirror for a car behind and then a car passes by with the light reflecting on the mirror and blinding her sight, she loses her balance and the shrill power of fright traveling down her spine; she clutches the steer and pedals on to her home.
She comes to the lonely lane that looks almost deserted on a frenzy evening as well, there used to be street lights and today it looked as if nature was as against her.
On the start of the street something makes her stop for a minute and a déjà vu takes place, the alley in her dreams comes true and she gasps for her breath, right at the corner of the road she sees a bright light beaming for her. She steps on the pedal and moves into the street with all her sense on the verge of breakdown, she keeps moving taking in the weird images that creep in the dark.
She is murmuring to her, her mind is speaking to her – ‘it is ok, sweetheart, you are in a car and safe, all you have to do it keep the car moving no matter what and just finish off with this road and walk towards the light, keep focused…’
The light seems to be moving far away from her as she gets closer how is that possible, she seems to be going on forever…nothing seemed right. She peeps into the rear mirror and finds the path is winding just behind the back of her car, nothing seems right, no this can’t be happening, I am dreaming…she keeps telling to herself, but no her hands are sweating and she is moving this car and there is music that is loud enough for her to hear, there is this favorite song of hers that runs on a repeat mode.
Then, suddenly from nowhere she hears a honk too loud to bear, she lifts her hands off the steer and puts it to her ears and applies the break so hard that the car goes completely an inch above the ground and comes to a standstill.
She had closed her eyes so tight that there was nothing visible to her, why is this happening to her; she can feel a tear roll down her beautiful eyes. She slowly opens her eyes not able to bear the knocking that is happening against a glass door. The tap is gentle enough but for her it is like some huge rock gathering momentum to crush her bones underneath it.
She opens her eyes to find a man standing on the other side of the window. The person looks familiar but she does not who is it, she hasn’t still collected her senses. She lowly responds to the sound and tries to lower her window pane and take a look, her mind runs wild is it the masked man?!
Oh! My god it is the masked man…alright so I get to meet him. She takes a look at her and as the window lowers she sees a familiar smile and a face, she finds it hard to place the face…where did I see it first.
(...to be continued)
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