The day seemed to torment Rhea like unrelenting, dark clouds on a gloomy day; stubbornly insisting on overthrowing the virtues of leisureliness, yet denying the serendipitous pleasures of excitement. To her dismay, every other day had a similar story to tell and she felt trapped in the cycle of disappointment. As she stepped out of her office after a yet another hard day at work, head hung low, burdened by the weight of the day’s travails, her eyes evoked a sense of deep despondency for the innumerable weary ones ahead.
Her hand automatically gestured for the nearest auto-rickshaw as she crossed her office compound. Her house, barely three kilometre from the office, was pretty close by and was a very good bargain by Mumbai standards. It saved her enough money on travel and offered a comfortable ride in the 3-wheeler. The driver agreed to drop her to her destination and dutifully turned down the meter.
If only the work had been a good bargain too
She plugged in the ear phones, cranking up on her favourite songs while the traffic outside continued to blare uselessly. Her eyes, glued on the road made sure the driver wasn’t trying any longer routes and fleecing her unnecessarily. But her mind was elsewhere today.
Since when did my work turn into such drudgery?
The city lights, glowing like beautiful fireflies, charmed by the night, warmed her heart as the otherwise dull and lifeless city shone like glittering jewels in the sky. The cool sea breeze and the saltiness in the air lifted her spirits as her mind soared to new heights.
Maybe all I need is a break
Her eyes glinted with a hint of hope that lightened her brooding thoughts and she felt determined to not let the burden of the coming days outweigh the joy of enjoying life itself.
“Bhaiyya (Brother), stop the auto-rickshaw please. I would like to get down”.
“But Madam, Capital Apartments is still far off”.
“I know. I am going to walk the distance today”, she said, paying the fare and getting down.
The distance to her house was less than one kilometre and the night was still young. It was barely eight o’clock. The breeze was extremely tempting. There couldn’t be a better weather to walk. Strapping her bag firmly onto her shoulders and the earphones in place, she marched on the side walk, ready to walk down the road to her house and her happiness.
Her expeditious feet led her down narrow alleyways lined with buildings that were too rickety to be deemed safe and too close to one another to be demolished anyway. The sight of children playing in the building compound provided the much needed vibrant break from the monotonous air of the urban city life. Everything seemed right, at least from the outside. At least till then.
Turning a corner from the bustling marketplace, immersed in the familiar tune of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Love me like you do’, she didn’t realize that the street lights in this part of the road were not functional. It didn’t really matter much anyway as her house was barely a few meters away though the sight of the empty road did make her suspicious. But she trudged on, hell-bent on coming through with her noble intentions. It was then she noticed something more, something that was enough to question her very decision to walk that day. She could swear she had seen a shadow behind her, following her. She was already walking fast. She decided to step up her pace. She dared not remove her earphones and confirm her fears of marching footsteps following her. Instead she focused on listening to soothing music to calm her nerves and started to prepare for an eventuality.
What if he is a rapist? A murderer?
What if he has a weapon?
She scrambled in her bag for anything sharp she could find, anything that could come in handy. All she could come up with were a pair of socks she had stocked in case it got cold. She was left defenceless. Her feet started shaking as sweat raced down her face and chills down her spine. Her legs kept walking fast as her mind wavered if running would be a good idea. The shadow kept getting closer. Her breath, now heavy made her lose her last bit of sanity. She knew she couldn’t outrun the shadow. She realized she had only one option left.
Reaching for her hair, she pulled out the only remotely sharp thing she possessed that was sitting comfortably amidst her luscious locks, her pointed hair clip. Turning around with blinding rage, she prepared to plunge the clip like a dangerous dagger straight into the shadow’s eyes before her pounding heart died of the escalating fear. Her arms raised, the ‘dagger’ almost struck its intended target when….
“Madam, Madam!! You forgot your change…I screamed for you but…” the rickshaw driver pleaded helplessly.