Chapter 2::Fear
She woke up abruptly from the sound of the bus horn. It was still drizzling quietly. She lifted up her body and then stumbled towards the bus. There were very few people sitting inside. A lady sitting on the front seat stared at her as she entered the bus. She hastily went to the fourth row, turned right and settled herself by the window seat. The bus stop was not clearly visible through the glass panel due to the presence of fine water droplets on it, making its appearance quiet hazy. She touched her head with her skinny fingers but to her surprise she could not feel any injury or blood. At once, the whole incident flashed before her eyes like a movie clip. Was it all a nightmare? No! it could not be. She still remembered that penetrating gaze of him and the heavy blow he had given on her head. The experience was real absolutely but didn’t make any sense as there was not a single trace of any bruise on her head. She honestly did not understand what happened to her back there. The more she tried to assess the situation the more she get confused. Her head began to ache as she over scrutinized her harrowing experience. Soon the bus stop started lagging behind as the bus proceeded in the forward direction. To divert her attention she put up on her earpiece and started listening to songs. After half an hour, it crossed the Hallstatt Lake stretching extensively in between the magnificent colossal mountains. The reflection of the whole town in its water was just breathtaking, impelling every living soul to dive in its divine supremacy. In a little while the bus was speeding through the streets. Now, it was not raining so she could see the busy shops along the side of the streets with people relishing, purchasing, devouring and laughing with their families evincing a perfect contrast from the world outside to her world inside. She retrieved her eyes from that vivid scene to her full grain leather wrist watch. It was showing quarter past ten. She sighed and then rubbed her cold hands together in order to warm up her body. Rest of the people sitting inside the bus were dozing off in their seats. Twenty minutes later she was standing outside, on the Kohlstattweg street and heading promptly towards her home. It took nearly 747 steps to reach her to the doorway.
The house was located on the rearmost corner of the street. It was a nice looking, small wooden house with beautiful large glass windows and a Cantilever balcony facing the street. Russian vines were embellishing the walls of the house under the gleaming moonlight. She unlocked the front door and then went inside. Putting her scarf on the hat stand she headed towards the kitchen. The interior was quiet cozy. There was a living room to the right, a modular kitchen attached with the dinning space, a compact lobby leading to steps to the first floor and a sturdy pine wood door beside the stairs opening to the courtyard behind. On reaching at the kitchen she picked up a medium size glass from the shelf above her and then filled it completely with lukewarm water. After quenching her thirst she looked outside the window of the dinette. As her eyes were inspecting the quiet cold street from its one end to another, she come to see a silhouette of a man under the willow tree in front of her house. She got startled and the glass fell down instantly from her weak trembling hands on the hardwood floor, making it shattered into several tiny pieces. Was he the same guy? Was she being followed by him all the way down here or was she only imagining things? The only way to know was to check. She gathered all her courage and then went nearer to the casement window for a closer look of that site. There was literally no one standing there and not any peculiar movement noticeable under that gruesome tree. It was dead silence outside in the street. But then suddenly, she heard some noise from upstairs. Her face become pale white and her whole body started to shiver in fear. She could felt her heart throbbing against her chest. Subsequently, sound of footsteps on the deck above become prominent and perceptible. She was now certain about the presence of someone in her house.
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(After 2 years)
[ Date: 10 April 2007, Tuesday]
‘‘Oma! look I got the first prize in piano recitation in our school” cried out little Raya cheerfully and ran towards her grandmother who was sitting peacefully on an exquisitely carved Rosewood rocking chair, knitting a lilac colored sweater from Merino wool yarn. Her hands were moving sophisticatedly, creating incredible floral designs with the needles on the wool. Seeing Raya coming in her direction she put all the things aside on the nearby small table and made her sit on her lap.
“Oh! great dear. I am pretty sure that you will do well, Raya. You were really practicing hard for this and see your hard work pays off! ” exclaimed the old woman and affectionately stroke her hair.
“Oma, have you done with your knitting” asked Raya.
“Uh…What?’’
“I am asking you about the sweater.”
The old lady look a bit confused and stared at her blankly.
“Look, Oma! said Raya and pointed towards the sweater kept on the chair. She turned her head in that direction and saw it lying there. Consequently burst out laughing at her own silliness.
“Dear, I completely forgot about it. Well, there is still some work to do and I will try my best to complete it by the end of this week. But presently, I am starving. Let’s first eat something” she chuckled and then went to the kitchen. Raya followed behind her serenely. Later on, they sat on the dining table and enjoyed their Wienerschntizel with Buchteln sweet yeast buns. Fragrance of the lavender flowers placed in the white ceramic vase was spreading throughout the room. Next to that vase was hanging a rectangular photo frame on the side wall. It showed a picture of a young couple standing merrily in front of the Hofburg Palace. Raya noticed her grandmother looking at the photograph diligently.
“Oma! How old is this pic?” enquired the young girl.
“Mmm…maybe around forty years or something. I can’t exactly remember the time, but you know my dear, this was the place where I met your grandfather first time and after our marriage we visited this place again.” said the old lady sentimentally and then retracted her attention from that to Raya who was sitting calmly on the chair and gazing at her modestly. Her innocent look put a smile on the face of the old lady.
“You missed him.” Raya sympathized with her.
“Yes, dear.”
The old lady paused for a moment and then spoke to her gently.
“ He was really very loving and a caring person. Always cheering up the broken ones and helping others in their need. He used to say that the life is all about living happily with indulgence and gratification. Even in those last precious days of his life when he was lying peacefully on the hospital bed, he was smiling and waiting keenly for his children to come and meet him. Yet they never showed up.” After saying this her eyes become wet but she held back her tears as she did not want to cry in front of her girl. Thereupon, she stood up from her seat and went nearby her daughter and looked at her cordially.
She grasped her hand and said to her calmly “Raya in our life sometimes we have to face such circumstances that we never wanted to. They hit us hard and left us in distress. No doubt how badly it hit us, we must get up by ourselves every time, have faith in our God and face it confidently. The time will heal everything. That’s why ONE MUST ALWAYS MOVE ON.”
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