Episode 2: The Stranger
The story of a girl is about a series of events that takes place in a girl's life and all the horrific incidents and outcomes that follow. It is a suspense thriller based on a true story. Continue reading Episode 2 below and if you haven't read Episode 1, go back to my " My Scribble" page and begin reading!
Enjoy!
6:30 AM
She walked along the side of the road, head down, hood pulled all the way to her face. She heard faint voices and realized that she was close to the bus stand. As she looked up, almost everyone went silent. It was more of a footpath with benches on it, than an actual bus stop. A few men, similar to the one she met earlier that day, stood about the place. She bent down again and went closer and sat on the bench.
A bearded man in his late 30s sat next to her. He too, like the man she met earlier, had a rug wrapped around him .The rest of the men went back to what they were doing, but looked at her from the corner of their eyes. The man though, did not look away. She scooted a little away, feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious.
Soon, a bus arrived. She stood up and fumbled towards the door and sat in the last seat next to the window. The bearded man followed and sat next to her. She stared at him. Fear and shock clearly showed in her face. But he sat there like nothing unusual happened. Slowly, the bus started to fill.
She sat there looking out of the window, trying hard to not think about the man sitting next to her. She slowly noticed two figures walking towards the bus. One hefty and the other lean. She started to panic, fumbling in her seat she didn’t know how to escape. Tears filled her eyes. Her heart began to quicken.
The men were near the door when the bearded man said " Quick! Get under the seat!”
Without a second thought she went down, hugging her bag, holding her breath. The bearded man removed the rug wrapped around him and placed it on his legs. Blocking her completely. She heard footsteps approach.
“Have you seen a girl in a hood, wearing a bag pack around here??” asked a hefty voice.
“”No. No girls like that around here.” said the bearded man indifferently.
The two men left the bus after a pause. She let out a sigh but stayed down there until the bus started to move. The man took his rug out and signaled her to come up. She looked at him thankfully and he gave her a curt nod and looked away. She continued looked out of the bus, lost in her thoughts.
“Madam, MADAM? Where do you have to go?”
Pulled out of her thoughts, she looked up at the conductor.
“umm….mm, wh”
“Two tickets to Mysore railway station”, said the man.
She looked at him, shrugged and continued to look out the window. She was lost both in life and physically. She didn’t know where to go and who to turn to. It slowly came to her. But, she would wait until she reached the railway station to call this person.
The man nudged her and nodded towards the stop. Both of them alighted.
“It looks like it is not safe for you. Here, take my clothes. Go change".
Until that moment she hadn’t realized that the man was carrying a ragged bag.
“Do you know where you want to go?”
She nodes, “Mumbai”.
“Alright. Go change. I will be back” he said and walked away.
She went into the wash room and looked at herself in the broken mirror. A 20something girl stared back. She almost didn’t recognize herself. Her long hair was wild and tangled, eyes swollen from all the crying. Her lean body looked fragile in her oversized jacket.
She slowly changed and walked out.
The man was standing outside talking on the phone. As soon as he saw her he said “I’ll call you later” and cut the call. She was suspicious, but this was the guy that saved her from them. Besides, what worse could happen, she thought and walked towards him.
“Here. You must be hungry” he said and gave her a few slices of bread and a banana. Until that moment she hadn’t realized how hungry she was. After a few bites she thought ‘what if this is poisoned?’ and slowly looked at him. He had a poker face that was hard to read. ‘I’ll not die of hunger though”, she thought and continued eating.
“Here’s your ticket. The train has arrived. Let’s go”
“Let’s?”
“Yes, I’m coming with you” he said and started walking towards the train. She paused for a moment, frowning and quickly followed him. They took their seats where they sat facing each other by the window.
The train slowly started to move. Once they settled, the man turned towards her and asked “Why were they looking for you? Who are they?”
She didn’t reply.
“Didn't I just help you?”
“It’s a long story”
“Good thing we have a long journey to make ,isn’t it? Tell me. What’s your story?”
She looked at him and took a deep breath and began her story.
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