fall for Predator

Chapter 2

I was walking through the jungle very dense jungle, even sunlight wasn’t able to penetrate it. The sound of water flowing from the stream was coming. I went in that direction but I could hear another sound too someone was crying far away, it was a wolf. Hearing the howling of wolves I ran to that direction. After some miles I came to a cave, I don’t know why I wanted to go inside. It was dark and a wolf was there, a grey wolf having blue eyes. He was bleeding and howling in pain. His pain was bringing tears in my eyes. His neck was cut open and blood was running from there. Its eyes were staring at me as if he had hope I could save him. I moved my hand toward his neck when I was slammed from behind and I woke up. I was breathing heavily that dream just felt so real, I was sweating my whole body was wet. I looked at the clock it was 3 am. My heart was paining, paining as if the hole was increasing in size.

I couldn’t sleep after that.

I had asked Barrby to hide d**k’s scooty early, I had to implement my smart plan. When dad took me to the college, in the parking lot our scooty was missing. He consulted principle, watchman but nobody knew about it. He even asked some pedestrians. Me and Barrby were laughing behind him, after interrogating everyone he could there, he called the police to report the loss. My plan worked. Now it was the time to return d**k his scooty. I took it into a wash center and have it washed. It was shining as new. At lunchtime when the monster gang came at the cafeteria I went toward d**k and handed the key to him ignoring other monsters around. d**k accepted the key with a smile while others didn't seem happy about me being happy.

‘I heard you passed out yesterday, What a weak heart?’, said Swarez looking at me. His blue eyes were like a dejavu to me. I was so sure I had seen it somewhere but where?

It affect me so much that I was staring at them initially.

I jerked when Danny kept his hand on my shoulder, ‘Maybe I can help to make her heart strong.’ I pulled my shoulder aside dropping his hand, I didn’t like anybody touch me without permission and went from there while Danny was telling me to stop as I hurt his ego.

I was afraid of nothing at that point, I knew by then they were nothing it just I should never hang my head low in front of them.

The next day was my appointment at the hospital with Dr. Subham, I have to escape my first lecture for it. It was very boring for 2 hours to wait in front of his clinic. Finally the accountant called my name and I went inside. My first imagination of Dr. Subham was an old man with glasses and partially bald as most of the doctors are, but I was wrong Dr subham was an extremely handsome guy probably in his 20’s with black hair and very impressive personality. If I had known he was like that the waiting wouldn’t have been boring.

He checked my ECG report and looked at me with again pity in his eyes, which I hated the most.

‘I am sorry, but it looks like your hole is increasing recently. It may be because of shock or a new environment but we have to increase the dose of your medicine. You have to take care of yourself’

I knew lately I had gone through many emotional breakdowns and bully, and my heart was also paining a lot. Dying sooner wasn’t my problem my problem was leaving my dad alone.

‘Doctor, at this rate how much year do I have’

Door opens from behind but I didn’t care thinking that must be another patient I was just concentrated on his answer, ‘According to your report, not more than 2 years’. A cold shock went through my heart it was aching again. Two years was just not enough to find the perfect wife for my dad, I had to do something fast. Tears dropped from my eyes it was just recent shock and bullies stole 1 year from my life. That time each minute was so important and valuable for me losing 1 year was not a joke.

‘I am sorry, but still, there is no technology that can save you from this.’

‘Thank you doctor’, I bid him and stood from the chair, To my surprise d**k was behind me looking at me. Did he heard everything?

Tears were still in my eyes, he was constantly looking at me

‘So d**k is your mom alright?’, asked doctor from behind

‘Yes’, said he still looking at me. I couldn’t face him and went outside the door, d**k came behind me. I knew he wanted to ask many questions I took him to the balcony.

There was an awkward silence for some time.

‘Can you promise me that you won’t tell about this to anyone?’, I said tearing the silence.

He was still not answering me,

‘I hate myself. You were dying and still, we bullied you. Burnt down your scooty, locked you up in the closet’

‘You helped me, d**k, You are the person with the most amazing heart. Your friends may have bullied me but you have always been there when I needed you the most’, ‘just promise me you won’t tell about this to anyone, please for me’

He looked at me with pity in his eyes but it was okay because it was d**k, ‘I will’.

‘If you don’t mind can I ask you something’, I said

‘You can’

‘I know you don’t like bullying then why you share company with them’

‘I never said I don’t like bullies, I didn’t enjoy it either. I am happy to see my friends enjoying it. It’s just I was impressed by the way you were defending your friend just like my Swarez used to do for me’

‘So you are close to him’

‘He is more like a brother to me, he has been there with me when no one was. You may think cunning of him now but I swear when you get to know him you will see how soft he is inside’

‘I don’t want to know him. He is still a monster to me’, I said laughing, ‘So are we friends now’.

He was silent for a minute, ‘Let's not call it friendship, you are still an enemy of my squad’.

Barrby was right he was different and warm. He gave me a positive vibe and warmth to my heart.

We returned together to the collage, seeing us together whole collage was shocked. Above all those three monsters were in a shock. It was probably lunchtime so everyone was in the ground. Barrby ran toward me, ‘fill me up’, she was excited seeing us come together.

‘I just went for a routine check-up and we met there.’

‘And he let you in his scooty?’, she was still shocked

‘Yes, why shouldn’t he?’

‘You may call them a monster, but they are most wanted bachelor in our collage. Girls are ready to give their all just to speak with them and you just came out from his Scooter, just imagine’

Her voice was giving me goosebumps. Was being thereafter that was harder?

The first time my college day went out without any issues.

My dad was still worried about the lost Scooter which he was never going to find out. Poor police were trying too hard to find it when it was in the junkyard as ashes. Somewhere I was feeling bad for my dad but what could I have done at that condition. That day while coming home on the city bus I was constantly looking at all middle-aged women for my dad, it felt creepy but I was desperate. It’s stupid, right? I know it’s stupid I had also made his profile on a dating website without him knowing but the problem was how could I make him go for the date. Being a daughter wanting to search a wife for her dad was a big problem seriously.

I was just stupidly thinking about my going to be stepmother when my dad phone rang. It was an unknown number, I picked up the call,

‘Hello’, it was the voice of a woman. I have never witnessed any woman calling my dad before. I was excited

‘Hello’

‘Am I calling Mr Sharma?’

‘I am sorry, I am her daughter’

‘Aniya right?’ she knew about me, was anything going on between them I was overwhelmed.

‘yes’, I ran toward dad and handover the call to him signing it was the call of a woman.

I followed him listening to him talk

‘yeah, we can meet tomorrow’, he was saying. They were talking about meeting each other I was pointlessly worried about finding him a wife.

‘So my mom?’ I asked looking at him intending to mock but he scolded in return,

‘She is just a social worker working on recent rape case, she just wanted a forensic report’

‘Have you seen her?’ there was still hope

‘Yes, she usually comes hospital’

‘Is she single?’

‘Why do you need that anyway?’

‘dad please tell me if she is single or not’, he served the meal for both of us

‘you are impossible, her husband left 14 years ago’

‘Wow, she is a social worker you are forensic doctor I swear your bond will break every love story record’

‘Please, stop trying to find a wife for me. Focus on yourself, what did Dr Subash said about the report’

‘He said my heart condition was improving, don’t worry dad’, I lied if I hadn’t he wouldn’t have slept that day.

I was in the jungle, a dense jungle. Again howling of Wolf. The same cave. Same injured grey wolf and same nightmare again. When I woke up the same as before I was short of breath, wet with sweat, and my heart was aching. What was happening to me? At that rate, my hole was getting bigger every time it ached my life was becoming shorter. I couldn’t sleep that night too just those blue eyes were coming in front of my eyes like a dejavu.

The next day again my dad left me to the college, it was a little embarrassing but my dad used to feel happy the whole day after that. Barrby was just walking through the gate, bidding my dad bye I went toward her.

She was looking angry, ‘What happened? Is everything alright’

‘Nothing is alright’

‘First tell me what happened’, she was still walking aggressively

‘Do you think, I am fat?’

It was a very tricky question if told her the truth, her aggression would have increased so I decided to lie

‘No. who told you are fat, do they even have an eye’

‘I knew, you were my true friend. The guy I met on a dating profile. He saw me on the bus the previous day. Do you know what he texted’

‘What?’

“he thinks I am fat than I seem on profile’

I was literally laughing inside I don’t know how I controlled it

‘Seriously’, I couldn’t say more.

As usual first lecture was free from the curse of monsters, but at the second they came spreading their bad omen. Swarez came to my bench and signed Barrby to go find another seat, I held her hand and stopped her from moving. I knew they must have thought of something again to torture me.

Barrby sat again when Swarez was looking at me angrily.

‘I said you to empty the seat for me’, he shouted at Barrby, she was afraid she pulled the hand from my grip and went for another seat at the corner.

‘What do you want now?’ I said extremely annoyed with him then.

‘Girls are ready to give their life to sit next to me, why do you have a problem with that?’

‘I am not blind as those girls’

He seemed more irritated he looked me with his sharp blue eyes. I knew where I saw that, those eyes were the same as the eyes of that wolf which I saw in my dream. Same color and same penetration. I knew he was a monster. But why I kept seeing those on the dream that was still a mystery. I just thought that was an unusual coincidence and let that slide.

He grabbed my hand and took me outside and dragged me inside the storeroom pressing me against the wall with his face almost near mine,

‘I know you are using d**k to protect yourself from us, I am just here to warn you, stay away from him otherwise I will make your life miserable here and I swear that’

He was red with aggression, which somehow gave me a negative vibe. His breath hitting my neck was resisting me from speaking, I just wanted to release myself.

‘I am not using him’, I said to him with my cracking voice barely coming out of the throat. His presence was pressure in my heart, it started aching. I looked at him, his mark was red too, he also seemed to be in a pain. He falls on the ground screaming. His mark was getting redder and he was trembling in pain. I was devastated and baffled trying to calm him down but he was pushing me back I went outside for help, ‘Danny, d**k, Saurav’, I shouted. All the class gathered in front of the store. Danny went inside to calm Swarez but he was continuously crying out of pain. Some of them even accused me of hurting him.

‘I was searching for you, What happened?’ Barrby came running toward me.

‘I don’t know, he was telling me to stay away from d**k and he started screaming. I swear I didn’t do anything’

‘I know I believe you’

Soon nurses were there they injected him and took him to the hospital. Everyone, there were looking at me as if I was the one to drag him to that condition. Even d**k avoided me.

I was in a dilemma and wanted to find the answer.

My mood was off the whole day and at the top of that my pain in the heart wasn’t stopping. I was afraid it was increasing in size. Various things that were happening recently were hunting me down and I wanted to get away from all those things and focus on finding my dad a wife as soon as possible.

Swarez was missing on the collage for more than a month where the other three were quite regular. There was no one bullying me then but the college didn’t felt like the college maybe I was used to having daily issues there. Apart from Barrby, no one take the step to start a friendship with me. My classmates used to treat me like an alien. Nobody wanted to talk to me and at the top of that d**k the one with whom I felt the connection was avoiding me. It was peace there but still something missing.

One day on a weekend my dad brought a woman home with some of his office mates. She was Ms. Koirala the social worker dad was talking on the phone. There was no limit to my happiness but those other workers just seemed like a bone between them. I was obliged to make lunch for them but more than in the kitchen I wanted to be there listening to them talk. Ms. Koirala was a beautiful lady, despite being middle-aged I am sure many boys could still fall for her. They actually looked too good together. I made lasagna for them,

I served it on two very beautiful plate actually they were couple plate for dad and Ms. Koirala and for other I set up plane plates. They were sitting on a dining near the garden outside

‘Your daughter is very beautiful’, said she making me blush I gave them the identical plate but so bad of my dad he passed it to one of his friend.

‘Your dad was saying you study in mysty high school’

‘Yes’

‘My son also goes there’

She had a son, but no worries my dad will get a son after I...

‘His name is d**k’

What! She was d**k's mother, I remember Barrby telling me about his mother. Was I thinking of becoming d**k’s sister? That wasn’t a bad idea, d**k was actually a nice very nice guy. He can make my dad forget about me.

I didn’t know how long but I was lost in my own imagination. ‘Do you know him?’, she asked again

‘Yes, we are in the same class’, I replied. A smile filled her face, ‘He is coming to take me in a few minutes’.

Dick was avoiding me for a long time, so I wasn’t sure how he will react after seeing me there.

‘I have to say Mr. Sharma your daughter makes amazing lasagna.’, said she looking at my dad.

Please be my mom I will serve you Lasagna every day, my heart was screaming out loud.

Dick knew where I lived, Did he already knew his mother was here.

‘Does d**k have this address?’, I asked looking at his mom

‘Yes, he will be here any minutes now’

Will he come here after knowing this was my house? Many questions were coming in my mind when d**k came there with his scooty.

‘So he is here’, exclaimed his mother. There was a smile in his face probably he was being nice with her mother but still, he acted as if he didn’t notice me.

‘Don’t you know Aniya she is from the same class as yours’ she said looking at him

‘I didn’t noticed’, that was his answer. Seriously, What I had done to him to become so rude.

His attitude somewhat hurt my ego. I went inside the kitchen, I didn’t want to hurt my ego more being there.

Maybe his mother ordered him to introduce he came behind me. I acted as if I didn’t notice him. TiT for Tat.

He sat on one of the chairs there. He was my guest it was my duty to ask him for water

‘Water?’, I asked looking at him

He nodded his head. I went toward water jar, when my leg slipped on the water and BANG I fell on the ground.

My leg was paining like hell, d**k hurried toward me and picked me up placing me on the chair.

‘You have to be careful, you are always falling into some problems’, he scolded

‘Why do you even care, you are the one who avoided’

He left the grasp of my leg and move into his own chair still silent.

‘Do you really think that was me due to whom Swarez was hurt?’, I asked, that question kept me curious for a very long time

‘No’

‘then why?’

‘Swarez is everything to me. He was my dad, my brother and my friend. He never asked for anything but from that day, he has not been in my contact not only me. Danny, Saurav we all are worried about him. He has kept himself locked in his house. I was just eliminating the probable reason for him to behave like this’

‘Swarez has locked himself?’

He nodded his head. I was baffled, nothing happened that day for him to react so much

‘There must be something else. He was in a lot of pain’

‘His report showed nothing’

‘Swarez mark, do you know how he got that’

‘It’s his birthmark.’

It’s so unusual to have a birthmark like that. ‘I am sorry’, he said again, ‘I thought it won't matter either I talk with you or not. And your illness..’

‘Don’t worry about it, I was ready for it 5 years ago and for real I have no regrets at all’

‘you are brave for real, always be like that.’

He was looking at me, his eyes were giving me chills. He was the perfect man I ever met.

‘Let's avoid each other in front of Swarez from now on. If you think that was the reason for his change in behavior’, I kept myself in his place, he was being a good friend avoiding me then.

‘But we can meet each other behind him right?’, he said still looking at me

‘always?’

‘Have you been to Banepa park yet?’

‘no, I didn’t know anyone here who could spare their time for me’

‘Am I invisible to you’, he chuckled, ‘Let's go there tonight’.

There was no reason for me to say no, I was really excited about Visiting the town with him.

After he went home with his mother, I called my Barrby, She was double excited than me, so excited that she was willing to come with me, but I knew that was a bad idea. Because we meeting behind Swarez was a secret.

‘Is this a date’, she asked

‘Are you mad?, I am willing to make him my brother.’

‘then I am warning you, he is mine behave properly with him.’

I knew from the beginning Barrby had a crush on d**k but she also knew it was like having a crush on prince harry. But after everything that was happening lately, she was having a little ray of hope.

Dad came inside after bidding his office mates bye.

‘She is so beautiful dad, I have already considered her my mother. Tell me when are you going to propose her’

‘How many times I have to tell you she is just my office mates. And who do you think I am, a teenager to propose someone?’

‘you are not less than a teenage dad, I bet any girl can fall for you’

When I and my father used to start talking we both used to forget our age and problems.

‘You are really impossible’

‘Dad, I am serious. I like her she can be a perfect wife for you and at the top of that d**k is a very nice guy.’

‘Aniya, I have never loved anyone other than your mother she was my first and last love. No one can replace her’

‘But dad you can’t be alone, I am worried about you. Thinking you will be alone I can’t die peacefully’

The environment was already emotional by then

‘You aren’t dying. A father is supposed to die earlier than his daughter.’. Tears were already dropping from his eyes. He made me cry too. I went toward and hugged him. My father had bore the pain of losing me for five years still he used to pretend to be happy around me. But at the time like that, we both were not able to stop feeling sorry for each other.

It was already 5 pm. d**k texted me to be ready till 5:30. Barrby had warned me not to wear beautiful clothes around him. I went to my wardrove, the jumpsuit that my friend gifted me back in my hometown caught my eyes. It was red and was made of very beautiful fabric.

I added some mascara and lip balm to my beauty. He came right in front of my house at 5:30. My first tour with my secret friend was on.

When I went toward him, his eyes were dilating ‘you are looking beautiful’, said he

Barrby was going to kill me. I just said ‘Thank you’ and sat on his scooty. I hate when strangers touch me but when it comes to someone comfortable I didn’t used to hesitate. I grab d**k’s waist he jerked a little but didn’t seem to mind at all. Why should he mind? He was my future brother.

Rain was dripping a little and it was falling on my face refreshing my soul. I spread my hand wide and felt every bit of drop there. The air was moving through my hair making it fly like a bird’s wing. Moments like those were the period when I wanted to live more.

We reached Banepa park, It was at the top of a hill, at evening whole valley down there was looking like a bright heaven, as stars below us. The whole park was decorated as a new bride. There was a lover’s point with thousands of locks in it. Each lock was a souvenir of a couple. I was just looking at those breathtaking views, I couldn’t thank d**k more for that tour. There was a bench sculptured as a flower near the viewpoint, we sat there when we witnessed a falling star.

I hurried to join my hand and make a wish.

‘do you still believe in those kinds of stuff?’

‘Yes, Why don’t you believe in it’

‘I don’t’

‘Can I ask why?’

‘Common, they are just a comet or an asteroid, huge ball of stone. How can they fulfill wish’

‘Don’t ruin it for me, I believe in it and let me’, the person who initially made me wish after seeing a falling star was my mom. From then I have always believed in that. At the age of 8, I wished for my mom to come back. I was gullible enough to wait for my mom the whole night to come then.

‘What do you wished for’, asked d**k looking at me. I smiled

‘I asked God to give my father the strength to endure my death’

My answer left d**k in silence. He looked distressed. ‘if you believe in god and falling star, why can’t you be positive enough to expect you can live for a long as a normal person’

‘What is the advantage of false hope. After 4 years I have made myself strong enough to take it lightly. Don’t tell me to expect more I am afraid I will want to live more’

Dick lifted his one hand and wrapped it around my shoulder, ‘I am sorry. I just couldn’t believe God can betray such a nice person. I just want to see you happy always smiling just like this my whole life. You may have hope or not but I am gonna be optimistic about it always’

His hug was warm and comfy. The night was already dark and the star at the ground was seen even brighter with d**k at the side it was a perfect night for me. Maybe one of that night which made me want to live more.