Ariel's Redemption

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

‘You looked nice, babe,’ a metallic voice rasped out of the answering machine. ‘You’ll make a much more beautiful bride than your cousin. We’ll have to make that happen soon, although I hate that you cut your hair. You’ll have to learn about some boundaries. Don’t worry, though. We’ll work on that together. I’ll teach you.’

Wide-eyed, Ariel stared at the answering machine. The message she had just played back might have been subtle, but the menace seeped through the carefully chosen words.

The woman’s fingers shook. Although there was no one else there with her in the room, and she didn’t need to hide what she felt, Ariel fisted her hands. Her temples ached, and a dull pain throbbed at the back of her head.

The thought of calling the police crossed her mind for a moment, but she chased it away at once. It was pointless. Ariel had tried that in the past, and nothing had happened.

The police told her that what she felt was subjective, and anyway, they didn’t have too much to work with to catch the guy leaving those messages. They advised her to calm down and read less through the lines. In other words, she needed to ease the drama.

Ariel turned to the window and stared out in the darkness of the night. Imprisoned in her own home, the woman felt powerless.

For the last few months, she hadn’t dared to go out in the evening. Once she got home from work, she would lock every door and window, pull the drapes, and hide in the den, too scared of what might have lurked in the dark.

As a rule, the young woman didn’t have a very active social life. But now, terrified because of an invisible man, who threatened her freedom and life, she started turning down every invitation she got and became a hermit.

Ariel had given up going out for a coffee with friends or a drink with someone after work. The young woman had the feeling she’d been locked in a cage, where she turned in circles, and she didn’t have any chance to escape.

When the phone rang again, she let it go to the answering-machine once more, happy that, at least, the guy didn’t have the number to her mobile phone.

The woman decided to cancel the contract for her landline in the morning and went to bed, although she felt restless and knew she wouldn’t fall asleep too soon.

That was the cherry on top after having to attend yet another wedding for one of her cousins. Ariel knew that the time passed her by, and she would soon be too old to fulfill her destiny. She hoped that at least she would get the money.

***

THE MORNING GREETED Ariel with a grey sky. Heavy clouds warned of snowfalls, and the young woman groaned in dismay. Ariel had lived in Toronto her entire life and learned to drive in winter, but still, that didn’t mean that she had to like it.

That day, she had to visit two locations of the nursery she was working for, and she didn’t feel like driving. However, taking public transport didn’t seem too appealing, either. That early in the morning, the subway was bound to be packed. Ariel had suffered from claustrophobia since a tender age, so she loathed being stuck in closed spaces with too many people.

The young woman went through her morning routine as fast as she could to get on the road ahead of the other commuters. When she got downstairs, the red light of the answering machine blinked, catching her attention, and unnerved, she scrunched her nose.

On tiptoe, Ariel approached the stand where she had installed her landline. She behaved as if someone had been there with her in the house and could have surprised her.

The young woman glanced at the display of the answering machine. The number of messages shocked her and took her breath away. She gasped for a few instants, fighting for air.

When she could draw air into her lungs again, Ariel congratulated herself for turning off that phone the night before. She knew that her family and the few friends she had could get in touch with her on her mobile phone.

The sheer number of messages strengthened her decision to cancel the landline that very day, and Ariel promised herself that she would do it during her lunch break. It was high time to get rid of the psycho that marred her days with those scary messages left on her answering machine.

The accurate information imparted in some of the messages strengthened her opinion that the guy was stalking her. Ariel wasn't sure, but he knew too much about her personal and professional life. It stood to reason that the man followed her around, although the police were not sure that that was the case. One of the officers had even asked her if she might have exaggerated when Ariel contacted them the first time.

The woman listened to the beginning of the first few messages and turned white. The tin voice gave a detailed account of her moves around the house before going to bed.

Despite what the police said, that guy did represent a menace to her. She needed to solve that situation, and once and for all.

Ariel put on a red, short winter coat and brushed her fingers through her blond, straight locks nervously. She threw a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror without taking note of anything. Then, the young woman gathered her things and started to the front door.

Once more, the anxiety had brought throbbing in her temples and fluttering in her chest. Ariel knew she wasn’t in any way fit to drive, but she didn’t have another choice right then. After hearing her stalker’s words on the tape, the woman didn’t dare to call a cab. She couldn’t know who would turn up at her door, and it wasn’t worth it taking stupid risks.

Ariel hesitated to go out and stopped in the doorway. Her careful eyes scanned the street, but the woman didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t notice any unknown cars parked in the driveways. No people were walking around without a specific purpose.

The woman gathered her courage and went out of the door, pulling the heavy oak door behind her with more force than necessary. Her fingers shook on the key when she locked the door, but Ariel persevered and turned the key in the lock twice.

With quick steps, Ariel climbed down the flight of stairs to turn into her driveway. Her boot caught a patch of ice, and the woman practically fell to the ground.

Ariel yelped but managed to keep her balance, waving her arms in the air like a drunken stork. The rate of her heartbeat went up, and the woman exhaled with a whoosh.

Once she became steady again, Ariel trudged toward her car on shaky legs. The woman pursed her lips and shook her head in consternation. She wondered how it was possible to have ice right at the bottom of the steps.

Ariel had paid her neighbor’s teenage son to clean the snow off her stairs and driveway two days before. She knew that it hadn’t snowed or rained since then.

Nonetheless, the woman had too many things on her mind right then to ponder on that strange occurrence, and with another shake of her head, she let it go.