Unexpectedly

Danger

What she saw made her heart jump to her throat. She knew it! Someone was following her. She started praying that this guy would stall until she reached the crowded end. She didn't want to alert him so she walked quietly, even though she was trembling from inside.

Unfortunately, her phone buzzed inside her sling bag. Instinctively, her hand shot out of her deathly grip from the bag's strap to the pouch. But this instinct proved to be a huge mistake on her part. Her frantic movement drew the attention of her stalker. He didn't spare a moment and lunged on her.

Sensing him bearing towards her, she sprinted ahead and barely missed him. But he was able to grab her ankle. She went off balance for a bit then stomped over the man's hand. He grunted in pain and slowly lost his grip. As soon as she was free, she turned to her heel and made a run for it. She drew in her breath and opened her mouth to scream but a large hand closed into her mouth.

She struggled and wiggled in his arms, but his hold was too tight. He whispered something in her ear, something incomprehensible. She knew that he would only tighten his hold on her if she kept struggling, so she chose to stay calm and plan.

The man was confused with her sudden calmness and loosened the hold on her waist, just to check if she was conscious or not. And this was the chance Divya wanted. She stepped on his left foot, elbowed him then kicked his shin. The impact wasn't too great, but enough to loosen his hold on her mouth, which she took the opportunity to bite down on. As hard as she could.

Running on pure adrenaline, she unflunged her sling bag and maintaining a tight grip on it, she swung it as hard as she could, hitting the man right through his face. Then she pushed him away from her by punching under his chin and kicking him on his ribs. It wasn't too powerful, but was enough to give her some time.

Running away wasn't an option because she knew this guy was fast and would catch up to her the moment she tries to flee. She looked around, fully alert and noticed a small metal dustbin just four steps ahead. She took a long stride and grabbed its top and flung it on the approaching man. When he bent over in pain, she hit his hip, lower spine and head making him cry out in pain. By now, she was blindly hitting him anywhere she could get. The man tried to push her off but she was relentless.

Divya didn't know when tears blurred her vision and she started screaming through her pursed lips. Her arms started to betray as her strikes grew weak. The man was grunting with every feeble impact and stopped moving actively.

She took this opportunity and threw the piece of metal aside. She searched for her pouch and as soon as she located it she grabbed onto it. She heard some footsteps approaching and made a run for it when a familiar but worried voice stopped her.

"DIVYA! " That voice. The oh-so-sweet-and-comforting voice! She never knew she could feel this kind of elation. She turned around, still shocked and found a relieved looking Vijay sprinting towards her. He stopped near the groaning man and added the two and two together.

"Did he harm you in any way?" He huffed. He sounded worried but there was an undertone of bitterness and annoyance. Divya shook her head in no, now finally calming down.

Vijay kicked the man and looked at her. As soon as they made eye contact, there was something in Divya that shook. All the resolve melted, leaving her trembling like a scared puppy. There was something in his gaze that provided her with comfort and warmth. She remembered how scared she was the whole time. She broke eye contact and looked down. When she looked up again, tears brimmed to the corner of her eyes threatening to fall down. Her lower lips trembled and her nose turned red.

The way she stood, looking so small and scared with her nimble hands squeezing the small bag, made him want to comfort her. Her eyes were asking him to. He raised his hand and was ready to move forward, when a very worried Neha beat him to it. She ignored everyone and took Divya in her arms crying and apologizing. Seeing her friend like that, Divya's restraints broke and the dam burst open. She buried her head on Neha's shoulder and cried her eyes out.

She grabbed her like a lifeline, stuttering how scared she was and Neha rubbed her back and held her tight. As for Vijay, he looked away and glared at the bruised man. He silently asked Neha to call the teachers, who gave him her phone as she was busy comforting her friend. Soon the teachers and other students were back with the police. Turns out, the man was a small robber who targeted the tourists. He wasn't a big threat, but still a dangerous person.

When Divya calmed down, she was instantly taken to the hotel with teachers making the two girls responsible apologise for their behaviour. Divya didn't mind them much. She just wanted to feel safe so she excused herself and called the day off. Vijay handed the handkerchief to Neha and bid his goodbye. It was better to leave Divya alone right now.

But this night was sleepless for both of them. Vijay kept checking his phone, just to catch her online. He wanted to make sure that she was alright. But he was too reluctant. Luckily he found her online on Instagram.

'Hey'

He decided to test the waters.

'Hi'

The reply was instant.

'How a-' He deleted that. 'Are you Okay? '

'Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken tbh. '

Now what? She is fine. He wanted to know that. Right?

'Okay. You should sleep now. '

'Then why are you awake?'

Vijay chuckled softly. The inquiries she takes!

'It's Okay for me to be up. Little girls like you should sleep. ' His lips turned upwards in mischief.

'You are well aware of the fact that we both are legal adults.(T_T)'

He controlled his laugh but did send the laughing emoji.

'Ha ha. Very funny. '

'Did you receive your hanky? '

'I did. You could've returned it to me tomorrow. '

'Can't. I have a flight at 6. Morning. '

'Oh... '

'Yup. We are going to Malaysia. My friend's grandparents live there. It is our final destination. '

'Oh Okay. Am I keeping you up?! Of course I am! Well sleep now! Good night! '

He could imagine her fumbling her phone. A small smile tugged his lips.

'Yeah. Goodnight. Sd. '

'You too (≡^∇^≡). '

He exited Instagram instantly but a notification retraced his steps back.

'And Vijay. '

He waited.

'Thank you for today. '

And then she went offline.

***