The Enchantress

14. Stalked

A woman walked through the slightly wet roads of Mumbai. The streetlights illuminated her beautiful figure as cars zoomed past her. She was clutching her bag in front of her abdomen carefully.

She was tired of walking but she didn't want to hail a cab. Slowly droplets of sweat covered her forehead as she walked with a certain speed, like she was brisk walking, despite the heavy looking bag she was carrying.

It was 2 AM, the time when the roads would be filled with trucks carrying goods. The trucks kept the roads alive such that it would not be creepy.

The woman was rubbing her bare wrist, cursing herself for forgetting her bangle. Her breaths came out as shallow puffs as she bent over, coughing. She felt ill after the lack of sleep from last night.

No, she couldn't take it anymore. Taking out her phone, she called her father, "Hello Pappa (father), I'm sorry for calling this late but... can you please pick me up? I will send the live location on WhatsApp."

"Of course, anything for my child. You should have called earlier. I would have picked you up from the hospital itself. Send me the location. I'm coming," his sleepy voice spoke as she could hear him fumbling with his cupboard, probably dressing up as the call was ended from his side.

She shared her location and started walking again as she was passing by a dhAbA. Dhaba means a small roadside restaurant, mostly Punjabi cuisine. A few trucks were standing near it. The trucks would most probably be for the transportation of goods.

She hugged her bag, her figure crouched as she coughed.

"Where is a helpless little woman like you going all alone? Do you need a lift?" she heard a voice behind her.

She said nothing as she started walking faster. She could hear him behind her as she started running but the bag in front of her wasn't really helping.

A man with a dark complexion and curly hair called out again, "No need to run. I know this looks bad but I just want to help."

Her legs were paining so much and her eyes felt like they were about to close. She didn't reply and continued walking. She didn't hear him following her so she looked behind to find someone else, a criminal as she knew him, just behind her. She could swear she didn't hear him at all as her eyes widened.

How did he find her so soon? She was about to turn back and run as fast as she could but he held her elbow, stopping her.

She hissed, "Let. Me. Go," putting emphasis on each word.

He said, as soft as he could, "I don't want to scare you. Just give me one chance to court you, one chance so that you can get to know me, one chance to make me a better human."

She felt like she had stopped breathing. All this while, all she had done was judge him. She thought that he was a bad man, that's why he was born in the world of crime. After all, where he was born depended on how he was in his past life, didn't it? However, succeeding to be good despite being born in such a family was a challenge, a challenge which was as rewarding to the soul as it was difficult.

She nodded as she saw his pink lips pull into a smile. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he mumbled hoarsely, "I know that I don't deserve you. However, you still gave me a chance. Thank you so much."

A car stopped near them as Mahesh got out, alarmed to see his daughter's elbow in a man's grip. He came forward, pulling her behind him as he asked her, "Maya, who is this guy? Did he do something to you?"

She thought about it. He didn't do anything, but he did come here from nowhere. He was stalking her and came out when he thought that she was in danger. It was not right but it didn't feel wrong either.

What was she thinking? Stalking. Was. Wrong, no matter what reason they want to use.

She nodded and mumbled, "I-I think he was following me and stepped out when he noticed that I was in danger."

The man's eyes widened. He would never find out how her brain worked. Instead of being thankful, she was being unbiased and truthful, making sure not to over stress any of her points.

"Is he the one?" her father asked, gulping down the thick saliva in his throat. She wanted to ask what she meant by the one but she knew what he meant, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. She only nodded, which made him sigh.

He knew this day would come. However, he didn't want it to come. He wanted her to be happy but he didn't want her to leave him. The man was looking at the father and daughter duo. They were acting weird but it wasn't his concern.

He declared, "I need to go home now. Since Mohini is safe, I'm going to go."

Mahesh didn't ask who Mohini was. His daughter was smart. She knew that every piece of information that you tell others could be used against you, especially on the internet and to the people you barely know. He was glad that she could come up with it without arousing suspicion, almost like she had decided on it beforehand.

How had she met him? Was she hiding something from them? No, he trusted his daughter. She wouldn't hide anything from them. They had been nothing but good friends to her.

Would she though? He knew how this generation was. No matter how friendly the parents are, the children will want to revolt. If the parents are over friendly, the children will be spoilt. He had thought that he and his wife knew how to balance the situation but it looked like they were not friendly enough.

"We need to talk tomorrow," Mahesh declared, almost like a robot as he sat inside the car. Mahamaya quickened her pace and sat on the passenger seat as the car started.

The car kept getting smaller and smaller, till it disappeared as the people in the dhaba kept looking at it and the mysterious beauty, someone so beautiful they couldn't believe she was real.