Once upon a rainy day

Chapter 2-Lonely streets

My heart was in my mouth as I saw a sinister black sky above me. The daylight had been squeezed out of the day and darkness had taken over in a matter of few minutes. The dreadful charcoal black clouds were definitely not a good sign; I looked around in a panicked state hoping for a taxi to appear out of somewhere.

Mom had gone out of station for a few days, to visit an ailing Grandma. So, calling her to pick me up was out of question. Besides, I change two buses and then hire a taxi daily to and from work. So I couldn't quite bring myself to calling up any relative and saying "Hey, I'm kind of stuck in the other end of the town. So would you like to pick me up and risk your life, driving in what looks like a flash-flood?"

A few noble souls did stop the car for me to ask if I was stuck but I gently told them that Mom's on the way to pick me up. I didn't want anyone to take advantage of me thinking I'm alone and stuck. After waiting for another ten minutes, I thought to myself, "To hell with Mom's stories" and beckoned for the next car to stop. Well, thank my stars, it did stop.

As the sedan pulled up in front of me, I saw a formally dressed guy, with sleek black hair held in place like a professional. He could have been a CEO or a Mafia, for all I could tell. "Need a lift" he asked, rolling down the glass and with a dry mouth, I managed to ask "Could you drop me at the next cross, near Aurora Enclave. My Mom will pick me up from there."

"Get in." He said, opening the door for me, and soon, we were speeding away from this nightmare. Aurora enclave is a pretty crowded spot where people can be seen milling around even at mid-night. I was more than confident to get a taxi from there.

He asked me about my family, college- the usual stuff and I must accept, there was something comforting about the way he spoke. This guy definitely belongs in an office space and not a mafia-club, I thought to myself and heaved a sigh of relief. I didn't realize that we had reached Aurora Enclave, when he pulled over to the side of the road and gestured "Aurora Enclave"

Truly speaking, I felt bad leaving the comfort of the car behind as I got down to face this horrid situation alone. Nevertheless, I was a bit relieved to be alone in a supposedly safe-zone. As I started walking towards the Aurora Enclave, it started drizzling and the next few minutes brought with them roaring ferocious rain. To my surprise, even Aurora Enclave was carrying a bleak deserted look, but I was still not in the mood to regret my decision of not going back to the store. So I went to the only place with a few traces of life, a ramshackle looking coffee house to cool my heels until the rain stopped. While I was gulping down a mug of too-watery Hot Chocolate and clearing a few stages of Angry Birds, the pelting had stopped outside, and I was quickly on my way out hoping to catch a taxi but any such hope fizzled out at the sight that lay in front of me. The roads were water logged and the wheels of most of the cars, barring a few SUVs, had completely vanished under water. The roads had suddenly turned into a canal.

Now, I thought to myself, is the time to regret, so I quietly stifled a sob as tears started rolling nonstop down my cheeks. The feeling had sunk in and was gnawing me from inside that there was no way out. I sat on the steps of a shopping arcade, wrapped my hands around my knees and cried my eyes out. There were a few people around but their appearance didn't provide any solace to my crying heart.

My phone rang and I heard Mom's voice on the other side. "Laura, where are you? I've been trying to reach you for so long. I just saw the news. The city is under a deluge, the downtown is completely flooded." I could hear the panic in her voice, and I didn't want to add to her anxiety. Putting on a cheerful tone, I assured that I was not at home, but decided to stay back at the store due to the floods. She thanked God calling it a good decision and gave out a big sigh, "Honey, I was getting scared for you." I found it unbearable to be able to put up the farce for a long time, so I told her that I'd call her back and hung up.

Cursing my fate, I took shelter under an awning as most of the neat spots were already taken. There was a chaos and I was scared for my life, the roving eyes of the people around me didn't inspire much confidence. I clutched my skirt tightly around my legs and started pulling at it to make it look a little longer.

A group of four dirty looking guys took shelter under the same awning as me and were continuously letching at me, making me uncomfortable. I left that spot and went to stand under the torn awnings of the next shop that kept pouring water on me every time there was a wind, yet I preferred to get drenched to getting ogled at.

One of these creeps, who had tons of chains collared round his neck, inched closer to me, nudged me in the arm, all the while pretending to be trying to settle in under the awning. I'm not usually a wimp or timid. At other times, I would have plucked up enough courage to counter him, but today was different and it didn't seem like anybody would come to my rescue if I got into trouble. So I deemed it fit to avoid these sociopaths.

I pretended not to notice their stares as their dirty eyes bore into me and creepy smiles hung on their lips.

"Anna" said a voice from behind and I jumped.

I will update the next chapter tomorrow. Stay tuned. Until then, it would be great, if you guys could review my work or give comments about it.