The Echos of longing

The wounded man

The wound was quite deep,the officer accessed. He has been hurt too much. What was he running away from,the officer wondered as she pulled him up,to take a look..

She gasped,at the sight of the man. He was the kind man she had met before. His smile,tenderness had left a mark on her soul. He was really a gentleman. Who had never stopped himself from helping others..

As she pulled him up,like he was a little rag doll. She sighed. He had lost weight. Again. She was a little late. But thankfully,he had managed to run to her localities. Even dogs here were trained,to guard against violence. But who was so cruel? That they wanted to make a gash on his skin? On his face? He was a cafe owner. And it was his handsome face that attracted most of the girls,teens specially..

As she walked towards the ambulance she had called,she picked up the needles inside her pocket. And started to stitch the wounds. Leaving the needles there. They were made up of medicines,dried and made into thin strips. To stop anyone from following her.

The needles were slowly but visibly melting into the wound across his chest. They had taken a quite dig there. The light green shirt,now brown was a proof. She sighed.

As she put the last needle,and stood up,his finger held the thin material of her dress. She was alert. Would he wake up now? But he was in deep sleep. It's just. He was murmuring something. Calling for his mother?

Was he in a nightmare,she wondered.  As she touched his forehead gently. Yes. He was relieving a nightmare. Of walking alone. On the steep mountain roads. In rainy days. In the dark evening. As the footsteps echoed. The small child was cowering in fear. She closed her eyes and entered the dream..

The child walking slowly towards home,now had bright lamps to accompany him. And few passerbys returned from work in the sane path. Everyday. And they would greet the small child with smile as he walked back.

She returned back. And wiped his sweat.

If only he was not the man she likes. How troublesome. Of course. That was not a hidden secret. He was the crush of every single girl in the locality. And he seemed to enjoy that attention a lot.

He might even not know her. Or notice her. In her hoodie and glasses covering her face. She was a regular visitor of his cafe,who sat silently by the window sill for sometimes. Reading books. Actually looking at him,being busy. With his silly cat and customers..

But she did not try to get close to him.. Even when he used to talk to everyone. Because,he had this perfect standard set. And she. She was just a girl. From somewhere far away..

But these few days,she had heard a lot of things. Like. He was dating someone. And so on. She had not visited his cafe. Due to overload of work,may be. Or to not feel that faint ache she felt.

But finding him in this state was something she never imagined.  What happened to him.

She put him to sleep by pressing his acupoint and picked him up again. And walked towards his home. The small apartment he lived in. And found keys in his pocket. Taking him inside,she made him sleep. Removing that green shirt,the shoes. Everything else. As a memory of their encounter. The wounds had healed almost.

Then she picked up a pair of white shirt and made him wear one. And cleaned the green one. Thankfully he had washer dryer in his home. She dried the shirt and hung it in the balcony. And left.

But what happened to him,she wondered. Why was he like this?

Next day,he got up as if he had a bad hungover. He was thirsty. Drank the water in the glass. And then tried to recall.

He recalled he had wanted to stay back. He had to bake this new batch of cookies he wanted to try. But the person pestering him had come. Actually they were a group. They said,he should shut his business off. They had come to warn him again and again. To leave. To not compete. Even some of the customers had started to stay away.

But they had pulled out knives. He had ran. Ran until he had crossed that alley. The alley that was said to be never crossed in nights. Because of the ferocious dogs that lived there. As he gasped. The dogs looked at him closely. They could sense his fear. But they did not bark.

As soon as the group come,the dogs barked. And started to chase them. But someone escaped. Then what? He could not remember..

Was it a dream,or a reality? He wondered. As he looked at the white shirt he was wearing. But he was wearing a green shirt before.

He walked towards the balcony. And there it was. He was feeling his heartbeat accelerate.  Someone had come. Who?

He put on his shoes and ran faster. Towards his cafe. It was locked. And the key was underneath the planter. Someone had come there too. To clean it up.  He remembered the mess he had seen. The glasses and cups missing was the proof. But rest was spotless. Who was it?

He locked the door and walked back home. He wanted to stay at home. But he was feeling good. Even his legs were not aching that much. How?

He was feeling strange. As he walked back. He did not notice a silent shadow move behind him. Ensuring him safe passage. He reached home.

And it disappeared.

The goons came. But this time. Not that threatening. He filed complain. Lost few customers. But the goons left. With a warning glare. But why did he see fear in them instead of warning?

What was happening around him? The same police who was not even paying heed yo anything,as he had seen. They were trying their best to help him.

The case was resolved. He started to work again.

But what happened in between?