If you can know me

The fateful night.

“Help! Help!!Don’t you dare touch me!!!HELP!!Take your hands off me you lecher or l'll kill you!”

-the shrill distressed cry of a female broke the ominous silence of the dark deserted alley, followed by a sharp bark of laughter, a rough sound coming from a raw throat .

“Really ,sweetheart will you do so? I’m afraid you can’t”, the leading male jeered right into her face ,grabbing her jaw in a vice-like grip, his breath reeking of alcohol.

The implication was seconded by leers from his equally inebriated companions and a mumbled grunt from the most drunk in their group.

“Or maybe are you contemplating on what would happen next?

Don’t be afraid my dear. Honey, you will really enj -“

-the rest of his words were suddenly halted by the dull thud of fist connecting jaw that sent him staggering back a few steps ,resulting in a string of enraged roars and  curses from the little gathering.

Signaling his men to stop, the leader prowled forward ,his eyes glinting like hellfire in the dim lighting of the far away streetlight; eyes that the devil itself would fear .
The girl held her ground ,refusing to back down, even if she was practically quaking in fear from inside. She knew ,showing weakness or fear would  only excite them more. His voice was a soft purr as he cocked his head to one side with a seemingly hurt expression and breathed ,”What did you do little miss ?” .
The voice itself was enough to break her down; it would have been less unnerving had he lashed out .The promise of violence in his eyes was unmistakable.

Run! Shrieked her inner voice.

Run!
Run as fast as you can!

But she knew  that she could not  outrun these spawns of devil. It was too late ,too late .

Still she would try…

“Aaaaaaarrggghhh” ,Susant bolted upright from his bed, bedsprings creaking at the sudden movement.

Beads of perspiration dotted his chiseled  forehead ,strands of dark hair clinging limply ,distorted from their normal spiky configuration.

Shit!! It’s the same dream! Again!! He bit down his lower lip to keep it from trembling.

The dull persistent throbbing inside his head could do nothing to lessen the impact of his wildly beating heart, which was thudding a somber rhyme against his ribcage, in sync with his headache.

He stared unseeing out the open window of his bedroom, his mind in a totally different universe from the beauty of the glowing night lights outside.

One may think it as a normal after effect of a nightmare ,but for Susant it was nothing less than a long forgotten harrowing truth, the bane of his life.

 
He swiveled around suddenly and checked his bedside clock.

Two a.m.

Shit!! 

Suppressing his customary shudder, he dragged himself out of the bed and trudged towards the bathroom. After shutting the door, he leaned against it and closed his eyes in a futile effort to clear his head.

The scene of his nightmare replayed in the back of his eyelids, blurred the way dreams become now that he was wide awake.

The wince that sliced across his face, spoke of years of guilt and agony.

Finally, he pushed himself off the door and blundered forward ,not caring to switch on the light…well not until he tripped over something. Reaching out he steadied himself by the wall and flicked on the switch after considerable groping around in the dark.

That ‘something' was the clothes he had   carelessly dumped this evening.

In a burst of uncharacteristic frustration he kicked them aside and stomped to the marble topped basin at the other end of the washroom.

It was not until he reached the basin that his brief spurt of energy ebbed away and his knees gave away from under his body.
He clutched the counter for support ,and took deep breaths in a futile effort to wash away the nausea….