THE NEIGHBOURHOOD ROMANCE

Chapter 1

Chapter – 1

            As she stood staring at the never-ending field of Tulips, her heart was leaping beneath her warm chest. Her eyes were searching something. She was dressed in the pure white bridal gown and her left palm was holding the bouquet of red roses firmly. Suddenly a sound of a galloping horse came to her ear. Quickly she fixed her gaze towards the far horizon. She could feel the beats of her heart matching with the rhythm of the horseshoe, and then she noticed the rider revealing itself from the morning mist. A beautiful smile spread on her face as she recognised her man fast approaching her. Love, for some people it was just a mere word but for her it was her world, a bond, a soul-to-soul connection. She was ready to get married to the love of her life. Her eyes were twinkling with the pride of marrying the person she so loved. A shiver ran down her body as the horse stood in front of her and he let out a hand to help her climb up. Without a delay, she gave him her hand and he pulled her up on the saddle. A half grin carved his face and they rode off through that endless field of tulips.

So many colours of the flower glowed in the shimmering sunlight in arrays of red, yellow, pink and white, just as her hopes of the bright future was spread all over her mind in such different colours. She looked into the eyes of her man and saw all those hopes reflecting, her arms went around his neck and he lowered his mouth to plant a kiss on her craving lips. Their lips were about to meet when she felt a tug on the lower hem of her dress. She looked and saw a scaled ghostly hand clasping her white gown. She screamed and fell on the ground.

All of a sudden, the entire field of colourful tulips disappeared and in its place, thick black-brown thorns were staring at her. The shimmering sunlight was gone and a shadowy darkness spread around her. Even she failed to find her man in that darkness. She kept on calling his name but no answer, only the same scaled hand tugged her dress and the white gown torn from her waist. She screamed and threw her legs in a frightened speed, but the hand was not leaving her legs. Slowly the hands traced the length of her fair legs and tried to reach her waist. She tried to scream again but this time another scaled hand came over her mouth and the foul smell of a rotten human body stroke her nose. Another scaled hand torn her sleeves and she felt the cold humid touch on her arms. And in that one dark moment she was again that ten year old girl who was tormented continuously for five years. Somehow, those nights were still in the back of her mind. What was it? Some filthy words and darkness! Yet for her the words were equal to a sexual exploitation. Hot tears ran down from her eyes and the hands were all over her frightened body.

And then, just as it had appeared, it was gone. The scaled hands had finally disappeared but not because of her fear but because even the scaled hands were afraid of the devil who stood in the middle of the field of thorns. His grinning white teeth were enough to scare off any danger lurking beside. For the man himself was a danger. Every pores of his body gave out the essence of the heartless man he was. Irritation took the place of fear in her; she hated him, more than that, she despised him not because he was the biggest devil. Neither did he resemble the face of the man who had tormented her, but because he was the one man who had never let her forget that darkness, that was still a nightmare for her.

            The loud sound of her ringtone jerked her up from that shivering bad dream. She gasped and let out rapid breathes sitting on her bed. She was still in her room in her home. It was just a nightmare. Sweat had formed around her forehead and her hands were shaking. She took the water bottle from the side table and drank emptying it, and then very slowly she calmed down and reached to put on the lights. Her phone rang again and she saw one of her colleague Astha was calling. If anything had the power to completely distract her mind, then it was her work. She took the call, opened the windowpanes, and looked down at her beloved hometown.