The Convention (Ab)Use

Wes and Tess

As he walked home, he thought about the Halloween party he had been invited for. Despite his thoughts, he couldn't think up a suitable Halloween costume. He eventually gave up thinking and carried on walking home. He quickened his steps as he wanted to get something to eat. He was hungry. He left the house unusually early that morning and didn't have breakfast. He looked up and read "Welcome to The Brie". The large board was conspicuous in such a simple area, no one had ever missed it. He thought it a waste of space. The Brie was the name of the Housing Development where Wes stayed. Parts of it were still under construction, but many of the flats and houses were already occupied. It was one of the new developments in the town of Sarpari. As he passed through the security barriers of the housing development, he greeted the security guards in his usual way, "Afternoon".

They replied "ahhh welcome sir". They had gotten used to Wes' greetings which were either "Afternoon" or "Evening". He rarely acknowledged them when he left for work in the mornings.

When Wes got home, he felt so tired that he forgot his hunger. He drank some water and tried to think again about his Halloween costume. The thought tired him even more so he lay on his bed and fell asleep.

Wes was awoken by the noise of his mobile phone. He had received a text message from a friend asking if he was still going to the party. Three hours had passed since he fell asleep. His twin sister had returned home and was in the living room watching a TV soap. He felt that hunger he had failed to sate. He quickly warmed up a bowl of soup in the microwave oven and put some rotis in a flat plate. He joined his sister, Tess in the living room. The previous day, Tess had invited him for an all-night church gathering which was to hold on the same evening of the Halloween party. He told her that he would be going for a meeting that evening and would therefore be too tired to make it for the church event. She presumed that he was going to be back in the house for 11pm. This was the idea he tried to convey. As she was not going to be in the house all night, he secretly thought he'd stay out till very late. By very late, we mean early hours of the morning, after all it was a Friday night. This was something he knew Tess would not have approved of. Tess had always stayed close to the conservative religious upbringing they had received from their parents. Wes however leaned closer to the liberal culture.

"I'm going out this evening" said Wes as he chewed.

"Oh yeah, I remember, your meeting, please be careful," said Tess.

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" replied Wes.

"I think you still don't realise how dangerous Sarpari can be," said Tess. "This isn't the UK or Singapore. You need to realise that. Sarpari is not safe at night." She sighed and went quiet. A serious look grew on her face. She sighed a second time. This made Wes a little uncomfortable.

"I had a dream last night," said Tess. She sighed again. "Hmm, it's all a bit confusing and unclear. You know how dreams can be sometimes. I saw you in a car. You..." Her eyes narrowed greatly as she carried on speaking. "You were at the front seat. It was raining heavily. Then, there was a crowd and you were sitting on the floor. There were policemen around. That was, that's when I woke up." She now had a confused look on her face.

Wes sighed. There was a minute of silence. It felt more like an hour to Wes. He tried to regain his composure. He wasn't one to be easily frightened. Looking at the TV, Wes shook his head.

"These TV soaps are ridiculous," said Wes, trying to change the subject. "Why is she going inside the building when she knows he's there? She doesn't have any weapon to fight him."

"She was told to stay away from him at all costs." Tess pointed at the TV as she spoke. "Whoever wrote this story thinks we are fools eh. Oh, if she gets killed I would stop watching this thing."

"That's what you said before he killed the policeman," said Wes.

"Yeah, whatever, leave me alone," replied Tess.

Wes chuckled.

He went to get ready after he finished eating. He took a quick shower and began to get dressed. He now had no way to ignore his dreaded Halloween costume. He couldn't make too much of an effort as he didn't want to make it obvious that he was going for a Halloween party. He thought, "Hmm, how about a dark angel, in an all black costume". He wore a pair of black boot-cut jeans and a V-neck T-shirt. He slid his feet into his boots, laced them up and put on a blazer. He picked up his rucksack, his black trilby and he was ready to leave. As he was about leaving, his eyes caught the cross of his necklet. He stopped for a moment, picked it up, and wore it.

"Please be careful" said Tess, as Wes passed by the living room.

"Okay" he replied. His response was choked with a little laughter. She always seemed nervous when he mentioned he was going out. He left the house and made his way to the security barriers.

He greeted the guards, "Evening", and walked further away from The Brie.

He looked at his watch, it was already 7.15pm. The wind seemed to get more blustery as he walked. After getting to the junction of the main road, he got into a taxi. Immediately the taxi moved off, it began to rain. It was close to the end of the monsoon season in this part of Maharashtra, where Sarpari was located. Wes had made a habit of moving around with a small umbrella. Despite this, he was thankful he got a taxi before it started raining. The rain quickly got heavier. His umbrella would have been useless in such conditions. Despite the windscreen wipers doing their work, the glass got increasingly cloudy. The driver was uneasy. Wes could sense this, but he said nothing. They carried on. The driver seemed to struggle even more. Wes stared down the road. He tried to remain calm. The driver lost control and the taxi swerved off the road. The horns of the car behind blared loudly. Wes jerked in his seat. The taxi driver quickly regained his composure and brought the car back on the road. Wes breathed deeply but still didn't say a single word. The rain gradually calmed off to little showers.