Calming my heart beat I noticed, no one was around actually. Now that I actually paid better attention to the surroundings rather than my head, I realized the sound most probably came from the end of the right hand turning nearby.
"Its okay, everything is okay. It is just some people laughing and chatting nearby. No need to worry."I tried to tell myself and calm down.
And in my head a war waged :
The frantic part : "There are men and its almost twilight and you are not home yet.
The sensible part : "But you are only a few blocks away, nothing can happen to you here. it is not a bad neighborhood."
The frantic part : "But her timing, its late, a good girl like you does not roam the streets at dark. And moreover those men are unknown but the neighborhood is known, if people see you what will they make of you and your family. And how will your family feel about you and oh how people will taunt them."
The sensible part : "It is not completely dark, and if you make a run for it you could make in time. And not all people are savages, so nothing will happen. No one is around anyway, so no one will notice you."
The frantic part : "No one being around is even more dangerous, what if something happens and no one is around to save you."
"No!" I said it out loud, but not too loud for anyone to hear. I decided to ignore the bad thoughts, the war waging inside my head and the consequences and the scenarios, god those are lots of things running around in my head for a young girl my age.
I decided to concentrate on what I should do, get out of here quickly without getting noticed. Should I make a run for it, but what if someone sees and labels me mad for running around on streets at dusk? Or should I just walk by as I would usually do, without making a sound, acting as if I haven't noticed a thing?
Maybe if I choose the latter no one would pay attention towards me, I would stay safe and there wont be any rumors as well.
But is it true? Even when we feel as if no one is there, someone is, someone is always watching, silently noticing standing at the edge of their windows and slowly pulling the curtain just enough to peak with one eye. Funny how these are the people who notice everything, yet do nothing. And the twisted way they think is the way the story is spun and told and distributed for them to judge upon. And so they become the judges, find you guilty and pass the verdict even without hearing the defendant.
Amongst all of the chaos in my head I decided to do what I felt was the best option. I started walking forward slowly, gaining confidence in my head and having faith that nothing bad would happen.
As I was walking forward I took a glimpse from the corner of my eye, of the right hand turning, noticing a few men at the end standing in the dark. I dismissed the bad intuition and the glimpse from my head and focused on walking forward.
"Don't think about it, calm down nothing is going to happen. Just a short walk, forward till you reach the end of the road, a right and a left and then another right and you will be home even before you know it." I kept telling myself that as I pictured getting nearer to my home.
And all of a sudden I could hear the rustling of leaves, the sound of my footsteps on the sandy pathway, and my heart bursting in my ears. For a second I started thinking was I too loud, and then I realized it wasn't me but rather everything around had become quite.
Until I heard a few more footsteps walking except for mine. Maybe their destination is down this same path or maybe they are entirely different people then who I imagine them to be.
The sound appeared to be getting louder and clearer. As I realized they were getting closer I became stressed and started walking faster. I did not bother to look behind, I did not care if they were the same people or what their motive was or if someone saw me and what they would think of me if they did. All I wanted, was to go home as quickly as I could and be safe.
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YOU ARE READING
A Scarlett Rose
General Fiction"Hero of the story, are the evils of the society" Story of a girl becoming a woman, understanding the society and the hurdles in her life. A tragedy/ a tragic romance P.S. :- Its ironic how the story is fiction but what she faces is upset-tingly rea...
