Like a dream

CHAPTER-11. NOW

        A long drive along the countryside with your favourite songs playing on the stereo is the best thing to do on a weekend and that too on a special day like this...Nick's birthday.
Fluffy clouds tread swiftly in the blue sky. There is a cloud shaped like a turtle and it slowly transforms into a banana. It's nice to see the whole wide sky without any skyscrapers to obscure the view. How tranquillizing... Somehow in this place called Coltswold, I can feel Nick's warmth seeping into me as if he's right beside me.
I stop in front of a typical English cottage in the place named The Lower Slaughter. The breeze gently fiddles with my hair as I walk over to the door and ring the doorbell. A middle-aged woman opens the door and leads me into the dining room where Mrs Miller is seated in her wheelchair. Her woolly white hair is neatly tucked into a bun and her wrinkled face welcomes me with a warm smile.
‘Leila..’ her quivery voice calls me.
I reach over and hug her. 'Granny, how are you?’
‘As fit as ever,’ she winks at me.
It is Nick's grandma Betty Miller. She is 80 years old and is the strongest lady I've ever seen. I met her for the first time in Soho in a hospital where she was admitted for knee replacement surgery.
‘Sit down let's have some tea and cookies’ she commands.
Our talk never crosses the topic of Nick and somehow it is not painful rather I am contented.
After finishing I take my leave from her and drive down the road which ends at a stone path. I take out the cardboard package from my backseat and tread down the path. My footsteps halt when the stone path ends and I stand there captured by the beauty before me.
It is river Eye flowing calmly among the meadows and reflecting the golden rays of dusk. As the sun is hastening to set down, I place the package on the grass and sit down by the side of the water and start unpacking. It takes half an hour to prepare all the necessary arrangements to start my mission.
Kneeling down by the side of the running waters, I lift them one by one and float them in the waters. One...two...three...and finally I let all the twenty-seven floating. Giving a faint golden glow, my twenty-seven lanterns dance in synchrony with the waves. The sun has already set and the dark evening and water are lit by the golden glow from the lanterns like fireflies lighting the night.
Twenty-seven lanterns for his twenty-seventh birthday. Nick's mother did it every birthday and after she passed, Nick and Kayla did it. Nick wished to let the lanterns with me on this birthday…but only that he's not here. I am doing it for him, all alone.
      I grab my bag, get up and dust my pants. I head down the stone path to where my car is parked. It is nine and if I hurry, I can reach home by eleven. A few minutes into the walk and I sense someone following me. I slow down and I hear the footsteps slow down too. I halt in the middle of the sequestered narrow street and the footsteps behind me aren't heard. Damn, someone is following me! My heart is thudding and I'm dead scared. I turn around quickly, but the street behind me is empty. But clearly, I'm not hallucinating. Did the person hide behind the bushes? I need to get out of here soon. Even if I yell till my throat goes dry, I am not going to receive any help as most bungalows here are unoccupied. I clutch my bag tightly and quicken my pace. Once again, I hear the footsteps. This time, the sound is louder and nearer. Now I don't even have the courage to turn back. I walk as fast as my legs can carry me, all alone in the dimly lit street. What kind of person is relentlessly following me? Is he a thief or some kind of perv? Or is he some kind of psychotic killer? My thoughts are running wild as I hear him approaching nearer and nearer.
       I pray that I reach my car safe. I will feel better if I get into my car and lock myself comfortably. I am just a small distance away from my car and I almost take a run. Wait. I don't hear anything. I don't hear anyone coming after me. I slow down a little and turn around quickly. I find no one. I continue walking as I check behind over and over again. There is no one. Am I being paranoid? Oh God! I don't know what is happening to me.
    As I reach my car, I get in and put on my seat belt. I turn on the music, loud. The spooky stillness of the night scares the shit out of me. I quickly ignite the car engine and drive past the bungalows. I step down on the gas pedal and soon I'm driving at 100mph. A few minutes into the drive and I spot a red Sedan in the rear view mirror catching up with me. Now I press the pedal harder, to the floor and still, the car stays with me. Is someone following me again? But who is it and why? Or maybe...... I don't know.....maybe it's a delusion. I need to know if the red Sedan is really following me. I check my mirror and see that the car is close behind. I hold my steering wheel tightly and make a sudden right turn without putting on my turn signal. The red Sedan followed me through the turn. Oh God! I'm really being tailed. My eyes dart back and forth between the empty street ahead and the rearview mirror to check the red Sedan behind me. I need to lose this tailing car. But what am I supposed to do? There is no other car on the road except the one tailing me. And I cannot call my friends who are seventy miles away. Or should I call the cops? I am not sure if I'm overreacting. The best thing I can do is drive fast to reach the nearest commercial street, which is five miles away. I continue to drive fast as I glance into my rear view mirror. I see no sign of headlights. I slow down a little and still, I don't spot the car. I keep going. It has been ten minutes and no sign of the car. I pull over to the curb and turn off the ignition.  I put my head on the steering wheel and let out a deep breath. My hands are shaking and so are my feet. I have been stepping hard on the gas pedal for too long. I reach for the water bottle that is rolling on the floorboard of the passenger side. I take a long drink before I ignite my engine and get onto the main highway.