Pervade and Faint

Chapter 38

Another attempt
The spot where I had parked my car the previous day was surprisingly empty. I parked my car near the sidewalk and put it on neutral. I took off my seatbelt and leaned in, staring at Latif Bagri's house. I still didn't know whether the car parked in-front of his house was his or not. It was all ancient and rusty, which gave me a feeling that it must have been his. Like owner, like car. I reclined my seat, providing some temporary ease to my aching back. My eyes although, were still glued to his house. Breaking my stare, I took a quick glance at my watch. Eleven twenty, exact. The ride, due to the rain, stretched a bit longer. I had to scrutinize, in order to get a good look at the house. The water flowing down the windshield wrecked the view. A bright jolt of lightning slithered around the clouds from far away. I gasped. It reminded me of my grandfather's death. After just a few seconds, a bloodcurdling thunder roared. I must confess that it shook me, all the way to the core. I had been more perplexed for Sophia than I was for myself. I wondered whether the roar had also terrified her. After another roar of thunder, a crashing sound filled the atmosphere. It seemed as if the clouds were collapsing with each other. Or as if water was being sucked down in a parched, deep gutter.

Busy in my own thoughts, I didn't realize that Latif Bagri's door had opened. It remained open for a while. Just after half a minute, a man came out, with a light orange and baggy rain jacket. He firmly locked the door and placed the key in his pocket. The man placed a hand in front of his head, trying to save his face from the rain. I leaned forward to get a better look. As I looked at the man with a tight eye, I realized that it was Latif Bagri. His small beard was much heavier and bushier, as compared to what I had seen in the picture. He rushed towards the car. It was the same old rusty car. So much for my guess, I thought. He readily opened the car, started it and took off. I watched his car as it left the road. Small, muddy water drops flew from the rear tires as his car moved. His car disappeared from my sight in just a few seconds. This is my chance, I thought. I rubbed my hands quickly, producing enough friction to get them warm. Considering it my chance, I stepped out of the car. The cold breeze reached inside my jacket in a matter of seconds. I looked around for a while, just to make sure that there was no third eye watching me. But the main suspicion had already left. I slowly walked towards the house. As I gained a few steps towards the house, a cold breeze pushed me towards the house, as if nature had been helping me. Perhaps the pull of heart, I considered. As I stood on the doorstep, I took a deep breath. Mustering up my courage, I knocked on the door. I stood there for a while, desperately waiting for a response. But my knock didn't elicit anything in return. I knocked once again, harder. I heard a feeble shuffle from inside, a few seconds after my second knock. There was an infinitesimal peephole attached to the door. I peeked through it, but it was all blurry. But only the opposite was possible, to view from the inside. I took a step back and examined the house, trying to search for another door or window. I thought that I had heard a small knock when I took another step back. My eyes eagerly shifted towards the door. But there was still no response. The door was sealed shut.
The knock came again.
It was coming from somewhere else. The voice seemed to be coming from another door or so, but there was no door nearby. That's when I caught sight of a small window behind a few bushes. The sound came from there, I thought. I jumped off the doorstep, crawling towards the window. The rain ferociously pummeled my back. The wet dirt seeped in my pants, rolling an irritating and filthy sensation throughout my body. I looked through the small window. But there was nothing to be seen but a faint darkness. Or whoever it was, was hidden behind the curtains, which were behind the window. Just when I was about to knock, a shadowy figure formed in front of my eyes. As the shadow grew darker, the figure formed a body. My heart leaped and bounced as if a compressed string in my heart had been left loose after a long time.
After about two years, our eyes met.

Sophia stood at the other side of the window, looking at me. As our eyes met, she gulped, taking in a tremendous amount of fear.
"Locked", she mouthed, but I couldn't hear her. I comprehended by the movement of her lips. She placed her hand on the window. Sophia pointed towards her right, trying to tell me something.
"Door", she said. Indicating with my pointer finger, I told her that I would be there in a minute. Before leaving for the door, I looked at her once again. I couldn't believe the situations in which we were stuck. I stood up and ran towards the door. It was all the way at the left (to my left and Sophia's right) of the house.

I tried to open it but it was locked. I gave it a few hard pushes, but it wouldn't move an inch. It stood there with its roots locked deep. I took a few steps back, in order to gain potential. I charged towards the door and banged it with my shoulder. The door shook slightly. Once again, I repeated the same act. After four or five strong charges, the door got loose, but still locked. I gave it a hard kick with my right foot. Due to the fact that my shoes were wet and muddy, I couldn't get a firm kick.
With my utmost power, I slammed the door with my fist and it flew open. A strong bolt of pain shot my fist. I took a look at my aching fist. Blood gushed out of my knuckles. Completely disregarding my pain, I took a step in the house. A steep staircase led down, towards the dark basement. But there was a light in the basement, which I had been in search for a long time.
As I descended the stairs, the basement grew blacker. "Amir", said a faint voice from a distance. I knew it was Sophia. Instantaneously, I turned towards the direction from where her voice came, just a bit to my left.
"Sophia", I said, desperately.

In front of my eyes stood Sophia, her eyes reflected a beam of hope. She was standing at a distance of just a few feet. But there wasn't merely a distance of a few feet between us. There was a misty fog of confusion.
When I took a careful look at her, I realized something odd. Albeit, there were many odds of seeing Sophia in someone else's house, abducted. I gulped down my fear and confusion. Sophia was pregnant.