The Flower You Didn't See | Mystery

Chapter 21

"My point is, it'll definitely help you in some way. You obviously like music. Find them," said Mary before she fell drunk onto the table surface. 

Busy with assignments, exams, presentations and studies, Mary didn't have much time to spend, check up on or even think about Ruby. A few weeks had passed by and Mary could feel the pressure of college piling up on her desk. She felt her brain being fried on a non stick pan like an omelet. Three cups of coffee was already down her throat and it was only three in the afternoon. In spite of this, she yawned wide and slopped onto her study table.

That's when she got a phone call.

"Hey, it's me. Are you free now?"

Mary was ready to burn her books in a bonfire at that moment. She was looking for a reason to take a break and Ruby had called right on time.

Changing into a pair of jeans and a hoodie, Mary arrived at the stone benches that were nearest to the woods by the college. Since the said area was far from the exit and entry gate of the university, it was always much less crowded, almost empty even. Mary had spotted Ruby. Waving at her from a distance itself, she was surprised to find Ruby sitting with an unknown face.

A rather lanky boy with a head full of curly hair and glasses on his nose, sat in front of her, holding a guitar. Mary's eyes widened.

"You found your 'other musician'!" Mary exclaimed, her eyes wide. Ruby chuckled. "I did," she said.

"Mary, this is Alex. He plays guitar," Mary raised an eyebrow and laughed. "I am helping her-"

"No! Don't tell her, not yet," Ruby stopped him from completing his sentence. Mary looked at her with sharp eyes.

"You'll know when the time is right," Ruby said wisely.

The three sat in those benches, talking for a while. Mary noticed the considerable improvement in Ruby's mood. Being immersed in music, had really changed something in her.

"How do you handle your studies and music together?" Mary asked her after listening to Alex play his guitar for a while.

"I try. I have no other option but to manage. I have realized that I literally don't have the option of giving up on either of them," Ruby pouted.

"You try so hard to be a good daughter," said Alex. Ruby took it as a compliment.

She smiled instantly and said, "I'll show you my Pa. He is very cute," said Ruby as she bent her head over her phone and found his picture. Mary and Alex took the phone from her to see her Pa. Suddenly her phone chimed as she got a notification.

"What is it?" She asked, with what Mary felt like a bit of worry on her face. Alex had noticed it too.

"Relax. It's just a reminder email from Prof. Thompson about your assignment submission deadline," said Alex as he returned her phone. Ruby smiled vaguely.

"Is something wrong?" Mary looked between either of them.

"No. Not at all," said Ruby unconvincingly.

"Ruby?" Mary asked again. Ruby looked at Alex and then she looked away.

"We think Ruby might have a stalker," he said. Mary couldn't register this information for a second.

"What? A stalker? How do you know?" asked Mary, now raising both her legs onto the bench. Someone small like Mary, sitting like a ball wearing a hoodie was a cute sight for Ruby's eyes. She smiled and said, "It's nothing serious really."

"Nothing serious so far," Alex added.

"Nothing serious so far," Ruby agreed.

"So far?" Repeated Mary, "And how did you find out?"

"It had just started off with a constant feeling of being watched, you know?" Mary nodded.

Ruby continued, "For almost seven or eight months I had always felt like I was never alone. Like there was someone always with me, and not in a good way. And then, one night after my song at the restaurant, I found a rose and a card lying on a table in our dressing room. It was addressed to me and it said that it was from a secret admirer."

"That's kind of romantic," Mary looked confused.

"That's what I thought too. But then I started getting mails from an anonymous ID. Again, it's nothing serious. It's just like greeting card messages. 'Thinking about you', 'missing you'. But since I don't know who its from, it's just..." Ruby couldn't complete.

"You should complain to someone," said Mary.

"To whom can I complain? The college authorities? The cops? My Pa?" Asked Ruby.

"To name a few!" Said Mary, not falling for Ruby's excuse.

"I think she should complain too. But the problem is, we don't have any evidence strong enough to say that this stalker is harmful," said Alex.

"We can't wait for Ruby to be harmed," said Mary.

"Of course not! But all we have so far are just a few emails with generic messages. No cop would be convinced that it's dangerous, if he sees 'thinking about you' as the content. What if they say that 'the dude is just shy'?," asked Alex.

Mary waited in silence for him to finish.

"Now I'm kind of doubting you, since you aren't letting her go to the cops," said Mary.

"Oh please. I don't have to hide behind anonymous emails for something like this. I can do it face to face," said Alex.

Then he turned to Ruby and said, "You are all I think about."

He turned back to Mary and asked, "Did you see me stutter?" Mary chuckled at his question. But she hadn't failed to notice a slight blush on Ruby's face.

"Did you call him?"

Asked a voice causing Ruby to immediately turn around. It was Mary. She continued, "Your dad I mean. You need to tell him about this stalker."

Night had fallen, but the campus was still alive. Cool breeze of the night caused them to hug their jackets closer to their body. There certainly were benefits of staying in college hostel. Ruby, however, had to return to her apartment before it got too dark.

Ruby shook her head. She said, "If he hears of this, he'll ask me to drop everything and return home. No wait, he will drop everything, come to the city, get an apartment and ask me to live with him while he drives me to and from college everyday. So, no."

Mary shook her head at how Ruby had the habit of overthinking everything.

"Besides, he uses a stupid old phone that doesn't even get a proper network. I have asked him to throw it away a million times but..." Ruby said, her face tired.

"Aren't you tired? Shouldn't you go home and rest a bit?" Asked Mary.

Ruby yawned and said, "I definitely should." Mary smiled.

"By the way," Mary said as she walked closer to Ruby, "What's between you and the new guitar boy?"

"Alex? Nothing! He doesn't see me that way," Ruby said, a bit too soon, a bit too fast, a bit too red on her cheeks.

"I'm not so sure about that," Mary mumbled under her breath. She added, "But you do?" a teasing smile appeared on her lips. Ruby rolled her eyes and just shook her head.

The two girls remained silent for a few seconds. And then, Ruby said, "Thank you for thinking of coming to me and greeting me, that day at the library. I was at a dead end those days, and I couldn't even imagine that I'd be smiling like this some day."

Mary didn't know what to say. She wasn't good at finding the right words for such a situation. She merely smiled and nodded, hoping that Ruby understood how Mary felt, without using any words. However, it seemed like Ruby wasn't expecting a response as she gazed at the starry sky and lost herself in a low hum.