I was sitting in my study table. My diary was open in front of me. I had just written the introduction. My room was medium-sized. In my room, there were a bed, a writing table and a chair and a shelf with untidy dresses. It was a square-shaped room. My room was on the first floor of my home. The door opened suddenly and my mom came in. She came suddenly that I almost fell off my chair. There was panic in her face. First I thought it was anger and she had come to punish me for a terrible mistake I couldn't remember.
Then I came to know that it was a scared expression. So I was relieved a little and asked
“What is it, mom? Why did you enter my room with such force?”
She remained silent for a minute which I literally counted. I thought it was a serious matter. After a minute she said
“Bruno is missing”
If you are thinking who is Bruno, well he’s my dog. After hearing her I said
"Did you give such an expression for this? I thought it was a serious situation. It's nothing mom. He'll come back. Don't worry."
It was stupid to say this to my mom because she was the person who likes Bruno the most in our family. Even though I said it because what I told her was true. He comes home automatically (mainly during food time). My mom said
“He’s been missing for two hours.” Now that’s a serious situation because he always hangs out just for half an hour or one hour.
“You want me to look for him?”I asked my mom.
“Yes of course!” she said (Secretly I was happy because I was escaping from my diary writing).
"Okay mom, I'll go find him. Just don't panic, okay?" I said and went downstairs. I took his chain and some dog biscuits and went out. I didn't have any idea where to search for him. I stepped onto the street. My street was narrow. It had buildings on both sides of the road. There were houses, shops and offices. The street was deserted so I guessed that nobody had kidnapped Bruno though it was a difficult task. I decided to search the places he usually goes to. I went to a nearby shop and asked the keeper
"Uncle, did you see my dog, Bruno?" I asked him because he knows me well and he often plays with him. He replied he did not see him. So I decided to check out the river bank. So I went to the corner of the street where the street joins with the main road. The street opened into the main road. That side of the road was the bank of the river Soar. I don't know how Bruno crosses the road because the road was packed with fast-moving vehicles. With great difficulty, I crossed the road and reached the river bank. The riverbank was about thirty feet long connecting the road with the River Soar. The sand was fine. My mother used to tell that in her time the river didn't have any river bank that it would run the full length. But now the river was smaller than the bank. It was getting drier day by day. There were many thorny bushes here and there. The sun was at the top of the sky. That meant it was noontime. You may think ‘You have to be at school right now, don't you?’ I'm not in school because it's the first day of my vacation. Then I saw my dog barking furiously at a thorny bush. I called him. He looked at me and started barking again. This was a little strange. So I went near him and tried to chain him but he didn't obey me. I saw the bush he was barking at and my heart skipped a beat.
"Who is this Bruno? Looks like you have found some new friend." I said to him. He barked at me as if saying ‘Check her idiot. Is she alive or not?’ Yes, a girl was lying beside the bush with scars and bruises all over her body.
She looked like a normal teenage girl but definitely older than me. I guessed she maybe nineteen or twenty. She wore a green T-shirt whose sleeves were torn and ragged jeans which were torn at her thigh. I thought it was her fashion to wear a torn jean until I noticed the wound in her thigh. It was the deadly wound that I had seen in my lifetime. It was like someone had pierced a sharp knife in her thigh and drawn it until the end of her thigh. Her face was swollen like it was a bulging balloon with a swollen eye and a bleeding nose. She had blonde hair which was cut short. She lay very still that I thought she was dead. I kneeled beside her and tried to put my hand under her nose to see if she was breathing. When my hands went near her nose her eyes opened, exposing bright green eyes just like mine. Her eyes opened really sudden that I fell back and Bruno also backed away. She tried to sit but she was in no condition for it. Luckily I had some water. I went near her very slowly that it felt like it took all day to reach her. I tried to make her drink the water but she swatted my hand and lost all her energy in doing so. So I made her drink some water (you can ask me why you are doing all this. It’s my character to help anyone in trouble. That’s me). She drank half of the bottle and took a deep breath and drank the rest.
"Can you stand?" I asked. She tried and I helped but she fell twice. Finally, with all her effort she stood. She saw me. I saw a little smile in her damaged mouth but instantly it faded. I guessed it might be to say thank you. Then she came to say something but I said quickly
“Stop. First, you must be treated and get some food. My home is nearby and my father's a doctor. I'll take you there. You can explain everything there." I didn't know whether she understood or not but she stooped. So I guessed she had understood me. Then I took her hand and put it around my shoulders and put my hand around her waist and chained Bruno and we went home.
She limped a lot putting half of her weight on her good leg and half of her weight on me. It was a little awkward to walk like this with a girl whom I’d never met before but I managed (silently I prayed to the gods that I shouldn’t meet any of my friends). I was glad that Bruno didn’t run pulling us. Then we reached home. I made her stand by the wall and rang the bell. My mom came and opened the door and was relieved to see Bruno who ran inside as soon as the opened. Then she saw the girl and asked
"Who is this?" pointing her chin at the girl. I explained everything that had happened at the river bank. My mom took her in without saying a single word because she was also a pitiful person like me. Actually, my whole family has this quality. She took her to my father and he treated her wounds as he was a doctor. He bandaged the wound in her thigh and cleaned the blood in her nose and kept an ice pack in her eyes. Meanwhile, my mom brought some clothes for her. She brought a black T-shirt and a blue jean. Instantly I guessed they were mine because they had a lot of wrinkles. After that, she looked a little better "Take a bath and wear these” my mom said and went to prepare lunch. I showed her the shower and came to the room where my father treated her and explained what happened in the river bank. When I was done she came down a little fresher with my clothes. She stood by the door shyly. Finally, my father asked,
"Dear, what is your name and where are you from?”
“My name is Maria Jane and I come from a rural area named Wingston" she replied. Her voice was shaky with exhaustion but it was sweet. She had a singer's voice. Then my father asked,
"Who are you?"
“I am an orphan from an orphanage in Wingston. My parents died in an accident when I was five. From then I have been in that orphanage. I escaped from that orphanage because the other kids used to torture me. I was so tired when he found me because I have been walking for days and finally I fainted by the river. I must thank your dog” she finished.
“So those wounds are from the torture you went through in your orphanage?” my father asked.
"That nose bleeding and the bulged eye I got from the tortures. The cut in the thigh was because of a stranger who caught me a few days back. He demanded me to give him whatever I had. But I didn't have anything. So he kept me as a captive. He tortured me. He only cut my thigh. Then I escaped from that place and finally ended here." she replied. My father thought for a while. There was complete silence. She locked eyes with me. Suddenly I got the feeling that I should know her. But that was just impossible. Then my father said
"You are no longer an orphan. You can stay here until I find you a nice house to live in. From now on we are your family. There's an extra room. You can use it". She gave a big smile to me and my father and said,
"Thank you, uncle".
Then my father asked me to show her her room. I took her upstairs and showed her the room. Then she opened the door and went in. I found myself staring at her. She became a little uncomfortable. So I said quickly
“This is your room. Feel at home and take rest. If you want anything I’m in the next door. I’ll call you at dinner”.
"Okay," she said. When I turned to go to my room
"Hey" she called and said "Thank you for finding me. If you hadn't come today, then…" she didn't need to complete the sentence.
"It's okay. Perhaps I didn't find you, it’s Bruno who found you. You should thank him. See you at dinner.” I said with a smile and went to my room and fell asleep.
Well, here comes the second chapter of The War Clock. Thank you for reading this and keep supporting. Wow!! This is a looooong chapter.
