Chasing the Evanescent

Chasing a web

She turned instantly and the person in front of her made her uncomfortable with their smile.

Ridhima took a step back, away from the proximity of the tall woman staring back to her petite and shaken self. The woman from last evening was standing in front of her and it should not be a big deal then why her smile didn't reach her eyes but to some hidden hatred, the woman had for Ridhima.

"Ridhima, right?" the woman remembered her name with the way her voice had an admiration about the name or so were the paranoid thoughts of Ridhima.

"are you guys staying close?" without affirming her conjecture Ridhima asked the woman who was dressed in her trek pants, possibly up for jogging just like Ridhima was. don't get paranoid.

"No, we were coming to meet you this evening, we just liked the setting and surroundings of your cottage...just wanted to persuade you one more time." This time the woman's smile showed the dimples around her chin and she didn't look like someone who would attack Ridhima's back.

"I am sorry but we are full at this time, even next dates are already booked, please don't bother to visit us." Ridhima smiled and then started to walk past the woman.

"We could not see your husband, is he not there, Ridhima?"

Ridhima's ear turned up with a shiver, the question was filled with pieces of information Ridhima didn't remember giving them, even Neil could not do that. It was the second time someone knew something about Kabeer and that was not normal.

She turned to the woman, trying to mask the clouds of assumptions that were shadowing her big eyes.

"Sorry, I could not hear you, Miss..."Ridhima pretended to not hear her question. " did you tell your name, I seem to not hear it yesterday."

"Oh, I'm Sonali, you were not there when we met your mother-in-law, she was telling us about your husband, how it has been months since she has not seen her son," Sonali told her, and Ridhima's etched nerves relaxed.

"he is out of the city for his work... and I am getting late so if you excuse me ." Ridhima forced another smile and mentally hit her head for suspecting everyone but this woman did give some creepy vibes.

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"Neil, I might come late this evening, please don't let Ma walk here and there and if someone comes asking about the cottage, tell them straight away we are full and already booked for this season." grabbing her small purse, water bottle, the phone she instructed Neil.

"I'll be careful Di," he assured her as he walked out of the house accompanying her to the main gate.

"Also, don't give people a chance to suspect us." she reminded Neil, and Neil knew she was telling him to be careful in front of strangers to call her anything other than Ma'am and he nodded her head.

"are you going to meet that army guy?" Neil asked and his alert eyes needed to know she was not troubling their somewhat normally settled life by trusting someone she didn't know.

"This is not a big deal Neil and I can take care of myself." she touched the arm of the young man, he was not her brother but he had taken care of everything just like a brother would for his sister.

___________

At times she felt her feet were not hearing what her brain wanted them to, the dance steps were not coming out the way she wanted so she sat on the corner bench and let the kids practice the steps they had already memorized.

The three of them had left a city to let the past behind them and after last night's incident, she was fearful of who wanted to harm them again, and that too after so many months.