The broken window

Chapter 12

"I was running. Suddenly, I got trapped in a sticky spider-like web, large enough to stick human beings. Like an insect, the more I tried to throw my limbs in all possible directions to get myself free, the more the sticky web pulled me towards itself.

I got frosted as I heard someone's steps. I swallowed a lump as the steps directed towards me crushing the dried leaves which were covering that portion of the earth where I was being trapped, helplessly. Neither the darkness of that dense forest nor the increasing level of a flood of fear in the heart allowed me to distinguish the sex of that someone.

Paced up heartbeats within the shivering body of mine gathered enough strength to shout at the top of my voice- "For god's sake please leave me! I am innocent. Don't punish me rather kill me." I started crying aloud pleading that someone.
"Haha... kill you? Killing would gift you a peaceful sleep but my ardent desire is to gift you sufferings," the same male voice echoed.

"Hey, girl get up!" Hearing a voice and feeling the sprinkles of water on my face I slowly opened my eyes and saw a girl sitting beside me. A fair girl, hairs tied into a messy bun who was in her blue jersey and black track pant. I was lying on the ground.

I enquired, in protest with a shivering voice, "Who are you? Where is the sticky web?"
She introduced herself, "I am the leader of a group who had come for camping along with their coach. So, feel free and protected to join us tonight." She passed a caring smile.

Her smile relaxed me a bit. Her eyes welcomed me to follow her. I was puzzled about whether to trust her or not. But out of fear, a companion felt like a mirage in a desert. Hence, I decided to follow her.

After walking about 1km, we reached their camping area. There were five tents and a burning bonfire. A girl was sitting, staring blankly towards the bonfire. She was wearing the same dress as the girl with me. She got a jerk and looked towards us. Maybe our footsteps havoced her thoughts. The way she eyed me as if my occurrence had baffled her.

She started growling, "Ruhi, who the hell is she? How can you trust anyone this way?" Ruhi quickly pulled me and that girl inside one of the tents and zipped up.
Then she replied, "To help someone do we really need to trust someone? Just listen quietly now." She described to her how we met.

Suddenly a manly voice from outside shouted, "Ruhi, Swati, is everything alright? Why are you not asleep yet?"
They looked at each other, took a long breath, and replied, "Yes Sir, everything is alright. We are about to sleep."
"Okay then, good night. Sleep well" - reply came from outside.

The two girls offered me to sleep and decided to discuss the matter the next morning with their coach. As I closed my eyes that voice echoed in my ears "Killing would gift you a peaceful sleep but my ardent desire is to gift you sufferings." Recklessly, I opened my eyes. Thoughts lingered - It seems like the voice of their coach resembles the voice that had  warned me.

I swallowed a lump. My heartbeat started racing. Trusting the two unknowns, acted as a sword instead of a shield. I looked towards the zip of the tent and again switched my glance, towards the sleepy girls. Thoughts started pinning me - What if the two girls are my enemies too. Unknowingly, if I've committed a mistake, then it was out of my sense. Because every human brain has an instinct to differentiate, what's wrong and what's right. Some of them are forced by their greedy desires and some are forced by deficiency, to ignore the knowledge to differentiate. But I am the victim of none. I've to escape from here.

Finally, I hushed down my body moments and slowly zippered down the tent's entrance. After stepping out of the tent another struggle started - the discovery of the direction, to escape from this dense forest. The darkness added up more, to my struggle. But, I quickly ran quite a distance away, from the camping area.