A Maaneet Tale
Screech
"Why were you late?" I muffled in Maan's chest after he had switched the lamp off.
Maan: "My car broke down and I had to walk the rest of the way since my phone died" he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he spoke.
I traced the lines on his chest and let him play with my hair. I loved it when he did that; it soothed me.
My eyes were getting heavier and heavier by each minute and soon, I had fallen asleep.
***
Maan: "Geet, can you drop Muskaan off to school? I have a ton of work to do" he said in his sleep the next morning as I snoozed the alarm. I sat up lazily and gave a quick kiss to Maan before climbing out of bed.
"Alright, sleepyhead. I'll go" I said and went off to Muskaan's bedroom only to find that she wasn't in her bedroom. My breath stopped.
Then I heard the faint sound of water in the bathroom and realized she was in there. Since when did Muskaan wake up herself and already freshen up? I went over to her bathroom door and opened it, smiling as Muskaan dabbed at her face with a towel.
"Your growing up, aren't you?" I mumbled and sighed to myself, a little lump forming in my throat.
Muskaan: "What's that Mummy?" she asked
"Nothing. What a good girl you are! I thought I was the one supposed to wake you up" I said and picked her up, carrying her back to the bedroom. I put her down on the bed and went over to her wardrobe, picking out her clean uniform for school.
After I had gotten her ready, I dropped her off at her school and watched as she made her way in the school before I left for home. Muskaan's school wasn't far from home and was only a 10 minute walk.
As I walked, I could feel the little hairs at the back of my neck stand up. Somebody was definitely following or watching me. Anxiously, I turned around and scanned the street, looking for anybody suspicious. I stood there for what seemed like 30 seconds before I decided to start walking again. Goosebumps travelled up my arms as I walked and suddenly, the street was isolated. I bit my lip as I walked and started to twist a strand of my hair around my finger nervously. Who was this guy following me? Why couldn't he just leave me alone?
"Geet" somebody cooed my name and I froze. I quickly turned around, only to see nobody there.
"Come here, Geet" he said as I turned around again and looked around myself cautiously.
"Leave me alone!" I yelled, putting my hands up to my ears to block his voice. His voice was a voice I recognised. I tried to remember from where I recognised it, but nothing came to my head.
"Come to me, Geet" he said in his creepy, mysterious voice that irritated me. He said my name in every sentence which irritated me even more.
"Go away! Get lost!" I yelled again and started to run. I ran towards my destination which was in Maan's warm arms. I thought about his warm kisses that always sent butterflies to my stomach. I thought about how he always plays with a strand of my hair and how it soothes me. I thought about his comforting deep voice. I thought about his beautiful, brown eyes.
I looked behind me and was shocked when I actually saw someone running after me. It was some guy dressed in a black hoodie and black joggers. He had a black scarf wrapped around half of his face so I couldn't really see much of him.
"Leave me alone!!" I shouted behind myself as I ran. My dubatta was failing to keep in it's place and annoyed me, so I just threw it behind me and continued to run. My house had finally appeared in view and my legs had felt like jelly by the time I had stopped and started to bang on the door. I was way to scared to go looking through my purse for the keys.
"Maan! Open the door. Maan!!" I yelled, banging on the door so hard I thought I was going to break the door down. Finally, he opened the door and I hid behind him; expecting to see the stalker to run up the pathway any second.
"H-He... He chased me" I said between stutters and heavy breathing. My heart pounded so loud inside my chest, I wondered if Maan could hear it.
Maan: "Who's chasing you?" he asked through clenched teeth. I clutched Maan's arm to my chest for safety and inhaled his familar perfume to calm me down.
After a while of Maan standing there, waiting for someone to at least walk up the path or even run up the path, he gave up and closed the door. He turned towards me and stared at my bare neck, anger fully evident in his eyes.
Maan: "Why. Is. Your. Neck. Bare?" he said through his teeth slowly. I had never seen him so angry.
Maan: "Did someone try to hurt you? I swear if that guy touched you --"
I watched Maan lock the door and hugged him after I had heard the satisfying 'click'. I was too breathless and scared to say anything.
Maan: "Tell me what happened" he said
"I-I dropped Muskaan off to school and this guy started chasing me" I said and clenched my teeth to try and prevent me from crying. I bit my lip to control my breathing.
Maan said nothing but squeezed me tighter to himself.
***
A little while later, I realized Geet had high fever so I forced her to get some sleep and rest. I was downstairs, cutting an apple for her to eat when I heard a sharp scream.
Geet: "MAAN!" she yelled out my name and I immediately set the knife down and ran towards the stairs. I watched wide eyed as she ran down the stairs, looking behind her every two seconds as if someone was after her. She ran towards me and tripped up on her own footing, falling to my feet and clutching my leg as if that was going to somehow protect her. I clenched my teeth, feeling angry and annoyed. Whoever this guy was, had to leave us alone or else the consequences would be horrible.
Geet: "I saw a shadow and then..." she said and started to cry. I bent down and held her by her shoulders. She stood up and clutched my collar, pointing at the stairs.
Geet: "Our photo frame"
***
I watched Maan grab a knife from the dining table which he was using to cut apples. He gripped it in his hands and signalled me to lead on. I ran up the stairs two steps at a time and showed him our wedding frame which lay smashed on the ground.
"This happened before you lost your memory and now I'm so scared" I said, my hands shaking.
Maan: "That's different. This time, somebody did it" he said
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it after dropping the knife on the floor.
***
I put Geet to sleep after that and went into the gym room. The gym room was the best place for me to think about things and let out my anger.
This time, I was really angry. How dare anyone stalk my wife like this and frighten her?
I put on my boxing gloves and started to hit the punching bag as hard as I could, letting out all my anger.
I had to take some action, it had gone too far. Before, I had thought that maybe all the sounds and shattered vases was a coincidence. But now, it was a bit obvious that someone was after Geet.
I thought for a plan as I hit, kicked, and hit some more. Finally, after my arms felt sore and jellyish, I decided to install CCTV Cameras in the house and see if I could catch anyone sneaking around in the house. I removed my boxing gloves and fished out for my phone in my pocket. I dialled the number and listened to the 'ring ring' sound.
"I need cameras. Now"
Promo:
"MAAN!!"
The screech had jolted me up in bed. I could hear the sound of nails going through the floor, like a cat on a scratching post. I turned to see where the sound was coming from only to see the end of Geet's hand and the door magically slam shut with a bang.
"MAAN!!"
A helpless, muffled cry.
******
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Edited by Sameeha786 - 13 years ago
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