It was dusk till that time. I pushed the accelerator and rushed away from that place, but that scar's picture was still roaming in my mind. The more I thought about it the more the chords that connected me to the reality loosened. And in this while a time came when a chord about to detach suddenly, my wife shouted, "Be careful! there`s a dog ahead".
I slammed the brakes but the car didn`t stop it screeched for few centimeters. It stopped just a few inches before the Dog. Surprisingly the dog didn`t move an inch even after the car stopped.
He was sitting still right in front of the car looking in my eyes, wagging his tail. "Poor thing, I think he is too shocked to move" my wife said sympathetically. "Mumma let`s go and check" my wife turned back to take Leo in her grasp.
In this process she accidently pressed the button and the bonnet was wide open blocking the view. " Oh shit, don`t worry I will fix it after we step out" my wife said.
She opened gate and both of them stepped out of the car. At that moment my wife`s phone also started vibrating maybe someone was calling. So, she put Leo down and bent herself take her phone out of the bag.
Suddenly Leo screamed "Mumma! the dog vanished". "Huhh? what are you saying? Check on that side he might be there" my wife suggested. In this while our ears heard a growling sound. I felt that it was coming from the backseat.
I rolled my eyeballs up to the rear-view mirror to confirm that it was just an illusion. But sweat started to roll off my forehead as soon as I checked. On that day it was again proved that my gut feelings are correct 90 times out of 100. It was that dog, yet my heart shouted with all its energy saying that it isn`t him.
I was able to see the saliva dripping down his pointed teeth- thick and shiny. This time he wasn`t wagging his tail. He wasn`t barking and now, he wasn`t even growling. He stood still. His muscles were tight as if he was taking a grip to jump on me. At the same time, he was shivering and I noticed that tears were also rolling down his eyes. He wasn`t even blinking, his eyes were fixed on me. As if he knew something that I didn`t.
I decided not to break our eye contact. And kept thinking of all those different ways in which I could block that beast`s way from reaching my son or wife. In other words, I was ready to sacrifice myself in order to protect my son and wife.
But in my wife`s mind something else was going on. She took out a piece of sausage and threw it on him. He didn`t eat it but as that sausage hit him hard. He got furious and started growling.
"Why did you do that?" I shouted. And our eye contact broke and that beast jumped towards. My heart started hammering itself on my rib. But deep down I was satisfied as he chose me instead of my wife.
"Buzzzzzzzz...." that`s what I heard and that beast fell down in my lap. "Are you alright?" my wife shouted. I was too shocked to answer her and was busy in understanding what actually happened. From where did she get that thing? Since when is she carrying that thing along with her? Why did she bring it here with her?
And in a while I understood that it`s been 7 years, yet I have got a lot to learn about her.
During that time, she reached me and shook me so hard. That I saw all the stars and galaxies. "Mommy I didn`t found it" Leo said engulfed in dissatisfaction. " Oh! it is here" he exclaimed with joy "But what happened to him?".
His innocence and expressions took our stress away and we burst into laughter. " I think at first, we should take care of this beast" my wife said. So, I opened the gate and stepped out of the car in order to take care of that dog. I lifted it gently and put him under a tree on footpath and covered it with a piece of cloth lying there on the ground.
As soon as I returned, we settled ourselves in the car and rushed towards our home. The road was quite empty. Only few cars were there on the road. And their count decreased as we moved away from the highway.
Everything around us was covered with a blanket of silence. I increased the speed of car as Leo and both of us were tired. The faster I drove, louder the silence became. Even the sound of tyres turning was audible. But this silence was more like an ominous silence.
I was again lost in the thoughts of that scar and that man. Neither that man nor his scar was ordinary. It felt as if all these were signs that the time has come which was expected by me and my wife yet was invited by neither of us.
Lost in all these thoughts I finally reached home. I dropped Leo and Bella on the main gate and drove the car to the spot where I parked car usually. After parking it I stepped out of the and locked it. But on my way back Richard`s Face flashed in my mind.
Richard was also a suspicious character as the channel never notified me about his visit. And sending an employee to someone`s home without any notification seems a bit unprofessional for a renowned channel like theirs. More importantly, he didn`t visit our home but was standing beside my car waiting for us. As if he already knew that we would be coming there.
When I reached home the main gate was wide open. I took off my shoes and locked the door. Till that time my wife and son were asleep. I was very tired and decided to take a bath before going to bed. So, I took off my shirt and sat on the sofa which was placed beside the bed to catch a breath.
"Can`t you see feel the temperature rising quit with that showoff?" my wife said sarcastically. " Umm... I guess I can`t do that" I replied. " And may I get know to why?" my wife asked " Cause I guess there is need of one more Leo to fill the last empty place in our family" I whispered in her ears. Her ears turned red just by hearing these words. She pushed me away and went back to bed beside Leo.
Teasing her was one of the hobbies that I adapted the moment I met her. Then, I went towards bathroom and took bath. Even in the shower, the thought of her being there was roaming around my mind.
After taking shower when I was about to go to bed. My eyes stopped on the dress which was lying on the floor. May be my wife might have hanged it on the hanger near the door. It was the same dress worn by my wife in the fair. When picked it up, a Tuberose (A white coloured small flower) fell off her dress.
Where did it come from? Cause as far as I remembered there was no single place where I saw a Tuberose. And there is no chance for a Tuberose to be at the fair as it is avoided to be used in public gatherings. Due to its intense scent.
I suddenly, remembered that it was there at that flower shop, kept outside. This fact sent a chill down my spines. As according to Leo, she was there he saw her. Then what`s with this Tuberose. How can she be at two places at the same time? She is definitely hiding something from me but why?