Mascara

She ran as fast as she could.

She ran without looking back.

She needed to get away.

She did not know where she was going, but all she wanted was to get away from what was chasing her.

She wanted to get away as far from here.

She has been running for quite some time, she was getting tired, her legs were aching, her whole body wanted to give up and stop. She was also running out of air, her lungs were aching and struggling to take in more of the cold night’s air. She could hear her heart beating in her ear drums, thumping straight to her temples.

She thought to herself that she must not stop, she did not stop, she knew so well that there was something or someone following her, she is not quite sure anymore after running for so long. But she knew it was coming after her.

She turned to the corner off the street it was a dark alley way with cars parked on both sides of the path. It was a residential area and it seemed everyone was asleep in their homes. Upon reaching the alley she tripped on the edge of the curb falling straight to the cold hard cemented ground. She felt the tingling sensation erupting from her knees, it was grazed, and a red stain immediately started oozing out, blood.

Her soft white skin illuminated under the only streetlight close to where she had fallen. She tried getting up from the ground she tried pushing herself off the ground, but her palms were sore too from the fall. She slowly crawled towards the lamppost, grabbing the lamppost and tried to hurl herself off the ground, with a little more effort, she accomplished to stand up straight. But not for very long as he legs were so weak they gave way and she could not stand up.

She sat back down on the ground resting her aching and drenched-with-sweat body on the cold metal of the lamppost. She looked down the garment she was wearing and she noticed she was wearing a night dress the only clothing clenching to her bare skin. She also noticed at the instant that she had no shoes on and her feet were cover with sore blisters.

As the minutes went by, she felt more and more confused to where she was and why she was running. She was hearing the voices that were chasing her, she knew they were close, but could not get up nor try to run again. She started to cry and her skin covered with sweat felt so cold that she was shivering from within. She continued to weep in almost silence hoping the chasers would not hear her.

While the night was edging on and all her tears were drying out she wiped her face with the back of her hands making sure not to use her sore rough palms on her face. She began brushing off the debris off her silky white night dress. She bent to have a closer look at her knees that were now cover with dried blood. She tried again to get up off the floor, but the pain from all over her body surged instantly. She had no option, but to set herself down from her previous position.

She listened again towards the entrance of alley.

She listened intently for any noise especially footsteps, running footsteps coming toward her. To her relief there was nothing, no sound of footsteps not even voices except an occasional commotion by the garbage bin across the path where she was able to make out the shadow of a stray cat, her only companion in this mild night. She felt the coast was clear, her breathing had slowed down back to normal and she no longer felt anxious of what was coming for her. No one had caught up with her, and nothing has found her…yet.

She took a slow glance at the end of the street, which was in darkness. She could not see anything in the black street except the closest vehicles that showed little of their silhouette from the light that was above her.

It was a quiet and calm summer dawn, so peaceful that made her mind at rest almost close to slumber on the concrete ground. There was no one in sight and for sure the residents of these darken houses were fast asleep and will not be getting up for a few hours or so by then she thought she would be making her way to her destination.

She let the cool breeze that came back and forth, not too cold to let the hair on her skin prickle to goose bumps. She felt so exhausted that she no longer could keep her eyes open. She listened again for footstep and voices, but nothing and no one. She felt safe enough where she was and dropped to sleep.

She awoke when she felt a soft warm hand touching her shoulder, it was him! She tried to scream, but he had already picked her off the ground swiftly, but gently. She struggled to break free from him and then she noticed that the sun had risen and some of the occupants of the houses were standing outside their gates starring at her and this stranger who was slowly carrying her away from her lamppost. She tried calling out, but the people just stared some more, this confused her to why these people were not helping her. She was being abducted by this man, she does not know or recognise. She struggled again to break free from the man’s clutches, but he was too strong for her. She threw a fist at him, but he did not budge at all. She was losing her strength again, and this time she let him guide the way.

She was having such trouble walking because of the sores on her feet, he stopped and turned to look at her directly in her eyes and gently said,

“Darling, can you not walk?”

She could not let the words of her answer come out, so she shook her head.

He looked down on her feet and saw the scratches on the sides. He lifted her right foot to take a better look at the blisters. He did not say anything more nor did he look at her again. Instead he lifted her off the ground and carried her like so for many alleys, many streets, many houses.

She no longer fought him, she could not and she did not. There was something about him, his touch, his face, his breathing, and even the little she heard of his voice, she felt a sense of comfort and safety. As he was walking with her in his arms, she kept looking at his face trying to remember where she has seen this man before. She studied his features, and the bones of his jaw line. The bouncing up and down as the man walked carrying her in his arms made her felt light headed, so she rested her head on his shoulder and she held her arms tighter around his strong neck.

As he was making their way she did not ask any questions even though her mind was filled with them;

Who are you?

Where are you taking me?

Were you the one chasing after me?

Who sent you?

Why are you here?

Why am I here?

Do I know you?

Why did you call me “Darling”?

After sometime his breathing got heavier and his pace slowed down, she looked up at him from and she saw the sweat trickling down his face. His eyes, full of compassion looked down at her for the first time since they started this walk.

“I have to set you down for a while. Let me rest a bit.” He said to her softly.

He set her on her feet, but her legs had fallen asleep that she could not stand and almost fell to the ground. He grabbed her quickly before she hit the ground, and slowly let her sit on the floor. He sat next her as he took off his tweed coat. He wrapped it gently around her bare shoulders. She accepted it without looking at him. She liked the new warmth given off from the remaining heat of his body that still remained in the coat.

He did not speak to her again, and after his breathing has slowed and no longer felt tired, picked her up again and carried on the journey. As they approached a small hill where few houses scattered along the inclined slope, she looked up the sky and saw the sun had disappeared from the time she had woken in that unknown alley. It looked like rain.

“Almost there, sweetheart” he swallowed in air as he spoke these words to her.

Questions where ringing in her mind again;

Almost there, where?

Why call me “sweetheart”?

Do you know me?

Do I know you?

She was so confused and now starting to get scared to where he was taking her, that she could not contain herself but to quietly cry. She hid her face deeper in his shoulder to muffle the sounds of her crying.

They had reached the top of the hill, and he turned them towards a small walk way to a white gate fencing a small cottage with small windows. He put her down on the ground by the gate, but did not let go until her was certain she could stand on her own. He blew out a heavy breath and gently took her by the hand and opened the gate.

She tried to let go from his hand and turned to make a run out of the gate.

“Amelia, stop!”

She wanted to go, but the name he spoke halted her from her way. She turned around gingerly walking with her sore feet on the pebbled walk way towards him. She held his hand and spoke.

“But I don’t live here, do I?”

He opened the front door, and pulled her in with him. She looked around the room that met her eyes, it was a small space, she noticed there where things scattered around the floor, letters, pictures and pieces of clothing, women’s clothing.

Mine’s? She wondered.

She did not recognize anything. The man she thought she did not know stood by an arched walkway to what seemed like a dining table and what must be the kitchen from the distance she could see. The man said nothing to her and walked slowly to her and took off the coat that still hanged on her bony shoulders. She did not move away from his touch. She smelt something funny around her, she felt light headed, and she could suddenly feel sweat rolling down her back, then it went dark.

…
She heard screaming, the room was dark, she looked around and realised it was her screaming. She stopped the screams from coming out as she tried to figure out where she was. She pulled off the duvet that warmed her it was too dark to see anything. The door opened that let in a little light. She saw a man standing at the door clenching on the door knob, and then quickly feeling for the light switch on the wall. The light by the bed lit her vision to where she was. She blinked a few times before her eyes could adjust to the bright light. The man walked to the bed and sat down on the bed beside her.

“Darling, it was just a bad dream.” He wrapped his arms around her as he spoke.

“It was awful Daniel. It was as if I lost my mind. I could not remember anything, not even you” Tears where falling down her face as she tried to tell the tale of her night mare, but it all seemed so real.

The man kept holding her in his arms until she had stopped shaking. He looked at her and wiped off the tears on her cheeks.

“There, there, my love. Everything will be fine.” He said these words to a whisper and gently laid a kiss on her damp forehead. He stood up from next to her and made this way to the door.

Before leaving he turned to her and said “I will go get some tea and we must get you cleaned up before supper. Be right back.” He looked at her for a few seconds and gave her a slightly sad smile.

What did he mean supper? What time is it? Has she been a sleep all day? Cleaned up? Why? Why did she feel ever so tired and so sore all over?

She pulled off some more of the duvet that covered her legs and suddenly she noticed the cut on her both knees and the dried blood. She looked at the dresser mirror beside the bed. She saw her face covered with traces of mascara that has been dried for many hours. She was confused. She placed her feet on the carpeted floor and instantly she felt the blisters popping with fluid.

She gasped.