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“Is she dead?.”I could hear a voice beside me,seemed she was afraid to touch my cold body,the blanket given by Troy was not helping,it was freezing cold.I could hear my own slow heart, “just shake her up will you.”snapped another female,there was no denying it,Jill and her commanding voice,voice that shook me to my senses,my eyes however were finding it hard to adjust to the dark surroundings. “Agatha are you dead?.”shivered Sipper hugging me in her arms, “Not dead idiot,alive.”I sobbed holding her as she held me.Four more hands joined the circle,I knew it was Jill,who else was with Jill?.
After a little while,the cell was lit with a new candle,I could see their faces,It was Sipper,Jill and Kim,honestly Kim,she was dead wasn’t she,that’s what Troy told me, “You are?.”I had to ask,she laughed,there was no humor in her voice,“Aagi did you forget me?.”
“No,I did not forget you its just...”
“Yeah I know,I was his spy and about to get married but there is no way I am going to be married now,Chris is a puppet to Jacob,he himself did this to me.Well lets just drop my topic,we don’t have lot of time.”
“What do you mean?.”I asked,there was something which was haunting me,it was so clear in Jill’s eyes,she was strict and herself but still that fear haunted her beautiful eyes. “What is it?.”I repeated, “She should know.”added Sipper softly. “Jill I am waiting..”my tone was completely acidic but still Jill was deciding,finally giving up she sat down looking straight at me,before she could begin,there was a loud thud sign,I saw Rocky trying to sit up while Roy helped him. “I told you to warn him.”hissed Jill. “I tried to but the guy was unconscious and I wanted to know where it actually started from,so I was listening alright.”
“Guys,we don’t have time to waste,Sipper lets show her what we saw.”said Kim, “Alright.” “Now why are you two waiting.”Jill was literally loosing it,the mask of composure and sharp fog of intellect that she managed in the dire time of crises had just disappeared,I was not liking her much. “You can hate me later on Aagi,I don’t blame you,its been quite a rough time,we were rubbed miserably,but we did manage the most of the truth.”
“Hell ya.”tried Rocky and slipped back down,his left hand was badly bruised. “Did he kill everyone?.”
“Who are you talking about?.”ignored Sipper.
“You know who,Jacob of course.”
“No,he did not have to kill anyone,he was good,the entire place was burning down before we even knew.”answered Roy admiring his killer skills,Jill glared at him and he shrugged “Come on the guy is cool,he is just a bit mad thanks to your sister.”
“Excuse me.”I thundered, Jill was in between us,already stopping me from boxing him down, “He is not lying entirely Aagi.”interfered Sipper and I was speechless, “can you just show her.”pressed Kim really getting bugged out,she was the same,it never looked like I was all the while with her imagery,same face,voice and attitude.
“Fine then,come on Aagi.”encouraged Sipper holding out her hands to me,I took deep breaths,they all were in a circle,Kim was to my left and Sipper was to my right. “They have seen it,haven’t they?.”
“Oh,I love to see it again.”barked Roy and Kim together.
“Could find some clues.”added Jill and Rocky together.
Sipper just smiled “everybody loves the mad boy,trust me.”
In a minute we were in between parched pages,yellow with time,I could see the huge words on which I was standing, “Route two.”announced Sipper and within few minutes we were in a dark street,I did remember this place,it was our old home,where we used to spend our summer vacations after mom and dad died.I never knew who this house belonged to but Ruth used to come religiously to this place,each and every summer,I did ask her so many times but she never answered me,ever.
“There she is.”pointed Jill,I could see Ruth,she was my age,long hair raced till her knees,she had such a clear and flawless skin,she could become a model if she wanted to,those perfect curves were unavoidable in that simple blue dress,where was she exactly coming from,it was not hard to guess,there was an old church in that direction,wow,I had to compliment myself for the memory I had.She was in tears and her strides were readily transforming into a run,which she eventually did,we followed,running behind her,she was good,Sipper had hard time keeping up,I don’t remember how many small lanes she dodged,she did stop,well,she had to,because she bumped into someone, “I’m so sorry,I didn’t mean to hurt you.”she wailed,trying to lift the boy who she had bumped into unknowingly.
“Hey,what’s the hurry Missy,help me pick up these books.”he thundered,holding Ruth tightly by her wrist, “please let me go,he is coming for me,he’ll kill me.”
“I cannot see anybody,though I am wearing a mask does not mean I cannot see,there is nobody out there,you are lying,why do girls lie so much,why,and that too pretty ones,like you.”
“Please let me go,he is coming,he will....”she stopped dead,looking into our direction, “can she us?.”I whispered,Sipper nodded in confusion,we were rooted to our place,what was she staring at,her wild big eyes were fixed and terrified.A growling sound did hit us from behind,each one of us turned,to everybody’s horror,he was there,the same child from my childhood memory,who did prove Ruth mad and who punished our cousin,he was there,his cold eyes watched Ruth hungrily,the shiver that ran up her spine gave him immense pleasure, “please let me go.....”she begged but the boy who held her wrist did not flinch,he stood confident on the solid grounds,his sharp eyes could see what everybody could see, “let me go.......”
“Fantastic so you are cursed.”he laughed,the small boy in front of Ruth took calculative steps,trying to take in the fugitive who was holding her.
“Yes.”she wailed.
“Such a cute barger he is.”he added while the small boy kept moving in his direction. “You know what that thing is,he ruined my entire family.”she cried.
“You were not suppose to have a family,you were not suppose to be born again as a witch,you betrayed someone who loved you and so he has sent a gift,impressive.”
“He will kill me.”
“No he won’t.”
The small boy was already in the air,ready to attack Ruth when one word just froze him, “Freezeymoya.” “What did you do to him.”she asked astonished and relieved. “You want me to destroy this thing?.”
“Can you?.”
“You want me to.”
“Yes please.”
“Ignara..”blue butterflies flew from his palm and they stuck over the skin of the small boy who was in the middle of the space,they turned into blue flames burning him slowly, “Do you want to hear him scream?.”
“No.”
“Why not,he had his fun troubling you didn’t he?.”
“I cannot stoop to such low levels.That’s not me.”
Both of them watched him die,it was his eyes,the last of his body part to die,they still watched Ruth,not hungry or angry but at peace. “Where are you going?.”demanded the boy who was wearing the mask.
“Home.”answered Ruth gingerly.
“When I help people,they pay me,you need to pay.”
“I don’t have money..”
“I don’t want money from a beautiful chick like you.”he smiled lifting his mask a little up so that his pure red lips were visible,there was a dark edge to his grin,something which I could feel just like Ruth, “one kiss and we are even.”
“I...”she tried to avoid his penetrating eyes, “its all right,I know you haven’t kissed anyone.”
“I can give you money...”
“I don’t want money,I want a kiss.”he demanded firmly,crossing his hands over his chest.Ruth was taking long and I knew what she was thinking,to run of course, “Don’t even think about it,well you can have him back then,its easy for me to bring him back to life..”
“No don’t I beg you...please...please don’t..”
“A kiss.”he repeated.
“Just one and then I am free to go?.”she asked,her eyes still wild and imploring.
“Yes,just one kiss for now and you are free to leave from here.”
She was perplexed, “come on, you are starving me..”impatience clearly reflected in his tone,she moved a little quickly towards him,dragging the last four steps, “What’s your name?.”
“Ruth.”
“Here Ruth wipe your tears.”she took the handkerchief in her hand and dabbed her wet cheeks.
“Come close.”he instructed and she took a step closer, “more close”,she followed without looking at him, “loosen yourself,its your first kiss,you should be happy.” “Just do it.”she snapped.He pulled her close to his body,pressing her delicate curves for long,I could see the way she trembled,her legs did move,she was getting twisted,the core of her stomach was screaming,it was such an unusual feeling,her first kiss being delivered to a stranger,same stranger who solved her age old problem,she avoided his eyes,while he brushed his lips over hers,her eyes were tight shut,waiting for this to get over,“if you don’t open your eyes,I swear it, he will follow you again.”
“No.”she shrieked,her eyes flew wide open, “good girl.”he laughed,pressing his chest over her,his hands were still glued to her curves,rubbing and pressing now and then,his hypnotic eyes were not allowing her any room,she had to look in them,her hands were calm and so was her body,her heartbeat was racing at wild pace,the tiny voice inside her head was repeating now and then, “who is this stranger and why me?.”
His hands slipped all the way to her spine to the back of her neck,pulling a little lower to build the tension,her legs were ready to pop and break,I could easily see how hard she tried to stand straight with him pulling her more close to his torso.His lips were all over her and she just allowed them,it was a very long kiss,her legs were not wobbly anymore,in fact she moved with him.When he pulled himself she was bleeding around the edge of her lower lip, “Go now.”he said pushing her away.
I could still see the wildness in his eyes, Ruth stood at a distance,looking at the strange boy. “Wondering if we will meet again?.”he chuckled.
“No,I don’t want to meet you again.”
“But I want to.”he said seriously, removing his mask,we all hated it except the boys,Roy and Rocky were happy,like seeing a live movie star.
“My name is Ronaldo Sweeptuck,it was nice tasting you Ruth.”
She avoided his stretched hand,running home and turning now and then to look at the boy who she had just kissed.
“Why is the ground shaking?.”I asked horrified. “Why are those words big and why are they coming at us.”
“Its the word tunnel taking us to the new chapter of Ruth’s Diary.”
