Her eyes were blurry; it was like a dense fog settling in front of her but she couldn’t reach out to wipe it. Tears rolling down her eyes, a sharp knife jabbed at the end of her spine. The pain was unbearable, but the pain of betrayal was excruciating.
After multiple efforts to remove the knife, she finally managed to get it out of her and let the blood ooze out of her body. She was ready to die. After all, there was no purpose for her to live.
As she bled out to death, she feared to turn to her right. For he, the love of his life, the only kind of love she had known and owned, was lying dead beside her.
Stevie, once used to be a girl about town. Her dark brown eyes and mysterious looks always attracted strangers and she never denied the pleasure of her crimson lips and porcelain body to anyone. Until one day she met him and felt a sweet pain in her stomach almost instantly.
As she reminisced her time with him in her last few seconds, she wished to have just one more moment of intimacy with him. Abandoned at the time of birth, Stevie was a foster child and moved from one home to another. Having molested all her life, sex was the only form of intimacy she knew of, until she met David.
David, was a journalist, who had to travel places to get news for the local channel. Having raised in a happy family, he knew the importance of respect and consent when it comes to love, for without them, love is fleeting and meaningless. Like others, he was also instantly attracted to Stevie but he saw something else in her that none of the men in her town could fathom. He saw a restless little girl, fighting a storm in her soul but has masked all the chinks in her armour with her wit and beauty.
David and Stevie spoke about things that most conventional couples do not talk about, and that was intimacy for them. They spoke about stars, moons and the cosmos, about how life is mysterious, about the presence of god and spirituality. Stevie always had a knack of reading but never got to discuss these things with anybody.
One day, David came home elated, adrenaline rushing through his body. He cracked the biggest deal of his career and was going to interview the President. He asked Stevie to accompany him. Stevie was happy for David but happier that for the first time she will be travelling with the love of her life.
As the love birds started their journey, Stevie was over the moon. She felt safe, relaxed and did not have the urge to impress anyone. She was home. For her, home was not four walls but the four chambers of David’s heart. At night, David decided to halt as the journey was turning out to be quite cumbersome. They were travelling from Illinois to Washington by road. As they had plenty of time in hand, David decided to ditch the plane and take Stevie on a road trip.
Unfortunately, all the hotels were shut down owing to a local curfew. David freaked out as he was concerned about Stevie’s safety. In a distance, David heard a faint sound but it was terrifying. He went to enquire and found a boy struggling to save his life. Caught in the middle of the curfew, a goon attached the boy, Mutt, who was returning home with his father Roland. David saved their life by fighting with the goons and drove them safely to their home. Impressed, Roland offered to help the distressed couple looking for a place to crash.
Delighted, Stevie and David rested and cooked a delicious meal together and had a wonderful time at supper. In the morning, as the couple were about to leave, David gets to know that the President is in Illinois owing to handle the situation in the area. David’s happiness knew no bounds. He asked Roland if Stevie could stay there till he gets back from the interview. Roland happily agreed.
It was late in the night, David had informed Stevie that he is on his way and has a surprise for her. Her stomach growled with butterflies. Is he going to ask “the ” question? Tossing and turning in her bed, she waited for David with bated breath. Just then, she felt a hand on her thigh, caressing and going up her dress. She turned wondering it was David, but was completely taken aback to see Mutt.
Mutt was a tall, lean guy with handsome features. All the while during their interactions, he was quite but the couple guessed that he may just be an introvert. Stevie jumped out of her bed and tried to stop Mutt from groping her. Just then David entered. He understood the situation instantly and went to help Stevie. Just then a sharp pain ran down his spine. As he turned, he saw Roland with a knife. David instantly lost control and fell on the ground dead.
It was as if life played the biggest joke on Stevie. She couldn’t believe that the one thing that she loved with all her heart is no more. As the father and son duo tried to grope her again, Stevie fought for her life but was also stabbed by Mutt.
Lying down, she found a ring in David’s hands. She cried inconsolably. As she took her last breath, she hoped David would somehow hear her and wispered, “we shall meet again.”
Smita in words 