Short Stories

The Futile Run

It was a dark, shadowy night and starlight had ceased to trust the realms of planet Earth. Moreover, it was a beastly winter, the night chilling the human body to the bone. Rakesh Bansal was walking in these unfavorable conditions wondering when he would reach home. Quicker than a mathematician or a wit, his mind guessed at ten minutes. It was cold and dark, and he shivered. 

Suddenly, Rakesh quickly became aware of a keen gaze pointed towards him. He felt himself quiver and shake from head to toe like a leaf in a heavy breeze. His body became rigid and tight, and he was suddenly consumed by a frenzy or a fit. Immediately Rakesh’s pace quickened. He wheeled around, to confirm his worst suspicion, by staring into two beastly and beady eyes. He was being tailed. Rakesh mechanically turned his head, and by default went into his autopilot – fight or flight mode.

 Rakesh chose the latter of the options, flight. He pulled his lower body into focus and rapidly quickened his pace. He looked back a few seconds later only to be gripped with shock and horror. The silhouette had kept pace with him, but now looking darker than ink. Rakesh couldn’t take it any longer, all sirens blazing in his head. He stopped. Then bellowing his battle cry “OM NAMA SHIVAYA”, he ran at a full forty-five kilometers an hour, in a desperate attempt to rid himself of this shadowy figure. About five minutes later he pulled to a hard stop, his lungs sucked out of air – the very life force that bound him to Earth.

 He turned around slowly and hesitantly. He groaned loudly upon seeing the black profile running after him. But his legs in that tiring run were now malfunctioning like a streetlight that had seen too many days.

 He looked again and the profile was still there, coming closer. On a closer look, he saw it was his wife, dressed in a black jacket. He breathed a sigh of relief, now feeling stupid. “Rakesh, how I had to run after you,” she said, puffing and panting loudly. “You dropped your key.” And she handed a shiny key to him, hands on her knees.

 Rakesh checked his pocket, his finger landing in a hole. “Why yes, I have dropped it!”