He stood alone in the dark room, his cruel eyes gazing out of the open window. A sudden gust of wind swept a shower of raindrops against his face. It was a ghastly night. A faint moon peeped from behind stormy clouds, spying on a disordered world. Silvery raindrops pelted down with tremendous force. Thunder growled at constant intervals. Dogs howled at the top of their lungs as if protesting against some violent injustice about to take place. Owls hooted in chorus, hinting at unanticipated dangers. Suddenly, a vicious flash of lightening lit up his dark narrow face.
The man gave a start and stepped back from the window. What a night! It seemed that nature was furious. His eyes travelled all over the dark room. Finally, they locked on a framed photograph.
It was the picture of a woman. She had a radiant, cheerful face with startling blue eyes that twinkled. Windswept, soft brown hair enhanced her angelic beauty. A certain charm emanated from her – a charm people linked with fairies and princesses.
“Angry, aren’t you, sweet Annie?” he asked, his voice hard and merciless “I can feel your anger in the rain. I can hear you lash out at me as lightening. I can hear your desperate wails in the strong wind of this cold night.”
He laughed- a cold laugh that was chorused by thunder.
“You know, don’t you, that tomorrow everything you hold dear will be shattered...” his gaze slowly shifted to a letter, placed neatly on his desk.
“I have always enjoyed fishing.” he said “That letter is my bait. And don’t you remember what I told you about baits, Annie dear?”
Thunder struck again. The picture shook. Lightening lit up her eyes with a ghostly light.
“Yes. You are right.” he said “Bait must always look innocent. The fleshy worm that lures an innocent fish into a trap looks perfectly harmless till it’s bitten. My letter too is perfectly harmless till my prey bites it.”
He took some steps closer to the picture and looked right into her eyes. His mouth twisted into a leer and his voice lowered into a whisper.
“And you do know who my prey is don’t you? An innocent fun loving teenager full of fire and spirit. A sweet girl who has barely tasted life… Your darling daughter, Shalin! Pity! Pity! I do not relish murder but some things have to be done. Isn’t that so, Annie dear?”
One! Two! Three! Lightning flashed three times casting a brilliant light on the woman’s photograph. A smile curled the man’s thin lips.
“Shalin hates you. Poor Shalin…How shocked she would be when she hears what I have to say.”
***
Dr. Sam lay awake, gazing blankly at his ceiling. It was strange, he thought, that I should think about Annie on a night like this. A stormy night. A horrible night. Wasn’t he supposed to remember his wife-the woman he still loved with all his heart- during bright, beautiful sunny days? Wasn’t that how it was supposed to be, according to those romantic poets?
Well, his lips broke into a smile, such descriptions would have suited many women, but they certainly didn’t match Annie at all. For Annie was not a beautiful rose or a delicate dewdrop. Annie was fire. A raging fire. Her spirit was not meek, timid or shy. It was fiery.
Thunder crashed once again. A fork of lightening lit up Dr. Sam’s bulging, frog like eyes. Rain lashed at the closed windows just as a dog howled at the top of its lungs.
Those poets weren’t entirely wrong though, he thought, when they compared nature with woman. Because nature, in her most primitive form, was wild. She was a gentle, loving, life bringer but she was wild. Just like Annie. She was strong, like a raging waterfall but gentle like the still waters of a pond. It was not Annie’s breathtaking beauty that charmed all those who knew her. It was her strong willed mind, compassionate heart and inner fire. She was an extraordinary woman. Perhaps too good a woman for him…
Dr. Sam shook himself and closed his eyes. What was the use lamenting and reminiscing about something lost forever. He had to go to sleep. Tomorrow was a very special day.
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