Mr. Imperfectionist

20 Touch Of Death

I craned my neck and tried to look at the window on Sabil's side. I could see the trees. It looked like we weren't on the main road anymore. But the firing continued. I kept my hands on my ears. The bullet's sound was sharp, sharper than a firecracker. My head was spinning frantically.

The fear was making me anxious. Anubhav and Mom's faces flashed before my eyes. What will they do if something happens to me? Mom won't be able to bear the pain. She might not survive the news of my death. The way everyone was firing at each other, made it certain that no one was getting out alive. This was my last day on earth. This is how I was destined to die.

If Sabil and I both died today, then I would want it to be into each other's arms. I couldn't ask for a better way to go, a better farewell from life. 

My hands were on my ears and my head between my knees when a sharp bang on the door on my side startled me. I gasped and my head snapped up. There was no dent on the door. My cheeks and my neck were soaked with my thick tears.

The firing didn't stop. With extreme trepidation, I cried harder. I was positive that someone was going to get hurt. Someone from this side. And right at that moment, Sabil fell on the seat. 

"Sabil...." I screamed in horror.

He groaned and placed one hand on his ear. He then looked at me. His green eyes had no fear. All they had was extreme rage. "Don't worry Cariño. I'm fine. They missed me again." He assured me.

I closed my eyes and exhaled in relief. My heart was thudding erratically. For a moment I thought I had lost him.

Then I looked at him with a blurry vision. "Can't you just stay put?" I asked in a small voice.

"No." He said and sprang back in his seat. His gun seemed to run out of bullets. He threw the gun on my seat and tapped on Guzman's shoulder.

I saw Guzman open the glove compartment and hand him another gun. It was a black gun with a grey grip. 

Sabil positioned the gun out the window. His right elbow was pulled back and his finger on the trigger. He brought the gun close to his face and then pulled the trigger. I heard the noisy bullet explode on something.

There was a noise of the tires abruptly screech on the road and then a loud bang. I placed my palms on my ears again. The sound was unbearable. I heard a couple of men scream and it sounded like the car had run into another car and crashed. 

"Woohoooo..." Emilio and Guzman exulted. But Sabil did not react. He turned to look at the rear windshield.

"I can't see the other two cars. Looks like they have drawn back." He then sat facing the front.

"Guzman, check with Julio."

Guzman called from his cell and kept it on speaker. Julio picked after a few rings.

"Guzman." Julio whimpered softly.

"Julio?" Guzman screamed in panic.

"I have a bullet in my arm," Julio said.

The warm tears in my eyes increased and rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably. I placed my hand on my mouth to keep myself from moaning.

"Fuckkk.." Sabil exclaimed. "Julio, can you drive?" He fretted.

"Si Señor." 

"Can you see their cars?"

"No Señor. They had stopped following the moment we entered the woods. Only the BMW was following and now they are rolled over across a tree." Julio said with a soft chuckle. 

Sabil hung his head and sighed in relief. "Fine. Reach the bungalow, I'll call Dr Abascal." Sabil said and pulled out his cell phone.

"Si," Julio said.

"Are you in too much pain?" Guzman asked.

"A little but I can manage. See you when we reach." Julio said and disconnected.

We were in the woods. No wonder the car was so bouncy. Sabil spoke with Dr Abascal in Spanish and then hung up.

"Can I come up now?" I asked innocently to Sabil. My eyes were still moist.

He looked at me and then quickly looked out the window. I could see Guzman leaning out the window too. They seemed to be looking at a far distance. Sabil then sat facing me. He moved the gun away from my seat, then smiled and said, "You can come now." He tossed the gun to Guzman.

I rose and sat on the seat. All three of them rolled up their windows. I looked behind at the rear windshield. There was thick golden ammo stuck on the glass. There were cracks around the ammo but the glass hadn't broken. 

The tears continued to roll down. My eyes were on the ammo when I felt Sabil's hand. He traced his thumb on my cheekbone to brush off the tear. His palm smelled different. I assumed it was the smell of the gun.

I looked at him. His green eyes were calm. Like nothing had happened.

"Is Julio going to be okay?" I asked in a whisper.

Sabil nodded softly. "The bullet is in his arm. He should be fine." He then looked ahead.

"Guzman?" Sabil called.

Guzman turned to look at him. "Señor?"

"We are in the clear now. Call Julio and ask him to stop the car. You go and drive. His arm needs rest."

"Si Señor." Guzman immediately called Julio.

Emilio halted our car. We were in the middle of the woods. The road where our car stood was filled with tiny brown rocks, tall trees, ferns, and dry fallen leaves. The day looked gloomy. I looked up at the sky. It was filled with dark nimbus clouds. It was going to rain. I wondered if it rained in September in Spain.

Guzman unhooked his seat belt.

"Wait," I told him. All three of them quickly looked at me in mystification.

I had a habit of carrying a scarf in my bag in case it got too sunny outside. Having sensitive skin never allowed me to wear any sunscreen, no matter how good the quality was. I opened my handbag and took out the black linen scarf.

I held it out to Guzman. "This will help to stop the bleeding. If he loses too much blood, he will pass out." I said.

Guzman looked at Sabil who was looking at me. Sabil then looked at Guzman and nodded. He took the scarf from my hand and said, "Gracias." Then opened the car door and climbed out. 

Emilio started to drive.

Sabil's gaze was still on me. The corner of his lip stretched into a side smile.

"Where are we? How are we going to reach home?" I asked.

"We have sort of missed the freeway. We are very far from home, but there's a rutted road ahead that leads to another freeway. We can take that to reach the bungalow." His voice was calm and his lip still had the side smile.

I was crazy about his smile but right now it was pissing me off. "We were just attacked. Your man is injured. What are you smiling for?" I snapped.

He shrugged his shoulders. "We are alive and that's what matters." He said blatantly.

"Sabil, your people could have died, you could have died."

His eyes were still calm. "But we are not." I rolled my eyes. He exhaled. 

His smile vanished but his face was serene. "Saanj, we live under such horror every day. This wasn't the first time we were attacked. It's not that I wasn't scared. I was. For the first time in my life, I was scared to death. But it was only because you are in the car with me. If anything happened to you because of me..." He trailed off and closed his eyes. He turned his head towards the window and then sighed.

"But I'm okay," I said, feeling guilty to break his previous optimism. I placed my hand on his.

"I'm okay because of you."

He shook his head and looked at me. His breathtaking green eyes were wistful. "No, you're in this mess because of me. Because I'm selfish. I should have let you go but I couldn't. Just the very thought of you leaving was making me anxious. I should never have dragged you into my world. I forgot how dark my world is. I forgot everything about my pathetic life Saanj. All I wanted was you the moment I laid eyes you on that set." He rested his forehead on my shoulder blade and sighed again. "What have you done to me?" He whispered glumly.

I kissed his hair and rested my cheek on his head. I closed my eyes while his forehead was still on my shoulder.