Birth of the Queen

Prita’s nose wrinkled at the thought of walking through the lane. It was always dark and most of the times, the bin beside the lantern was overflowing. The smell was pungent enough to make bile rise up your throat. But there was not much option for her. The lane was the fastest way to get to the company building without being late. Not that being a little late would cost her the job but it was one of her few self-made rules to be on time everywhere. The weather was also not great for a walk through that oozy lane but apparently, fate was not in her favor. Without wasting further time, she strolled down the lane which was muddy and more smelly from the constant rain. She tried to manage her umbrella and keep balance on the slippery road at the same time. At last, she gave up. Folding her umbrella in one hand she started walking as fast as she could trying to keep her steps together. Whole of her mind was on her feet, otherwise she would have noticed a man smoking, leaning over the wall of one of the abandoned buildings. Normally, no one would mind such a random event but this was different. The lane was not used by many in the morning and it was generally deserted during rain and winter. Prita didn’t exactly know what happened in the lane at night but heard people talking about it turning into a mafia den when darkness crept into the city. Her parents always told her to stay away from it even at daytime. She, too, generally avoided it. ‘Nothing could happen in broad daylight, right?’ she thought to herself and she waded in. The man was not at all wrapped in himself. Naturally, he noticed her. He stood straight, a cigarette in one hand. He also did not expect anyone to come here in this crazy weather. He wore a maroon hoodie and black track pants. He started covering his face with the hoodie as soon as he saw Prita. He thought she would have noticed him but after a while, he realized that she was too keen on keeping her feet together to notice him. But he did not want to take any chance. He moved towards one of the crevices of an old house and hid there watching the girl coming towards where he stood. It was raining and the girl had an umbrella but she was not using it. He wondered why, on earth, she would take this lane on a day like this. As she started approaching him, he became alarmed and was about to move back in the shadows but he was stopped by something solid and he fell. The girl immediately shot her head towards the spot and her eyes widened. She was about to fall on the mossy bed but she found a wall to catch on time. She suddenly realized that she was being watched and it scared her a little. Not encouraging the creepy feeling at the pit of her stomach, she moved on , this time more carefully. After a few moments the feeling was kind of lessened but if only she knew what was coming for her, she would never have turned to this ally. First she could see a slight movement in the shadows and then she heard a thud as if something heavy had fallen on something solid. Her eyes were automatically directed towards the broken corner of an old house from where the noise came. There she saw a hooded man sitting with his legs and hands spread in an uncomfortable position and she readily assumed that the man had fallen on the ground. She must have stared at him for a few seconds and then he stirred startling her and binding her to where she stood. His face was still not visible because of his large hoodie and a whirl of smoke surrounded him. For a moment, she did not know what to do. When she came to her senses, she immediately went to him and held out one hand with the gesture of helping him stand. When the man hesitated the thought stroke her. What if he is a drunk pervert! What if he is someone from the mafia or something? He has that strange hoodie on! With the feeling of uneasiness crawling up her spine, she hesitated and slowly withdrew her hand. For once, she thought she would just leave but something, in her gut, stopped her. She slowly took two little steps back and spoke to the man, “Hey, are you alright? Do you want to stand up?”  The man did not move. “Should I get you some help?” she asked trying to tilt her head so as to see the man’s face under the hoodie. The man seemed to shrink a little and then started to rise up. Prita, instinctually, took a step back. She could now see the whirls of smoke coming from under the hood. The whole surrounding had a pungent smell but she was too startled to even cover her nostrils. Unexpectedly, the man jerked towards her and spoke in a deep voice, smoke coming out with every word, “I am fine. You should go.” It sounded a bit rude and it would be a lie if Prita said that it did not bother her. But, surprisingly, she was more curious than upset. She stood firm on her place looking back at the hooded figure. ‘Is this girl stupid or crazy?’ he thought to himself, “I just told her to go in the most rude voice possible but she looks stubborn. Is she dumb or what?” He tried again, now in a gruffer tone, “Move.” She looked surprised and a bit curious, but did not move. Her eyes were fixed on him. He was about to threaten her but then she spoke, “What happened to you?” For a moment he thought she recognized him but that would be impossible given the fact that there is no way she could look through his cover. He barked, “What do you mean?” “I must be going crazy but I have to tell you this, Sir. You don’t look well. You..I have a feeling I know you and yet you’re not this person. I don’t know what to say but if you let me help you a bit…” she trailed off. For the first few minutes there was an uncomfortable silence and then he shouted, “Who the hell do you think you are to tell me all of this? Are you mad? I can destroy you, you know that?” She flinched a bit and then smiled saying, “Alright, I’ll go. But you’re a bad liar, Sir. A person like you is capable of many things but destruction.” She strode down the alley leaving him in confusion. Her last words kept dancing around him twirling with the smoke from his cigarette.