LOVING A MANNEQUIN

Chapter 5: Saving A Girl

My father loved to smile most of the time even when a problem arose because he believed that a smile was everyone's charm and luck. So before I left his grave, I made a promise. 

"Pa, I will definitely remember your advice. I will often smile and won't give up on life. I promise I will take good care of myself and work hard to live a good life." A bead of tear from one of my eyes dropped voluntarily. "May you rest in peace."

Then I turned around, took a deep breath and smiled. I did smile but I didn't think it came from my heart because I found it too hard to do so. "Good luck myself for a new beginning."

*******

Straightway, I went home and just packed several sets of clothes into a medium size backpack, roamed around for a while at every edge of the house to reminisce good memories with my parents and then finally set out hugging my family portrait in a frame over my chest. 

After losing your loved one, smiling was really hard to do. But as my feet subconsciously brought me into an alley, I ran into a street young man who was eating happily with the food he picked from the trash. By watching him, I realised, everyone has its own suffering, bad luck and pain but still, they were able to smile because they chose to.

I passed at him a bit and smiled with a sigh of acceptance. "It looks like I am also going to sleep on this street tonight."

I lifted my foot to settle at a corner, just a few meters away from the street man when suddenly I heard a scream of a girl. I searched my eyes around and my eyes found them from afar. They were straight at the lane  where I was.

There were four crazy jerks dragging her into the dark side and the girl was struggling a lot to escape from them. But as she struggled, the men hit her. 

I couldn't stand to only watch them and let them succeed with their evil motive so I ran towards them in an unnoticeable way.

-"Bro, this one is quite pretty and sexy. I am so excited now to lick her every part." One of them said as he chortled greedily. 

-"Let me be the first one to f**k her."

I heard the other one say it casually, even pretended to sip back his drool. 

Damn these hungry beasts!

"No! No! Brothers, please spare me. I can give you money. Just let me go. I beg you. Name your price." The girl's trembling and terrified voice begged.

Instead of considering her offer. They only laughed at her.

-"Hold her! I will take her mine first."

"No! No! No!" 

I noticed that the two men held the girl's shoulder down, the other one covered her mouth while the last one, who was a fat man impatiently unbuttoned his pants.

My hearts were fluttering terribly. I was so brave to run over them but I actually didn't know how to stop them. 

'Useless!' I scoffed.

But I didn't care anymore. Since I couldn't find anything to use against them, I decided to use the frame I was holding. After mustering my courage and strength, without their awareness, I walloped the frame at the fat man's nape.

I thought the force I used was enough for him to pass out but it only made him cursed madly like he wanted to swallow me whole. Too bad for the frame. It broke into half. "Who the hell is this interloper?"

The four turned their attention angrily on me for interrupting them to have a lustful pleasure meal. But right after they saw me, their flaring eyes that sparkled in the darkness became merriful. 

"Oh no! This is bad." My mind shouted. 

"Don't dare to come over here!" I warned, still pointing the broken frame on them. 

"Quite tough huh." The fat man giggled and so the others imitated him. 

My heart was thumping uncommonly fast as I walked aback. I didn't have a plan to run away but they seemed to think so. They didn't give me a chance to escape hence they immediately cornered me at the center of them.

They clicked their knuckles as they clasped their hands together. The fat man wiped his nostrils horizontally with his index finger. "Get her!"

The fat man's three accomplice  strode over me. At that time, the girl on the ground managed to pick herself up. My eyes passed through her so I saw as she groped something in her glossy purse. Soon after, she brought out her phone and called the police. "Hello Mr. Police. Please help. Group of men are trying to molest us now."

"What the hell?" They exclaimed in rage in unison and turned back to her. I ran on my feet and hid the girl behind me. 

The tall thin man furrowed his brows. "What are you doing? Do you think somebody will come and save you two?" 

Without further discussion, the four charged on us altogether. I constantly waggle the frame in my hand over them in order not to get us. But men were really born stronger than women. 

I contorted in pain and bit my bottom lip as one of them succeeded to grab my hair and hauled me in his embrace.

I was unwilling to accept the fact that someone was taking advantage of me. Thus, in resentment, I bit his arm and it bled, causing him to let me go in no time. 

Instead to back off after what I did. They became more devilish and insane. Again, they tried to grab me down. Accidentally, I scraped the arm of one of them with the frame and burst a blood.

I was sweating profusely and getting giddy. I didn't notice the murderous approach of the fat man behind me. 

The girl screamed in fear, pointing something from my behind. "Sis, watch out! There is a knife."

I turned my head to check the person behind me who brought out a knife, and my eyes broadened in fright as the knife got closer to my skin. In the next second, the fat man shouted as he thrusted the shining knife towards my body.  

I closed my eyes with my hands covering my mouth and waited to die but killing me failed as all of a sudden from out of nowhere, a stranger appeared and blocked the knife for me with his body.