Healed By Honey (The Roys, #3)

Chapter 3 - Eye to Eye

It's a tragic paradox. The more we want to avoid and abandon the memories that inflicts fear in our mind, the more we find ourselves getting tangled by their cruel tentacles that we cannot fully control. Fear makes things more difficult than they need to be. Memories inflict pain. They exist to remind you of the time you were just a failure.

She felt helpless as they traversed the dark and empty alleyway. Not a single soul was to be found quite naturally. The surrounding silence was deafening because it was early in the morning, approximately three. Although she was vigilant, she could feel her heart pounding frantically. There was someone close behind. But, somehow, she knew they wouldn't hurt her. If she was going to be attacked, the attack would come from the front.

Ritu was on guard as she walked ahead with watchful steps. She was about to turn back and watch out for the person behind her, when two mask-wearing assailants leapt at her out of nowhere.

At first, she was slightly taken aback, but soon she found her resolve and retaliated. The two men attacked her aggressively almost at the same time. But she dodged their punches and launched equally forceful kicks aiming their jaws. One of the men sprinted back for a few feet, shirking the kick while the other man bent over as her leg whooshed over his head and came back.

Ritu turned around and reflexively dodged another kick by arching her back. Within a blink of an eye, she straightened and landed a punch aiming at her attacker's nose. The man crouched down slightly covering his face. Soon after, two other men lunged at her simultaneously. She was about to throw a solid punch at one of them while a hot blinding pain shot through the back of her skull.

Ritu's right hand flew behind her head as she rubbed the spot. It felt wet and sticky to the touch. She slowly spun around with staggering steps and brought her hand in front of her eyes. Although it was pitch black of the night, she could still recognize the thick and sticky liquid smearing all over her hand. She staggered back a couple of steps just before a gloved hand appeared out of the blue and slapped her roughly across her face. She lost her balance and fell on the road just to gasp awake of her nightmare.

There was a ghost pain throbbing at the back of her skull. She was sweating profusely. Her night suit stuck to her torso drenched in sweat. Ritu panted severely while her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. Her hands clutched onto the Krishna doll as she held it close to her chest. Her chest heaved up and down while she opened her mouth to scream for her mother, but nothing came out except hot air of breath. Her mouth was dry. She couldn't move her legs. She was profoundly scared.

Sweat trickled down her temples as she stared at the ceiling for several minutes. Some moments passed like that... trapped inside the shell of her pretentious bravery.

The interior seemed familiar. Eventually her breathing slowed down as she recognized her own room.

It was her room! She was inside Ishani, her safe zone! No one was going to hurt her here. No harm would reach her here. She was safe. After a few minutes of mental recitation, she somehow convinced herself she was safe and out of danger's grasp.

Ritu held up the Krishna doll and whispered, "You'll save me, right? No matter what, never leave my side!"

She squeezed the doll in a tight hug before her eyes found their way to the wall clock. It was almost 10 o'clock. She slept for way longer than she should have been. The weak state of her health was the reason her mother let her stay asleep till ten. Otherwise, it was not the usual practice in their household. Everyone woke up before seven to the max.

Ritu struggled to sit up and after successfully doing so, her head turned towards her right. The wheelchair was waiting for her quietly in the corner. She hated to use that assistive device made for incompetent and disabled people. It made her feel how useless she had become after that disastrous night.