Bugs Bite

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: The First Encounter, Again

'Don't let the bed bugs bite,' Mom said. Then she fly-kissed her, turned off the lights and left, shutting the door behind her and leaving her daughter in utter dark.

It was a while before Radha slept. Quite a while, in fact. For she couldn't help but think of whether Daddy would be sleeping in the hospital or not. Probably not. He must be thinking of her and Mom, just as they were thinking of him.

Even before her eyes opened, the beautifully haunting sound penetrated her ears. With no sight, therefore, she absorbed the hum-and-whistle startlingly well, such that she was certain that the source of the tune was within the room itself. That alarmed her to some extent, but she was still sleepy as it was; might be hallucinating or dreaming. The music was almost surreal, like something right out of the pages of a fairytale. It took her a moment to take in the verity that the melody was very real. And yes, the musician was in the same room as her. The aura of another presence was unmistakable, even for a young princess like her. An unfamiliar aura.

That hit hard, and fear began to settle in.

Slowly heaving herself into an upright position on the bed, eyes still shut tight, Radha felt the hair on her arms stand in attention. She also experienced a strange tingle at the back of her neck. She knew if she dared to open her eyes, she'd see the one emancipating the hypnotic melody.

Meanwhile, the music picked pace, grew louder. It filled her blind world. Someone was snapping their fingers too now, synchronizing with each beat, each whistle. Someone very near her. Someone who's humming and whistling and snapping had such power, such conviction, that it was pragmatically controlling Radha.

Beckoning to her.

Urging her.

Maybe it was a whole gang. A gang of crazy adults who ate youngsters alive, like in that movie Swati had been talking about in school. It had seemed silly, then, in a classroom, with friends by his side. It hardly seemed ludicrous now. She would die to have Daddy here with her; he always made her feel safe. She was suddenly so scared, and gruesome images kept popping up in her mind, that she thought she'd piss herself. She wanted to scream, oh yes, she wanted to scream so bad. But the music had ahold of her. It had blocked her, immobilized her, all the while cradling her in its arms.

Abruptly, the music stopped. Silence treaded its footsteps, and this particular silence was even more eerie. Radha's heart started pounding harder than ever. She was convinced it was a child-killer gang like the one from the movie Swati had told them about, and now that the music had stopped, they'd complete the real job they were here to do.

Radha desperately wanted to open her eyes, yet in the end, she was but a scared girl.

'Open your eyes,' a voice susurrated just then, reading his thoughts. 'I'm not here to hurt you.'

The voice sounded so good-natured, so serene, so soothing, so deep, that Radha simply couldn't disobey, even though it was not even a command. Couldn't child-killers have smooth voices? If anything, it probably only helped with their job. But there was a special quality to this guy's baritone, a - kindness, maybe? A politeness? Earnest sincerity?

'Open your eyes, Radha,' the voice insisted.

Involuntarily, she did. It was impossible to resist that voice. It was as hypnotic as the music had been. This was definitely the same guy who's humming and whistling had woke him up.

Darkness engulfed her immediately as her eyes creaked open. True darkness. Asleep, she hadn't been able to register the dark. Awake, she did.

A minimal amount of moonlight flirted in through the little window by his bedside. It granted some clarity of vision, at least.