“You resemble Juan to the extent that all your physical
features exactly match Juan’s, right down to the single eye with sight. I am
sorry about that, but it’s eerie. Even I can’t fathom how you are just as I’d
envisioned Juan. Even your name is somewhat like his. John-Juan. Get it? That’s
not all. Here’s the icing on the cake. My name is Martha. One of my heroine’s
names is Myara and you insist on calling me Mara which rhymes with Sara,
another heroine’s name in my novel. All this uncanny similarity is getting on
my nerves and I’m affected.”
John fell silent as he pondered over the gravity of the situation. Yes,
it was indeed implausible, but true! No wonder she had passed out when she’d
seen him for the first time! Norman was right. He had to remain apart from
Martha to maintain her sanity! He was dumb-founded and despondent. Just when he
thought that he had found his soul-mate…
“There are many other
coincidences, but I’ll reserve that for another day,” she was saying. Nothing
else registered in John’s numb brain. He could just mumble “I see”. “So there,”
she said, “please don’t breathe a word about all this to anyone in the office,
not even to Norman. Promise?” He said “Promise” and hung up. He had a lot on
his mind.
Martha decided to call it
a day and stop writing. A walk was just what she needed. A long and refreshing
walk through the woods. She needed to think. As she slowly started walking
through the cool and dense undergrowth, her mind was racing. What was it that
she really wanted in life? How would her life be in the next 10 years? Most
important, who would be there in her life then? Norman, John, Arnold or Dr.
Hussey? She was spoilt for choices! But a voice in her head told her “Don’t be
silly Martha. Arnold is a much married man, happily married at that! Dr. Hussey
is just that. Dr. Hussey. Period. He was her psychiatrist, not her suitor. He
couldn’t possibly marry all his neurotic patients who even slightly fancied
him, could he? Well, that left Norman and John.
Norman was a highly accomplished, capable man who could manage all his
personal and professional commitments (and hers too) like a professional
juggler. Only, sometimes he could be overbearing, impatient and tactless.
Undoubtedly, a sensitive heart lay behind his tough, ‘man of the world’
exterior; otherwise he wouldn’t have got so involved with her, to the extent of
wanting to marry her! But did that mean that he loved her? She hadn’t heard him
profess his love for her even once or if he had, she didn’t recollect it!
Besides, she didn’t love him. It was evident as she couldn’t think about him as
she could about the last option, John D’ Costa. Now he was someone who could be
her soul-mate and her lover in the true sense of the word! She blushed
furiously and was relieved that there was no one who could see her so engrossed
in amorous thoughts.
She had by then reached the clearing where cement benches were thoughtfully
placed for the trekkers. Usually she used to sit there for some time, rest and
then walk back home. It was about three kilometers from her home. But as it was
growing dark, she wisely thought that she should turn back. Suddenly she felt
scared and lonely. It was a beautiful but desolate area and she’d be glad to
reach home safely. Somehow, she got an eerie sensation and felt the goose bumps
on her skin. It was cold. But she was shivering due to unexplained terror, not
because of the cold.
She broke into a run and ran as fast as she could, through the darkening
shadows and the rough undergrowth that pulled at her dress at all places. She
cursed herself for going on the walk so late in the afternoon. As the forest
birds tweeted and the owls hooted, she felt an impending sense of doom. Why was
she so agitated? She wasn’t one who feared anything. Why then was her heart
pounding so furiously against her ribs and her lungs feeling as if they would
burst with lack of oxygen? Oh God, she prayed. Please don’t make me faint. I’ll
die here without anyone knowing about it! She was paranoid, could feel it in
her veins.
She had just reached
the gate of her cottage when she saw someone gazing at her and let out a loud
scream of pure terror. Even as John watched horrified, Martha passed out and
collapsed on the ground. He rushed to gather her in his arms. Too late, he
realized that he was the one who had caused her to faint. So what Norman had
felt and done was after all bang on target. He had goofed up and things had
gone drastically wrong. Norman would be hopping mad with him. He would have to
brace himself for an ugly confrontation with his Boss. Maybe that Boss would
soon be his ex-Boss!
His heart thudding
frantically, John awkwardly reached for her purse, found the keys and opened
the door to the cottage. Then he switched on the lights in the porch. Feeling
very sorry for Martha, he gently lifted her limp body and carried her swiftly
into the living-room. His hands were aching as he placed her on the couch and
sat on a chair nearby for a breather. Phew! He was sweating despite the chill
in the air. Part of it was due to the sudden reaction to seeing her collapse in
front of his eyes. Was he so ghastly to look at? Yes, with his one eye covered
with a pirate-like patch, he did look different but not ugly. Then it struck
him that he was evading the truth. The truth was that he resembled Juan, the
hero of her romantic novel.
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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