So here I have it, a short story for you to critisize. Or praise. Preferably, both. I hope you like twist-in-the-tale stories. Here goes:
Evangelina glanced irritably at the clock and realised that Derek was late in calling her once again. No surprises here, she thought. She unfastened the latch to the balcony and stood there at the door experiencing the welcoming smell of eucalyptus leaves in the night air. The cool air soothed her and she slowly began to relax. The much creased forehead of hers and was starting to become smooth again. She breathed in deeply and let out a heavy sigh. Stretching her hands up, she yawned and smiled a blissful smile.
Then she came forward to the railing slowly and settling her hands comfortably on the cold black metal, closed her eyes. She could hear the sound of the night insects and as she opened her eyes, a bat or two swooshed away swiftly near a tree she could just see in the distance. A very familiar sight. She turned around resting her back on the railing and stretched back her neck so she could have a good look at the stars. They look beautiful, as usual, she thought. The moon was not visible from this part of the house. She'd have to go to the terrace. But she was violently brought back to reality when she remembered she had a phone call to attend to.
She hurriedly entered the room and started pushing a button to see if anyone had called. She didn't really trust herself to be vigilant anytime of the day. She had always been a daydreamer, always. Thank God, no calls since the afternoon. This was getting tiring. She laid down on the bed beside the phone and a couple of books she had been reading last night. Slowly, she raised her arm and brought her wrist up to see. No, it looked normal. Quite unlike what it looked exactly a month ago. She experienced a dull pain in the chest and a sinking feeling in her stomach as she recollected what she the same wrist had looked. Hideous. What had actually come over her that she had decided to end her life, she couldn’t really understand. An intense look set upon her face as she pondered over it.
Derek had always been a good person. Was it she who had caused all this to happen? Sure, everything was all right between them NOW. But there wasn’t a time when everything was ACTUALLY all right between them. She sat up straight and brought her knees close to her face and tucked them under her chin. Rocking back and forth, she remembered what had actually happened and tears slowly welled in her eyes. She wiped them with the back of her hand and absent mindedly picked up a book from the side table. Opened the page she’d left at and started reading to keep her mind off everything.
Five. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty minutes passed, still no phone call. She stared at the phone and picked it up to see if it was working. Yes, it was. He must be really busy to delay the call. Or was he? She was sure he loved her. He did. He absolutely did. Well, he did say that. But, maybe he just SAID that. She was no mind reader. Ever since they’d been together, not one day had passed that she’d not told herself that she was not good enough for Derek. Never good enough. He was everything she could ask for, but she… she did not fit the bill. She was all right, but definitely not good enough for him.
Nonsense, I’m good enough for anything. There’s a lot of negativity in you. Stop underestimating yourself, Eva. You’re as good as any other girl. Even better, she thought. She knew it was her alter ego speaking. She sucked in air as she fondly thought of what her opinion of herself was. She had a lot of mental testimonials she had verbally received earlier. From a variety of people. Certainly, she was not just good as any other; she was one of the better part of the population. Right. That settles it.
Derek’s to blame. It was he who painted her world black. It was he who told her that she wasn’t what she thought she is. A number of times, a lot was said about her to herself. Enough said. The old spirit was back. Very good, she’d see that she gets her life back. As soon as he called, she’d tell him to go his own way. That would do well for now.
As she was thinking what else she had to tell him… there came a sudden loud crash from just outside the house. She experienced a wild adrenaline rush and hurried to the balcony. And that was a sight to behold; there lay a car not far from their own family car, totally upturned, windows shattered and the tires still rotating rapidly on their own accord. Wow, she’d never seen anything like this.
With a shock, she thought that there MUST be still somebody inside the car, the driver. She could see no-one standing near the car or anywhere around it. Being almost midnight, she could see no-one else on the street too. Oh my God! This needs urgent help, she thought and racked her brains. She turned around and ran to her parents' bedroom and banged on it with full force.
“Hello!! Open the door, please! We’ve got an emergency here!!!”
There came a sleepy voice from the inside, “Uhh.. yes? What is it, Eva? Can it wait till the morning, please?” It was her father.
“NO!! It’s not about me. Come outside! There’s been an accident!!”
“What?? Wait a second.” In about a couple of seconds he was at the door in his robe and her Mum was struggling to get out of bed. “Where? What happened??”
“Just outside.. hurry!! I guess someone’s still trapped inside the car!”
The three of them hurried to the main door, out of it, and reached the car just in time. Now that her mind was starting to clear, she saw that the car was just a few yards away from their own and if it hadn’t stopped where it was, there would have been serious damage to their car as well. She went with her Father to the other side, the driver’s side. There he was, half his body outside the window and the other half jammed under the car. It was tight position, but not dangerous. Her father helped the person out of the car, and with a little help he slid out from under it and thanked her father profusely. He wasn’t hurt except a few bruises and some scratches on his arms. Everyone turned to look at the car and unfortunately, the car wasn’t as lucky as the driver.
“How DID this happen??”
“I don’t know, it skidded and then… I really don’t know.”
Evangelina looked at the driver and saw that he really didn’t look too well. There was something strange with the way he looked. His eyes were a bit swollen and red, and he couldn’t speak properly. He seemed dazed, because of the accident, most probably, she thought. It seemed as if he’d pass out any second. Strange. She looked at the car again and up at her parents. She saw out of the corner of her eye, her Father nudging her Mother and telling her to take her inside.
As they got inside, her Mother told her to go to bed immediately. She had to get up for school and it was much later than midnight by then. She asked her if she could have some water first, and went into the kitchen and brought back a glass of chilled water. She sipped it slowly and shook her head to help her get the incident out of her mind. Her father appeared at the doorway and locking up the door as he came inside, told Eva to fetch him a glass too. She did as she was told as she came back she could hear her parents conversing quietly, she stopped to listen. Listening intently, she could make out the words that were being half whispered – “yes, you’re right…drunk…had a fight with someone…couldn’t say anything properly but yes,…told him to go home… fetched a cab..” So that was it.
She re-entered the room and her parents stopped conversing suddenly and sat there quietly without looking at her. She told them that she’s going to her bedroom now. They both nodded and smiled at her. As she turned, she asked them, “Oh, by the way, how did that accident happen?” They both stared at her and her father replied, “Nothing, just a stray cat or something in the way. You go to sleep. Good night.” She turned around and went to her own room. Amused. What made them say this? Always a problem with parents. They think we’re not grown up enough.
Just as she sat on the edge of her bed, the phone rang and she picked it up at the first ring. “Hello!!?”
“Hey there, Eva! Sorry…was a bit busy with the homework. Too much of it nowadays, eh? I hope you don’t mind?”
“Yeah… no problem. You think I’d get angry on such a thing? Aww, you’re such a sweetheart! And you just WAIT till you hear what happened…”
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Thank you for reading. Please don't forget to comment, or I won't ever know if you read it or not. Thankyou, once again! :)
