J's Story - Part I

Panting, puffing, breathless, J reached the meadows at last, escaping the brute behind somewhere. Is he still following? She thinks as she bends with her hair down on her face, gasping for breath after the long run away from the beast. An hour back, she was sitting idle in the coffee shop, awaiting her co-worker, fiddling with a camera lying on the table, perhaps of some customer, who left it there by mistake. Now she occupied the seat. She called out the bearer for cheque and when her eyes fell on this darling-looking cam, she thought of asking the waiter about the owner of this camera. But when he finally came to collect the bill, J was busy with the cam, and he left her at that. She looked around and felt no harm in just checking out the pictures shot by apparently a professional photographer, apparently the owner too, of the cam. She browsed through the pictures only to see some blood shots. The high resolution cam, at first, gave J an impression that these blood drops came from above her head, of someone who might be standing over her, overlooking her, seemingly injured with blood that fell on the cam monitor screen. However, the blood drop was very much a part of the picture, clicked with the camera. It was…it was…oh! My God! Joseph it is!

How could he die???…I mean…she was waiting for him at this table, not knowing, he was never to come. He…DIED! This is terrible, a nightmare, sorry a daymare! WHAT! Her hands shivering, her mind boggling with rapid, unpleasant thoughts and images, she dialed Joesph’s number. All the while the network was trying to connect to Joseph, J had her fingers impatiently tapping the coffee table, hoping to hear his voice over the phone. But as the worst had it, Joseph’s phone first went unanswered. J was not wanting to believe that he was no more…she re-dialled and this time, he picked up the phone. No! not Joesph…someone she had heard before or so she felt. A strong breathing could be heard at the opposite end. She shivered and sweat profusely, not knowing what to say. “Wh..who is this?”