Troubled

It was a lovely full moon night but she didn't seem to enjoy the beauty much, alone on that deserted road, she felt scared of the silence all around her, she cursed her adventurous spirit, she may not have gotten a good view of the moon at home but at least it wasn't so far off.

As she gazed up at the moon, she forgot her discomfort for awhile, the beauty of the moon made her awestruck, she had seen many full moon nights but this one was the most beautiful one she had ever seen.

She heard a noise in the distance, it reminded her of how scared she felt all alone in the night on a deserted road like that, her mind started playing all sorts of gory scenarios.

Only serial killers drove on such deserted roads, at least thats what she had read in a safety manual, she had question the validity of the claim then and now too, but fear doesn't see things like proof or validity, it is something that grips your mind and settles deep within it.

Was she going to be a serial killers next victim?, how gruesome was her death going to be?, would he torture her before killing her?, she imagined herself being on the news but not for any good reason, it was true she wanted fame but also wanted to live to relish it.

What if it was an organ trafficker who would trick her and kidnap her?, what do organ traffickers do with their victims?, do they even leave them alive?, her mind recalled all the kidnapping reports she had ever read, she started picturising all the ways she could be killed.

Was he going to drug her and strangle her?, was he going to stab her to death or slit her throat?, her throat felt dry, she was shaking with fear, she felt she let her foolish adventurous spirit over take her, she wanted to go back in time and reverse her decision to see the full moon clearly.

As the noise grew closer, she felt her heart sink, she tried to start her car but her sweaty fingers couldn't fit the keys adding to her anxiety, the noise suddenly stopped, she turned around to see it was a car, it had stopped behind her.

All she wanted to do was see the moon in full view with nothing obstructing her, a luxury that she could afford only on a deserted road like that, her home was in a crowded area of the city, where you were lucky if you even got the glimpse of the moon but a starry night sky like this was something she would never see from her roof.

She felt she would faint with anxiety, it was just like a movie, a scary looking guy would step out of it and point a gun at her, before she would know it, she would be kidnapped and tied up.

To her surprise it was a young boy who stepped out but he wasn't scary, he looked like your average friendly guy, someone you run into a coffee shop or the neighbor next door with whom you casually chat sometimes.

He reminded her of her own neighbor, they chatted occasionally about their love for nature, it helped to have neighbors who had the same interests as you, you could always strike a conversation with them and you knew those conversations would never turn boring.

He took out his phone and started clicking photos of the moon, maybe he came here just to admire the beauty of the moon like her, it wasn't always you get nights like these, who would miss such an opportunity?

She decided to step out of the car, the boy looked surprised, she still felt nervous but wanted to show she was calm, she had to look confident, if she showed she was afraid, he might take advantage of it.

"Are you here to admire the moon tonight too?"

"Yes!"

There was a tense silence between the two, she felt she messed it up, she had wanted to look confident but had come off as weird, she was such a stupid girl, what was the need to step out of the car idiot!

"You don't get such a sight in the city", he said pointing towards the moon.

"There is nothing to block the view here, maybe because of that", she replied, trying to sound confident, she hoped she didn't come off as weird this time.

"Some people don't understand the desire to come here all the way but those who admire nature are the ones who can understand this desire", he said with a faint glimmer in his eyes.

Seeing his gleamy eyes she felt a sense of comfort,

"True. There are some things only those who feel awestruck by the beauty of nature can understand."

"Don't you feel unsafe all alone out here?", he asked.

The question threw her back into the realm of discomfort she felt she had left earlier,

"Same can be said for you too."

"But it's worth the risk", he said after thinking awhile.

She smiled, she could understand the feeling, beauty overcomes your desire for safety

As he turned to leave, she suddenly remembered she had forgotten something, she had gotten carried away but looking at the moon reminded her, she took out the knife from her back pocket and stabbed him in the upper back, he screamed and tried to defend himself but tripped and fell.

He tried to get up but that exercise only made him wince in pain, he looked horrified at the blood oozing from his wound, as more blood rushed out, he became limp and pale.

She stood their calm despite the violence of it all, she had done this so many times that it did not scare her anymore, she had practiced it to perfection, her ritual of killing a stranger with the full moon in view brought her goodluck, and only she knew about it.