Soulful conversations

The tall strange looking man entered the taxi and barked at the driver. “Follow that car in front, and be quick about it”, he snapped. The driver speeded up, trying his best not to lose sight of the red-colored Chevrolet racing its way through the roads. He glanced at the person sitting at the back. “What a strange-looking man,” he thought to himself. The man was giving him the creeps. The faster he reached his destination, the better.

The man at the back was strangely dressed, almost mystical in appearance, and had a mean, nasty, demeanor. He seemed restless, furtive. He kept a hawk-like eye on the car ahead, never letting it out of sight.

Sally sat in the car, lost in thought. The dread of going home to her abusive husband weighed on her mind. She felt claustrophobic, as though the sides of the car were closing in on her, threatening to sandwich her in between. She had been married for two years now. In the beginning, everything had been rosy, picture-perfect. Then the abuses had begun, and the verbal abuse quickly transitioned into physical abuse. How naïve she had been. She knew she should have retaliated back the very first time, but she hadn’t. And to this day, fear gripped her. Courage seemed to have drained from her body, dripping away like melted lard. It was as though fear was always towering over her.

Suddenly, she felt a presence, as though someone was following her. She turned back but could see nobody, nothing. She felt that she was getting paranoid but could not shake off the feeling of being followed and shadowed. It was getting dark, but she was not in a hurry to reach home. She felt an impulse to take a walk. She stopped the car, and parking it, she started walking.

After walking some distance, she again felt the creepy sensation of being followed. Once again fear gripped her. “No, this would not do” she muttered to herself. She turned around and saw the strange-looking man walking towards her. He was dressed in black and wore a long-hooded cloak, which gave him a sinister look. Sally wanted to run as fast as she could, but she stood there, rooted to the ground. She mustered up the courage and asked the man.

“Who are you and why are you following me?”

“You know me very well, I dwell within you” replied the man, with a smirk.

“Stop playing games and tell me who you are?” said Sally, a little more firmly this time.

“Don’t you know me? I am fear. The sensation you are so familiar with nowadays” replied the man.

“Has my husband sent you to follow me, keep track of me?” asked Sally, still not believing the absurdity of the conversation she was having.

“No one gives me orders. I act on my own. My job is to capture as many souls as possibly can. Once I capture them, it is difficult for them to get rid of me” replied the man, having a smug look on his face.

Sally struggled to keep the growing fear within her at bay, her body was trembling. Now she was determined not to let her fear give her away. She prayed for a miracle to give her the strength, and the courage she needed.

Suddenly there was a shining white light behind her. She turned around, her eyes blinded because of the intensity of the light. Then she saw the silhouette of a man emerging from within the blinding white light. He came and stood beside her. He looked like a mystical figure but had twinkling eyes. Something in his demeanor told her that she could trust this man.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am the courage that you have lost” replied the man dressed in white. “I have come to your assistance since you were desperately seeking me.”

Sally was now in a trance, what was this weird experience? Was she going mad, talking to imaginary characters? Yet, in her heart, she knew her experience was real. She turned around to look at the man dressed in black, who now seemed to be cowering at the sight of the man dressed in white.

“You see, this is what courage does to fear,” said the man in white softly.

The man dressed in white started walking slowly towards the man dressed in black. The man in black seemed to disappear, as though vanishing into thin air.

“You need not fear anymore. I am with you. Don’t let anyone take away your dignity and pride.” said the man in white and walked back into the blinding light.

In a flash, the light was gone, and Sally stood alone in the street. It was now quite late and dark. But she now felt a sense of calm, for the first time in months.

She walked back to her car and drove home.

She entered the house. Her husband was there, ready to pounce on her.

“Where the hell have you been?” he barked.

Sally did not answer and walked right past him towards the kitchen, pouring herself a drink.

“Did you not hear what I asked?” growled her husband, raising his hand, ready to strike her.

“Hands up, please. You are under arrest for physical abuse” said a voice behind Sally’s husband.

He was shocked to see a policeman standing at his door with a pistol pointing toward him.

He turned around to look at Sally. The calm determined look in her eyes punched him like a cannonball. He winced inwardly. Then walked away with the policeman.

Sally let out her breath slowly with relief. She had dialed emergency on her way back home.

Her journey of transformation had started. Now she would fight till the end for a divorce.

Then she would be free. She thanked God for the miracle.

That night, she slept peacefully, for the first time, in ages.

The last thought on her mind was, “I will never allow fear to hound me again”