Haunting Smile

   I was sweating profusely and the back of my shirt was completely drenched with it, as I stared at a familiar pair of perfectly aligned glistening white teeth that belonged inside the mouth of a charismatic man in his late twenties, standing across the street smiling at me. I said charismatic didn't I? scratch that, he is was not charismatic, he was a hypnotic snake who charms people and makes them dance to his tunes. Rubin Hunt, the most despicable homo sapien I ever knew. This piece of non-recyclable trash was supposed to be frickin dead, yet here he was standing across the street giving me his usual mocking smile displaying his sharp canines.

WHY? WHY? WHY is he still ALIVEEE??? I struggled to understand what was happening as my quivering eyes focused on his dastardly smile. His smile seemed to grow wider and wider until his cheeks tore up then he was literally smiling from ear to ear, his teeth grew larger as he opened up his bloodied mouth, something pink flew out from his mouth and in a flash, I was in his mouth bound by his tongue. I could see glistening sharp teeth proceeding to tear me down.

"NOOOOOOO!!!"

I screamed as I was about to be crushed.

"Elijah, Elijah what happened?"

A sweet voice broke through my nightmare.

"Had another bad dream?"

My blurry sight locked on to the source of the voice, a woman with a rosy smooth skin, who was as delicate as a rose and as beautiful as her voice- Rhoslyn. She was the love of my life and now my wife.

"Yeah"

I replied as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Here, drink up"

She said while handing me a bottle of water while looking at me in worry. She was a very caring soul. I reached out and accepted the bottle thankfully, Gulping down the water I realized how lucky I was to have such a wonderful and caring wife. Actually, it had nothing to do with luck, I had to work so damn hard to catch hold of her, she was the one who was lucky to get me. I capped the bottle and put it down on the table.

"Happy Birthday darling!!!"

I said as I kissed her on the cheek. She went red as she hugged me.

"You remembered"

She whispered jovially like an excited little kitten while pushing me down.

"Of course how would I ever forget.."

How could I ever forget something like this when I was so madly in love with you. 

How could I ever forget the day I met him. The day everything changed. 

Exactly two years ago on this day, I joined up at RinSoft & Co. a tech solutions company, all of it because of Rhoslyn who worked there. We studied in the same class in college and I was in love with her since I first saw her but was never able to confess to her so I was tracking her looking for an opportunity ever since she left college, and I finally landed a job where she worked at and that too on the very day of her birthday. I bought a bouquet of exotic roses for which I had asked for a week ago from a florist nearby and so I marched into the office imagining the look on her face when I would surprise her but unfortunately, it had to wait a bit longer as I had to go meet the manager as it was my first day so I gently put down the bouquet on my assigned desk and went in to meet the boss.

I gently pushed her aside from atop me and hopped down the bed. She was visibly surprised.

"Shhh......"

I put my index finger on my lips, she closed her partially opened mouth as she was about to say something but she pouted instead, gosh she was so adorable. She didn't speak a word and followed me with her eyes as I walked up to the wardrobe. I opened it up and slipped a small box from a shelf in there into my pocket, not letting her see what I put in my pocket. I turned around to see her tilting her head to see what I was up to and not able to find out she pouted even more, this cute creature.

I was hoping to see at least a fraction of her reaction now on that day, but no.

There was no bouquet on the desk when I came back. But I had definitely left it there, I looked around anxiously, that's when I heard excited chatter a few cubicles away.

"Awww how nice of you, thanks a lot!!! How did you even know?"

"I'll be born as an ugly crow in my next life if I forget the birthday of a beautiful maiden like you"

replied a cheerful voice.

That flattering voice belonged to the guy who seemed the same age as me. I continued to study the people gathered at the cubicle, they were swarming around a charming woman holding a flower bouquet. Both the woman and the bouquet were quite familiar to me, she was smiling at the guy who had complimented her and he was smiling too displaying his dazzling white teeth, I continued to stare at him and my blood began to boil, he turned my way and continued to smile, only a little wider now and more mockingly.

I felt like uncapping the pen in my pocket and stabbing him in his eye but before I could do anything drastic a voice called out to me.

"Elijah come... come, everyone this is the new guy who was to join our department today"

It was the HR guy, I didn't care enough to remember his stupid name.

"Welcome!!!"

I heard a few voices in unison. I bowed my head a little as to acknowledge them.

"Thanks"

As soon as I got to that cubicle, the smiling dude whom I wanted to kill had grabbed hold of my hand and was shaking it. As I was pulling my hand away I heard him say something he shouldn't have.

"It's Miss. Rhoslyn's birthday, wish her"

"I know"

I replied curtly, I could see some puzzled looks aimed my way but I didn't heed them and extended my hand towards Rhoslyn. She seemed a little reluctant but shook my hand anyway. I wished her but not in the way I had planned to. Thanks to the smiling bastard standing next to me.

"Happy Birthday Rhoslyn"

"Thank you and welcome, I heard it's your first day"

She welcomed me but she didn't remember me I guess, disappointment and an empty feeling slowly crept into me. As I was wallowing in despair she spoke again.

"Wait a sec, you are Elijah Smith from MD college aren't you? We were in the same class"

Thank god she remembered, all the negativity drained out of me like it never existed before. The others around us went "ahhh" in understanding. She continued on-

"So that's why you said you knew, nice to meet you again. How long has it been? 3 years?"

The damned smiling guy interrupted our wonderful moment.

"So you both knew each other before?"

I was the one to talk this time.

"Yes, we studied in the same class when in college"

"I see, how nice it must have been being in the same class as a goddess.."

A slightly embarrassed Rhoslyn cut him off and proceeded to introduce me to the rest of my colleagues to-be.

"Elijah this is Rubin Hunt, he's a fresher too. He only joined last week"

A Fancy name for a fancy guy. The nerve of this guy to go after my Rhoslyn after being here only for a week. Rhoslyn kept introducing the others to me but I was busy burning this guy's name and face into my memory instead. 

Rubin Hunt

RUBIN HUNT

RUBIN HUNT!!!

I walked back to the bed and laid down facing away from her like nothing had happened. Immediately a flurry of punches landed on my back. They were light like a smack from a cat's paw. they didn't hurt but neither did they stop.

"You just can't go back to sleep like that"

"What else should I do? Sing you a lullaby?"

After my remark, her punches started doing damage like an angry cat's clawing. And I could hear a little bit of anger and annoyance mixed in her voice now.

"You ruined our moment, jumped out of bed, walked to the wardrobe, and then you come back and go back to sleep like nothing happened? Is that it"

"....."

"E-L-I-J-A-H!!!"

"....."

"WH-AT DID YOU PUT IN YOUR POCKET"

I had to reply to escape from her strikes.

"Nothing, so stop hitting me."

"LIAR, I saw you put something in your pocket"

I guess I had to give in now.

"Is that so? Then I guess you will have to find it out for yourself."

"I WILL"

She replied in a very determined and scary tone and immediately she pounced on me like a hungry predator. I wriggled around to dissuade her but she managed to slip her hand in my pocket anyway.

"What's this? I feel something hard"

She said while eyeing me as if my life depended on my answer.

"That's it, you found it"

I said playfully.

She cracked her knuckles and proceeded to smack me.

"I'm your husband you c-can't hit me"

"Says who?"

She said as was about to smack me.

"W-wait I'm sorry. It's in the other pocket"

I hurriedly blurted out and gave her a grin.

She immediately turned me over my side and fished inside the other pocket.

"Well well well... what do we have over here?"

She said as she pulled out a beautiful red velvet box. I could see her smiling involuntarily as she tried to suppress it. Staring at the box for a little while longer like it was her little kitten, she tilted her head towards me I nodded. As soon as she got the approval she didn't even need she hurriedly opened it. In the next split second, a little red object came zooming toward me like it was homed in on my head and yes it crash-landed successfully on my head, it was an empty velvet box, now from where would this have come from I wondered. Before I could open my mouth to express my pain a very professional punch landed on my abdomen.

 "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!"

Before she could wake up the neighbors with her screams I sealed her lips with mine and pushed her down. She was in complete disarray and tried to push me back but then she felt something sliding up her finger. She stole one glance at her finger and I couldn't decide which sparkled more, the diamond ring on her finger or her eyes. All the resistance coming from her completely disappeared then I pulled away knowing she would quiet down. As soon as I sat up she tackled me back to bed.

Was she like this with him too? I wondered. Soon after I joined in the company, he started bothering me more and more, obstructing my way and always accompanied by that accursed smile. He was almost the same as me but why? I couldn't understand why others liked him more, others be damned but why did Rhoslyn like him more? A little while later they started going out together on the weekends, nothing infuriated me more than that. I swore to myself that I would kill that Smiling bastard even if that was the last thing I'd do. I could see his damned smile looking down on me everywhere, wherever I went I saw it, in the restaurant down the road, in the office when I walked in, in the mirror in the bathroom, that bastard's smile started haunting me in my sleep too.

One fine day when I walked into the office a celebration was going on, it seems he was promoted. He took my girl and now he took my job too, the promotion I was promised, he took it!!!

What more will you take from me RUBIN HUNT???

I stood at the parking lot pondering after finishing up my work.

"...trip?"

I felt someone shaking my shoulders.

"Elijah, wanna go out for a trek into the mountains tomorrow? Just the two of us. It will be my treat"

I stood there silently watching that smiling man invite me to celebrate my shameful defeat. What was I supposed to say? Before I could reply he started barking again.

"You are coming, meet me at the base of the mountain tomorrow exactly at 6 AM, don't forget. Bye!"

Without waiting for my reply he vanished. I didn't sleep that night fearing the nightmarish smile which haunted me even in my sleep. I couldn't take it anymore and got out of the bed, it was still 1 AM. Five more hours till the destined meeting, I hopped into my car and drove to the place we were supposed to meet.

"Elijah wake up, you'll get late for work"

Rhoslyn's sweet voice woke me up and she helped me get my stuff ready. I took a shower which felt so refreshing as it washed away my fatigue from last night and then I feasted on the scrumptious breakfast she made. I choked on my food as I was gobbling it up in a hurry, Rhoslyn ran to the kitchen to get me water. As she came running back the bottle slipped from her hands and plummeted down.

...plummeted down just like Rubin Hunt from atop the cliff.

"You are here early, when did you arrive?"

Said Rubin blowing on his cold hands.

"I just got here"

I nonchalantly lied to his stupid smiling face. 

"Let's begin!!!"

I didn't say a single word as we climbed up the mountain but he was spouting nonsense as usual and I ignored it as usual but he still continued blabbering. Just as I was reaching my limit, we reached the spot, he glanced at me and then ran up there and shouted at the top of his lungs like a crazy idiot.

"YOOOHOOO!!!"

I slowly joined him. The sun had just started to rise.

"The view from here is breathtaking"

"....."

"I wish Rhoslyn was here too, she would have loved this awesome scenery..."

At that moment something inside me which was on the verge of snapping since forever snapped. I kicked him from behind and he went flying down into nothingness.

"WHY DON"T YOU TAKE A CLOSER LOOK YOU BASTARD!!!"

Finally salvation from that haunting smile.

"Elijah are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine"

I said after drinking some water which she handed me.

"Do you have to go to work today too?"

She was sulking.

"I'll take you out for dinner in your favorite restaurant, your birthday treat is on me."

I somehow convinced her and headed out, As I pulled the door open slowly, I saw flowers, no someone holding a flower bouquet of roses standing across the street. As his image grew clear I saw a glint of sunlight reflected off of a pair of perfect white teeth.

My heart started beating rapidly and I could hear the drop of sweat which fell off my brow onto the ground making a plop sound.

I thought he was dead, but there he was, right in front of me on the street, smiling at me.