Not First Love (9 page)

SEVEN

More than 8000 miles away, the Tantrik took poured water iinto a big bronze bowl and focussed. Opening the eyes, one could see Jan in the water like it was a screen. She had grown into a woman and she looked happy and beautiful today. Poor girl, she didn’t know what was coming her way.

But the Tantrik also knew that she would not be harmed so easily.

*****

EIGHT

Closer to home, about 20 miles away from the tower building, stood another house. It looked very contemporary in its design and very commonplace in its look. It was built quite some distance away from the town. The house had a small farm with hens.

Here, a white man with blue eyes lived. He placed a brass bowl on the dining table. It was difficult to say how old he was. He looked thirty five, since the last two hundred years or so. Filling the bowl with water, he closed his eyes and murmured something. Opening his eyes, he looked in the water. He saw the tower building and tried to go closer. He was trying to see the occupants inside. He tried harder but it was not helping.

He had been trying to see what was inside the building but every time he came across a barrier. He knew his target was there but he couldn’t see it. He threw the bowl across the room in frustration.

*****

NINE

Jan showered. She was paying extra attention to herself today.  She smelled the aroma of the shampoo that was on her hair and smelled the fragrance on her skin. She changed her dress in the room. Arthur had put the camera off now. He would only put it on after it got dark, he told her. That was for security. She did not understand why that was needed at all. Her room was at last 600 foot up in the tower and the only way to reach her room was through the stairs. Which was under Arthur’s watch. She thought it was just a sign of Arthur’s protectiveness for Jan. She didn’t mind being watched over by Arthur at all.

She wore one of new dresses that she bought. It was sleeveless, coloured solid peach and just ending above her knees. It was made of soft stretchable viscose and not only did it make her feel comfortable, it made her look attractive. She went down and saw Arthur had dozed off. The sun had set. She made herself a cup of coffee and then decided to prepare for dinner. She would prepare pasta with tomato-mushroom sauce and then dessert.

Arthur had fallen fast asleep.  Sounds of the kitchen accompanied with delicious smell woke him up from his slumber. He got up and saw Jan busy.

She hadn’t noticed him. He watched her for a while. She looked pretty, and free. She had started to always look pretty in his eyes. He noticed the dress she was wearing, this was perfect for her size. He felt happy for Jan, she was starting to live her own life again.

Jan noticed Arthur. She brought him coffee.

*****

Twenty miles away, the white man with blue eyes went and caught hold of a hen. He went to his secret underground room. Only a candle was lit. On a red cloth, skulls and bones of men and women were strewn across. He picked up a bone and placed it on his left. He held the hen’s neck in his left hand and took a kitchen knife on his right. With a swift movement of his hand, the head of the hen was displaced. The warm blood that flowed was collected in a bowl. He dipped the bone in the bowl and murmured some spells. Then he wrapped the bone in a red cloth.

It was tonight. He would get back what was his.

*****

Jan looked expectantly at Arthur. They were dining. She wondered if Arthur liked the food she had cooked. She picked up her fork and started to eat and looked at him to guess his reaction.

“Did you make this all yourself?” Arthur asked at last.

“I got the raw pasta but I did make everything else. Did you like it?” she asked.  

“This is the best tasting meal I had in years. It is amazing.” He took some more dessert. Jan felt great.

“You should tell me the recipe, I would try some day.”

Jan giggled.

“What’s so funny? You think I can’t cook?”

“It’s just so funny to imagine you cooking. Can you really?”

“Yes, as long as one needs to survive. But no, not if you call it cooking.” When it came to cooking, he lost his patience.

They finished eating. Arthur offered to wash the dishes.

While Arthur did the dishes, Jan went and looked at the cam screen. It was off, she put it on. She could see her room quite well, corner to corner. She checked the settings of the camera. Most of the controls could be set from here.

“Does it have night vision?” She asked him.

“It might have but I never checked it. Even if there is, it has to be very basic.” Arthur said. 

After dabbling a bit around the setting, she saw it wasn’t there. She put the camera in night mode instead. Although no flash was used but the room looked clearer in this low light mode.  She was thinking of tweaking with the settings some more when she heard the sound of a motor in the driveway. She looked at Arthur, he was almost done and turned to wash his hands. He had heard the sound too. She went to open the door.

Jan watched as a black sedan drove in.  A blond man came out of the car and looked around hesitatingly. He saw Jan and walked towards the door. He smiled at Jan and she saw his bright blue eyes even though it was dark.   

He walked with a slight swagger, Jan noticed. When he spoke to Jan, his voice was smooth and charming.

“Forgive me, I am truly sorry to disturb you at this hour. I was passing by and wondered if I could talk to someone here. Maybe a caretaker of this building. I truly didn’t expect to find you here.”

Jan wondered what to say, somehow she felt uncomfortable in his presence. It was confusing, he was gentle and courteous and good looking. She was thinking of calling Arthur when she heard his voice behind her.

“May I help you?” he asked.

Jan turned to go away and for a moment looked at the man. His face looked different. He was as courteous as before but something was different in the way he looked at Arthur.

“Forgive me, I am truly sorry to disturb you at this hour but I have heard this place is on rent for parties. Am I right? ”

As Arthur spoke to him, she went inside. Within a minute, Arthur was back.

“Any idea who he was?” Arthur asked her.

“No idea, although his face looked familiar. Maybe I have seen him in the town. Did you ask his name?”

“No, I didn’t.”

The man with blue eyes drove the car out into the road and got down. He sneaked his way in to the tower building’s perimeter.  The lights were on and he could see Jan and Arthur talking to each other. He moved around the building. Just below a window, there was a bush. He placed the red cloth with the blood drenched bone there. He walked back to his car and drove back to his house.

*****

Jan and Arthur sat and talked for a while. Peach colour suited her and she looked very attractive. The neck was a little deep and Arthur found his eyes wandering there. He wanted to run his fingers on her bosom. He checked himself, what would Jan think of him if she found him staring at her body.  

Jan wanted Arthur to look at her and get closer. But Arthur was not breaking the ice. She came close to him. She moved her lips closer to his and started to kiss him. He kissed back.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you too.”

She ran her fingers on his body. Her heart beat faster. She took off his t-shirt and kissed his neck and collar bones. She went down and kissed his chest. She took his hand and placed it on her bosom.

“Let’s go to my bed.”Jan said to Arthur.

Arthur took her face in his hands and said, “Not tonight.”

“Why?”

“Jan, there is something I want you to know. No matter what happens to us, I am going to love you.  No matter how many years pass, I am going to be there for you. But not tonight, because I want you to think over your life. You have just come out of a relationship that you expected to give you a happy married life.

I don’t want you to jump into a relationship again. I want you to think over what you are doing. I don’t want you to regret later.”

“Arthur, I won’t regret. I know what I am doing. In fact, the first time in my life, I know it so clearly what I want. Your kiss makes me forget everything else. It never happened that way with Ron. I feel peaceful, I feel that I am at home.”

“But life is more than kisses and hugs, Jan. I can’t promise you anything, not a home, not money or comfort. Not even marriage. Would you like to spend your life with someone like that?”

“Arthur!” she looked offended. “I will never ask you for anything. If I have to, I will stay on the streets with you. If you only love me. How did you ever think I will leave you for money or comforts?”

Arthur looked at Jan. She wasn’t desperate, she looked rather indignant that Arthur had mentioned these things. Jan made everything looked so simple.

Jan did feel indignant. So Arthur thought she would leave him for money and comforts.  She was about to say something more when she realized that Arthur was being absolutely honest with her. That made her want him, even more.

But she wouldn’t show her feelings to him. He would have to come to her now and she wouldn’t mind using some feminine charms.

“Then I rather go to my room alone. I am feeling sleepy now.” Jan played with her hair without looking at him.

She got up and said “Good night, I hope by tomorrow you will more faith in me, Arthur.”  

She bent forward making sure her cleavage showed and gave him a quick kiss. Without looking back she went upstairs, leaving him breathless.

Arthur watched her leave as long as his eyes could take him. Then he turned to the screen.

Jan guessed Arthur would be watching him. She got a nightdress out. It was a moss green colour in net with spaghetti straps. She closed the window, changed into the nightdress in the bathroom. Putting on the robe, she came out. She made note to look as natural as possible. She had the rose oil with her, she thought of mixing it with water in a bowl. The oil got poured out more than she had wanted to. She placed the bowl in the far corner of the room.  

Then she came to her bed. Keeping her back to the camera, she opened the robe. The nightdress was short enough to just cover her till the hips and her legs were bare.

Her silky black hair fell on her shoulders. She turned towards the camera as if she was just arranging her bed. Then she went and put off the lights.

Arthur was having a hard-on. Just wait for this one night, he said to himself. He had told Jan to think over, he cannot get weak now.

He looked at the camera, the lights were off but because of the settings that Jan had changed, the room was not fully dark to Arthur. And Arthur was used to seeing in the dark, as his job required. Jan was on the bed but looked like she was still awake.

Arthur got up, he would take his shower. This shower would help him centre himself and help him overcome his strong sex urge for tonight. He took his time. But every time he closed his eyes, it was Jan again. Her smiling face, her kiss and her in the bed. He struggled and gave up. He let the feeling flow, he let his erection stay. After some time, he felt calmer. He came out and dried himself. He glanced across to the screen. Jan looked asleep. The room was as it was earlier, but something was different.

He put on his jeans and felt the knife in its place. He absent-mindedly put on his watch as well.

Then he saw.

The window. Jan had shut the window. But now it was a little pulled back. Arthur checked the screen closely, he couldn’t see anything else.

He had no time to put his t-shirt on or comb his hair. Jan might be in danger, he feared. He wanted to run through the stairs but it was imperative not to make any sounds. He waited outside her door and listened for any sounds.

In fact there was no sound at all, no crickets, no night birds. A deathly silence had fell. As if the one who made the first sound would be the first to die.

He opened the door a little. A waft of rose perfume reached his nose. He remembered the rose oil Jan had placed. It was a good fragrance but it was standing too heavily in the closed room.

If he suspected right, the fragrance might have just saved Jan. He went to her and woke her up. Jan was happy to see him but she was surprised when he put his hand on her lips. He motioned her to get up. She got up and Arthur pulled her into the darkest part of the room. Arthur took the bowl of rose fragrance and placed it nearby.

Just in time, they heard a low swish of wings near the window. Something was opening the window.

A stench came in. Jan recognized the smell. Arthur put his hands on her mouth and pulled her back. The window was on their right and the moonlight which shone in cast a shadow.

The shadow of a Bloodsucker.

For Jan it was so dark that she didn’t know where the shadow ended and where the creature started.

It was inside the room. It was bigger and uglier than the one he had seen attacking Zilo. Its sickening green eyes were so gross and filled with cruelty that Jan felt both disgusted and scared. She clasped Arthur’s hand tightly.

Arthur knew his priorities. Put Jan safely away first, she was scared. Then he will go outside and fight. No risks.

The Bloodsucker smelled the room. They couldn’t see well but they used smelled and hearing to catch their prey. It went to Jan’s bed and smelled. It sniffed under the bed. It knew its target was here but getting mad at not able to place it. It started to sniff the walls.

Jan saw it was coming towards them. She pressed herself backwards on Arthur. Arthur held her tighter, as if to tell her he won’t let it hurt her. Jan relaxed a bit but as the Bloodsucker came smelling nearer towards them, she felt herself pushing herself back into Arthur’s body again.

Arthur had placed the bowl of water and rose oil very close to where they were. He had placed his hopes on it.

It did pay off. The ugly snout of the Bloodsucker had come nearer to them sniffing when it happened to smell the bowl too closely. It didn’t suit him and he almost jumped away from it. Letting out a growl, he turned to the window and fled away.

Jan and Arthur breathed in relief. They stood there for ten more minutes in case it decided to return. It didn’t.

Jan had been standing with her body leaned on Arthur. She didn’t want to move. She wanted to stay this way, feeling safe with Arthur by her side.