I'm afraid of this fear. I'm afraid that you are near. But everytime I breath, I know, we're breathing the same air. And the weight in my heart is So much more than I can bear.



LEERA

"Excuse mee, Miss" I hear a faint, unrecognizable voice but I have no clue where it's coming from. "Hey- Are you listening??" This time the voice is louder than before but still I feel like I'm in a delusional world.

"Miss-" My eyelids flutter open as I feel a hand tapping my shoulder out of no where and find a peculiar guy standing infront of me. My forehead creases, perplexed as I stare back at him while he's boring his eyes into me. "Who are you?" I nearly snap the question at his face and my hands wrap around my body defensively. Why was he touching me? He looks at me with a bored expression hearing my question.

I check the surrounding around me and only then I get reminded that I'm in the bus. What the actual hell?

Then he gives me a foolish, strange look thinking me to be crazy doubtlessly. Sighing he taps on his wrist watch, "Miss, we are off duty. It's the last bus stop. You need to get down." My eyes widen and I check the time in my wrist watch. It's 7 PM. What? I was supposed to go home directly after class within 2.00 PM and I also had my shift at the library at 4! How could I be sleeping so undisturbed, half dead this long?

I look around once again for confirmation and see there's literally no other passenger except me. "Where are we?" I ask the guy calmly, trying to sound sane while I'm internally freaking out. He names a place which is almost 2 hours away from my home. It's strange because it's still evening, the bus wasn't supposed to be off duty this early and there is no presence of any other passenger too. Nonetheless, I get down and Taking my phone out, I find it loaded with missed calls and messages.

9 missed calls from Mom. 3 missed calls from Aria. 2 missed calls - from library. And 17 messages from Mom and Aria. My phone has been silent all this while. Great!

Before anything, I dial my mom's number because I know if I don't inform her, she is definitely going to kill me when I get home for not responding to her this long. She receives the call just in the second ring as if she has been waiting with her phone for my call, and I immediately hold the phone distant from my ear before she starts to yell. "Where are you Leera?? Why haven't you answered my calls!" She sounds too restless as well as vexed.

"Mum-" I try to speak but get muted when she starts shouting again, "I even called your friend, Aria to ask where you were! She told me you left early as you weren't feeling well. Where have you been Leera? Did anything happen?"

"Mum, let me speak first? Calm down please. I'm absolutely fine and I'm soo sorry!" I say ruefully. I don't even know what lies should I assemble now. I can't say the truth that I dozed in a stupid bus that too for hours and I'm currently in a place from where I don't even know the way to my home. My death will be certain for real this time if I tell this to her. Finding no other solution, I tell her the first story which my mouth utters without even a proper think.

"Actually mom, what happened is- when I was about to come home I got a call from the library where I work as a part timer. My shiftmate called me and said that she won't be able to come because her mother was really sick and humbly requested me to take care of her part of work too. As there was no other way I had to do it. So I went to the library early and had to stay there longer than the time." Relief washes over me as I come up with a story to save myself from her scolding.

"Then why didn't you inform me or respond to my calls and messages?? You know I'm here. You can't be like that, without telling me anything. I was utterly worried and scared for you, daughter. Do you understand how anxious I was?" She yells at me nevertheless.

"Mom I know. I'm literally so soo sorry. You know I'm not habituated with you here and that's why maybe I forgot to inform you and as for the calls you know we aren't allowed to use phone in the library and the manager is really strict. So it's the rule for every worker to switch off their phone in the library," I try to clarify, hoping she calms down.

"Aria told me you weren't feeling well. You could have just took leave." She says, concerned. "Aha Mum, my shiftmate was already in leave so it wasn't possible." I try to reason out again. "When are you coming home?"

"My shift is over but I need to visit one of my friends as we have a presentation and that have to be done within tomorrow. I think it'll need 2 hours to be done approximately." I say and wonder why lies taste so bitter and telling one lie emboldens you to tell multiple more.

"The whole day you have been out, you must be exhausted by now. I guess it would be late honey, I'll come to pick you up. Where's the residence of your friend?"

"Mom, you really don't need to worry. Her house is literally walking distance from my apartment. So I will come home as soon as the work gets done. I want you to get some rest because I know that you were certainly blowing a fuse, thinking about me the whole time. Now kindly relax. I'm a big girl, I live by myself here. Even when you weren't here everything was like this. And nothing ever happened to me. So chill mum. I'll get home soon. See you. Mwah!"

"I'm going to teach this big brat a lesson. Come home first" A small laugh chokes out of me and then I sigh. "Okay but don't forget to make my favourite dish or else I'm not coming," I tell her knowing she is already waiting for me with my favourite spaghetti.

"You know I already did like I promised and I'm eagerly waiting for my daughter's arrival." She says and for a moment I think, how blessed I'm to have her. "You're literally the best mom, you know." She chuckles, "trying to escape your punishment, aren't you? No matter what, you're going to get beaten once you get home."

"I know you're kidding. You can't do this much injustice to your adorable child. Mum, I'm hanging up, I'll talk to you once I get home." I hang up after getting a cab.

The city is filled with bright lights and people, but I feel as if I'm the only one here. A part of me is scared and the other part of me is trying to convince me to simmer down. But I can't help it considering the things that happened with me. Everytime I try to think about anything positive, those incidents rush back in my head and then the thoughts haunt me, terrify me and drag me towards the negative end again, where everything is dark and no hint of light exists.

I inhale a deep breath, trying to calm my inner self. Then I think about everything. How could I drift off to sleep in the bus and even so for hours? Possibly for not getting enough sleep last night and I was also disturbingly mentally exhausted too. I sigh as I recall that I even missed my shift today without informing. I need to come up with another lie at my work tomorrow. How many lies I have to speak more? And for how long?

Then my thoughts break apart when I hear my phone ringing. I glance at the screen and the screen flashes the caller ID 'Levi'. I instantly pick it up in the next second.

"Panda, I heard you disappeared!" He says and I roll my eyes. "Oh yes and you are talking to a ghost." "Okay let's be serious. Where the fuck have you been? Aria called me a moment ago and said that you were out of contact and your mom was getting crazy. I literally thought something happened to you, stupid!" Levi frowned sighing.

I really feel low now. I didn't think of the matter being this big. I'm feeling guilty even if it wasn't exactly my fault too.

Fidgeting with my fingers I told him the truth. "Bruh? You slept? What the fuck? How could you be asleep for this long in a bus? And now you're saying you're in a different city? Leera you must be kidding me. Did you take sleeping pills or what?"

"Uhm I didn't get sleep last night-" "Stupid panda. Anyway, do you have money with you?" He asked sounding tensed. "No. I can use mobile banking. No need to worry for me."

"Right. I know you won't die but do inform me after reaching home. And I know that too that nobody will kidnap you anyway. Even if anyone does by mistake they will repent and leave you being annoyed of you." He laughs finding himself more hilarious than I do.

"Don't worry, even if I get kidnapped I will bother the kidnappers with your grandpa jokes. I learned enough from you and it's time to implement the learning," I utter making him chuckle. "Look being with me is so beneficial," He says humorously with proudness in his voice. "Yes yes. For real," I impassively smile this time, "Levi, I'll hang up now and call you back once I get home."

"Okay panda and don't get lost in your way back home lol. You know, I'm not in the States to search for you. Reach home safely. Bye." He said before ending the call.

Sometimes, I just think that I couldn't have been more grateful for having him in my life in the form of a bestfriend. I would say everyone needs someone like Levi in their life.

I'm forever indebted to god as life imparted me the opportunity to meet Levi and Aria. They are a great blessing to me. I know that I can tell them about everything, I can share the fears I'm hiding and reason behind my tears. But I'm scared, I'm scared thinking what if it creates an adverse situation for them? I can't put them in risk without being certain who's behind all these.

Again I have the gut feeling that he's behind this. If it's him then it's between us and I don't want to involve others in this mess. But what could he possibly want from me after 3 years? And why is he doing this now?

"Ahh," I groan subconsciously, frustrated. "What happened ma'am?" The driver questions thinking something to be wrong.

"Nothing. You may drive and please drive fast." "Yes ma'am. It'll take more 40 minutes." he says and settles his focus on driving.

Half an hour passes and then all of a sudden the car ceases. The driver tries to revive the engine but after the engine makes a sound of roaring it stops again. He tries again and again but fails to run the engine everytime.

It's a road which is a shortcut connecting to the road of my area. It's past the main road and comparably less vehicles run here as it's narrow and a bit gloomy.

"Is something wrong?" I ask the driver. "I don't understand why is the engine not starting. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience ma'am."

"No problem. I'll walk from here. Thankyou for the ride. Here's the pay," I hand him the money for the ride and get out.

It's just 10 minutes walk from here to my apartment. This road might be unlighted but it's not quite unsafe because I have walked through this several times before. Thinking that I start taking long steady steps but my mind is not coping with me at all. It's been delusional again and scaring the shit out of me.

It's strange that there are fewer people than usual in this road and it is worsening my thoughts which are consciously telling me something bad is about to happen.

After a few moments, I feel a presence behind me and then I try to convince myself it's just a passerby. But when I noticed the shadow of that person in the dim light, I could literally feel the fearful aura. It's not a normal passerby. I'm being followed. It's happening what my mind was predicting, what I was scare of.

My heart rate becomes ten times faster and I take faster and longer steps without even glancing back. I'm almost running losing my last ounce of breath and I'm this much scared that I can't even inhale. When I realise that I'm no longer being followed my feet halts and I try to breath inhaling deeply. I take a proper glance of my surroundings and see that there's no one.

Where did the person go? Was I being delusional again or was I really being followed?

Whatever it was I mentally console myself and start to walk again. It's just 2 minutes walk more, then I will be at home. Nothing will happen to me. Don't freak out, Leera. Don't freak out please.

And then out of the blue I feel a hand come in touch with my shoulder and my heart skips a beat.

____________________________________________

Heyyy! Second chapter it is and hope that you're getting into it. Do share your povs! Stay tuned for the next.

Vote, comment and share <3