Broken Brakes 17

3- THE AFTERMATH

Theo jumps off the train before it reaches the station,and runs to the woods. What is going to be his next move, he doesn't know. He looks up at the bright blue cloudless sky. The sun is on its way to the top. It must be around eleven o'clock. He doubts he can remember the exact place where the village was, but after deliberating with his rather stressed memory, he starts walking North. He's almost sure the village is that way. He has to find a place for the night and he must hurry. The woods are incredibly thick, and it's not so easy to get through. He hopes he would find a shelter somewhere, before the night comes.

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'OK!....Listen!....It's very difficult for me to explain this, but I think you should know...It's better if I tell you !' Laila is so nervous, that she begins to choke. She feels asphyxiated. She gasps for air.

'Calm down!... Look....lets...hmmmm.... Don't say anything ! I can wait... I know you'll find the proper words in the right time...Shush Shush !.... It's OK dear!... Shush !...' Ray embraces Laila and strokes her head, sliding his hands on her beautiful black hair.
Laila, in despair, clings to him and searches his mouth avidly.
Ara remains silent and still under the window. What is this all about ? No sound comes from the greenhouse now. She stands up to see what's going on. Laila and Ray are kissing passionately, oblivious of the world around them. Ara stares a moment in shock and bewilderment, and in disgust and rage, she throws the bunch of flowers and scissors to the ground, and runs in rage to the woods.

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After what it seems an eternity, Theo finds an abandoned shack. He's thirsty, hungry and so tired ! He comes closer and looks inside. There's a table and two battered chairs. It looks rather neat considering. Perfect! It would do for the night . He looks around the shack, and on the far left corner , just before the dark maze of trees and ferns, some blackberry bushes, full of fruits, are growing underneath some apple trees. If he's lucky and they are eatable, he would calm his thirst and hunger before retreating for the night.
Theo smiles. Tomorrow is another day !

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Ara stops short. She's panting. she can barely breath. Where is she ? She's been running. For how long, she doesn't know. But it's late afternoon by the position of the sun. All she knows is that she doesn't want to go back. All her dreams are shattered. Her life is not bright and colorful anymore ! She really loves this man ! Ray !...What is she going to do ? She sits under an oak tree and starts to cry. But it's not pain. It's rage. Tears of wrath slide down her cheeks. How can that bitch take her man from her ? What have she done to him, that Ray is acting like a fool ?
After crying and screaming her rage for quite a long time, she stands up determined to go back and fight for her man. So she wipes the tears from her eyes and begins her walk back to the mansion.
Deep in her thoughts, imagining intriguing schemes and plans to defeat Laila, Ara makes her way through the thick, deep, and now dark forest.
The crackling of branches and footsteps on the ground startles her,and distracts her a moment from her thoughts. She stops her walk and looks around, trying to see from where these sounds come. At her left, a man is gathering apples from some trees nearby. He hears her too, and still with a hand lifted to reach the apples, he turns around.