1 The Sack by The Road Side

The road was wet and muddy as the rain poured down in full velocity. Water leveled the totally destroyed road, no one would have seen a pot-hole. The bad road was without deep gutter so the road was filled with rain water flood and mud. The environment was chilling to the bones and even the trees shivered from the cold atmosphere. Raymond had his glass wound up as he drove home in the rain from the club. He had always bragged that cold weather can never have an effect on him but tonight's weather had gone way over the edge. His car heater was on as his shivering body gradually calmed down. Thinking about it, he became happy that he was able to sneak out of the club without his reckless friends' acknowledgement, for they would have laughed his shivering form to scorn.

Careful of pot-holes, he mulled over the events of the last few hours, driving moderately. He had arrived home from work and had met Tinka unexpectedly at home. Tinka was his fiancée of about two months and lover for more than three years. After proposing to her two months ago, his immediate line of action had been to formally see her parents for the traditional rites but he held back. Ever since the engagement band had been slipped onto Tinka's finger, she had changed drastically, doing things she had never done before. She transformed from a sweet little dove to a nagging peasant who complained about everything that meets the eye ranging from his style of dressing to his choice colour, the friends he kept, and on and on. She started suspecting every move he made and the house was always on fire with her in it but he just could not send her away.

He had deflowered her three years ago when they met and he had been so surprised to meet her a virgin at 23. He had vowed in his heart never to let her go because he saw her as a rare gem as he had never met with a virgin before sexually. His friends had advised him to let her go when she started this new tactic but he just could not bring himself to doing it. This night, Tinka had so much worked on his bad side that he ended up asking his friends to take him to the best club they could find; something he hadn't done in years. But instead of finding happiness, the place just gave him more headache with the exceptionally loud music and women clinging to his sides.

Raymond bumped into a pothole. "Damn it", he cursed his stray thoughts. Putting the car back on it's balance, he raked his fingers through his tiny bits of hair and let out a frustrated sigh. His eyes caught something by the road side and he suddenly hit the brakes. It was a rather large sack, the true colour could not be determined considering the sheer darkness; but what caught his eye particularly was the mass of hair protruding out of the sack. It couldn't be a weave-on, could it? It looked so natural, even in the thick darkness, he could almost tell the rich texture by merely looking at it. His heartbeat accelerated and he sat there in his car in the middle of the road transfixed, not knowing whether or not to get involved in whatever this may be.

Taking a deep resigned breath, he opened the door of the car and pushed himself out of it, his gaze on the nerve-wrecking sack. Rain washed over his face and body but that seemed insignificant now. It looked innocent enough, but why couldn't he shake off the feeling that he would not like what he would find? He was never practically scared of anything but he couldn't understand why this fear was paralyzing him. After seconds which seemed like forever, he decided to check out what was in the bag.

Raymond hadn't taken five steps when the sack suddenly moved. He jumped and froze instantly and his skipping heart started running a hundred meter race. Okay… this is beginning to look like a horror movie, he thought. He tried to bring down his fear by blaming the wind for the occurrence but the sack moved again, this time, slightly and he knew that whatever was inside that sack was responsible for the movements. He discarded his fear and moved towards the sack. He looked around in utmost fear hoping that some of the scenes in Hollywood movies would not manifest; where police men would round up good Samaritans assuming them to be murderers. The environment was utterly dark and he could not see anything asides bushes. With his heart in his mouth, he reached down and pulled down the loose top of the sack and what manifested before him was the face of a human being. Raymond took an unconscious step back. His heart almost stopped from fear as his prediction materialized before him. Raymond rubbed his pale face with his palm as he looked down at what seemed to be a human being. The face was slightly covered with mud but the entire hair was immersed in it. From the hair, he knew it had to be a girl so holding on to his male courage, he pulled the sack down to the waist line of the body with his shivering hands. He looked up and nearly died of fright when he met the eyes of the girl slightly open and in his direction. He straightened instantly and took several steps back. She is alive! He started wondering if she was a spirit or a witch sent to kill him but then he saw how pale she looked and warded off his vague thought. He glimpsed a thick mass of blood on her stomach and winced internally. She started moving uncomfortably and seemed to be doing that unconsciously. He hurriedly pulled out the sack, being extra careful not to hurt her more, and threw it into the bush. Without even considering the risk of picking her up, he whisked her into his arms and made for his car. Ever since he saw the helpless girl, he had forgotten all about the rain which did not stop and now, he was soaked to his pants but he could not care less. His eyes riveted from the car to the mud covered girl in his arms and he prayed silently that nothing bad happens to her.

He dropped her at the back seat and ran behind the wheels. Another thought occurred to him and he was out of the car in an instant. He searched the bush frantically until he got the sack and he ran with it to the driver's side. Dropping the sack carelessly, he hit the road, driving at a deadly rate, not minding the pot-holes. His eyes riveted from the road to the girl. Her already waned strength was at the verge of going out completely and her eyes started closing.

Ray's heart started doing a summersault, "Please hold on, please. You have to help me to help you. You can't die on me, please. Hold on…" he said over and over.

He saw her struggling to keep her eyes open and he praised her strength. He faced the road squarely again and fired home at top speed. He searched for hospitals by the side of the road but did not see any; not that he had ever noticed any ever since he plied the road, but he checked anyways. Looking back at the girl, he wondered what hospital would accommodate a mud covered person. He picked up his phone and dialed a number with shaky hands. He checked the time and noticed that it was already past 1am. The phone rang off without answer the first time and he dialed again. He heard a sleepy "hello" and he sighed out.

"Oh... thank God. Doctor T, could you please meet me at home, it is an emergency… yes, please do… thank you so much."

He hung up and dialed his maid's number. He had totally forgotten about Tinka, but even if he had remembered, he would not have called her.

"Bella, stay close to the gate and open immediately you hear my horn, ok?"

He dropped the phone and his eyes went to the back seat again and seeing the girl's eyes closed, the alarm sounded in his head.

"Hey, wake up" he yelled.

Her eyes opened slightly and he breathed well again. He faced the road, put the swaying car back on track and raced home without looking back. He started talking to himself and the girl in order to remain sane.

A check point was ahead and his head ached. It was like a movie was being acted with him as one of the casts. Even at that, he was not finding this role funny at all.