Serendipitous encounter

Driving swiftly toward his apartment, he looked very exhausted and drained. His car was now moving through a quiet, silent, and dark path. Suddenly, his expression changed with a hellish ruthlessness on his face, his eyes reddened with anger, and his veins swelled. He stopped his car with a sudden tug and came out. His rapid steps moved toward a group of goons surrounding a girl. He yanked the man who was trying to get close to that girl, smashed his head against the wall, and began to beat him badly.

The other companions of the man, sensing the intensity of the situation, chose to run away silently to save their lives. "You rascal, I will teach you how to treat a girl, you filthy piece of shit," he repeated, kicking him. His beating hands stopped as he listened to feeble cries behind him. He tilted slightly and looked at the girl who was shivering out of fear. Seeing her condition, once again severe anger engulfed him. He really wanted to kill that vile man, but sensing the plight of her situation, he left him with a violent kick. The man, freed from his brutal grip, got up and began to run madly.

He moved his fingers through his hair and tried to calm down. Her feeble cries and sobs were breaking the code of silence in that dark street. He took a few steps toward her and knelt beside her, where she was sobbing, hiding her face with her shivering hands. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked in a very benign tone.

"Who, who are you? Leave me, please. Let me go," she pleaded, still under the blanket of fear. She began to sob and scream badly. "Hush, calm down. Take a deep breath. You are safe now; they are gone. Please stop crying," he tried to console her.

She lifted her head from her lap and looked at him with her crystal eyes full of tears. "But who are you?" she insisted.

"I am here to help you. Now, please calm down, and let's get up. It's not suitable to sit on this dark street like this. Let's get in the car, and then you can interrogate me as much as you want," he said while getting up and extending his strong hand. There was something in his eyes that impelled her to trust him. She looked at his stiff hand for a while and then held it falteringly. He lifted her up. The cold breezes of the late night added to her shivering. He took off his coat and handed it to her. "It's really cold here. Wrap it up; you will feel better."

Aina looked at him with tears in her eyes. He was a stranger, absolutely no one to her, but the kindness and care in his tone were something she had always craved for from her father. Noticing her silence, he said, "There's my car." His steps moved toward his car, and she began to follow him because she couldn't stay there alone and vulnerable to any other wolf of this society. She opened the front door and got into the car reluctantly.

His focus was now on her, and she was tangling her fingers out of nervousness. "Now tell me what happened exactly?" His softer tone broke the silence in the car.

His question once again led her back, and the whole scenario of the past few hours reflected in front of her, impelling her tears to flow. She closed her eyes with torment, took a deep breath, and tried to normalize herself. "My car broke down on this road. I tried to start it again and again, but after many failed attempts, I was left with no choice but to leave my car and seek help. There was nobody except those boys. I thought they would help me, but..." Many tears rolled down her eyes.

"Hey, calm down. You are safe now," he comforted her.

She looked at him with thankfulness in her eyes. "Can I ask you something?" she said in a feeble voice.

He looked at her and diverted his attention toward her. "Yes, sure."

"Why are you doing all this? Why are you helping me? I am just a stranger to you," she asked with curiosity in her tone.

Her only question was enough to throw him years back. Many painful flashbacks reflected in front of him, and suddenly his expression changed; the former softness of his face was overcome by great torment and agony. He remained silent for a while and then looked out at the dark path. In a lost tone, he began to speak, "There was nobody for her that day. If somebody saved her that day, she would have been with us today." Aina was very confused. "Who? I mean, I don't get it."

He took a deep breath and moved his fingers through his hair. "No one. Anyway, leave it. I will call the driver; he will fix up your car, and I will send it to your address tomorrow. But for now, I can drop you at your home." He said while starting the car. "Is it okay with you?" He looked at Aina, who was still figuring out his sentence. "Umm, yes, and thank you so much. I can not even think what would have happened if you hadn't arrived on time," she said in a thankful manner.

"I had to come because I was destined to," he looked into her eyes.

There was silence in the car, and hardly after 20 minutes, they were standing outside Durrani House. She looked at him. "Thank you once again. I never expected anyone to be that kind to me."

He was looking at her, lost in her pretty but sad eyes. He promptly turned his eyes away. "Can I ask your name?" she said hesitantly. He looked at her for a while. "Zaviyar! Zaviyar Wajdan."