Free The Runaway by Aritri Gupta Page A

was raring to go find her today – just the fact that he still had no clue to reach her was what obstructed his shining path to glory. Jim was an utter disappointment in the information section – all he could gather from him was that Brooke seemed pretty infamous in the neighbourhood. It helped him in no way. He thought of asking Martha. He hoped she wouldn’t be the judgemental types – as he needed information and he was losing patience.
    But then that was the virtue he strongly needed if he wanted to have his way. Saying that to himself repeatedly, he calmed himself down and settled on a worn bench by the park. It overlooked Martha’s cottage, and he was sure, he’d see her get back from the grocery store. It was still quite early. Just close to 8, and everyone was up and about. The colourful bright school bus reminded of him of his school days – a loner at the back of the bus with a book, watching other kids wave their parents goodbye before leaving for school. He had never really been with his mother – she had withdrawn herself, after his father’s betrayal, and before he could freeze her memories in his mind for a lifetime. Eve was very young. And their father was distraught and lost most of the times– even to the responsibilities towards his children. Richard helped with more than his share of raising Eve, and as both of them grew, they knew they had lost their father much before either could realise, until their father decided to leave with Eve altogether. Growing up wasn’t fun – except the times he could spend in the mammoth library of his school. The librarian loved him – the best behaved kid she had to deal with – she hardly knew how he was outside that perimeter. He didn’t let the sad household scenario tamper with his adolescence in any way, even with an annoying sister tagging along. But the library durations were the only moments of solitude that he coveted – Thoreau, Wilde, even Shakespeare – he loved being lost in those.
    He shook those memories away. He needed to be in the now. And the now was jogging right in front of him!!!
    He blinked twice to be sure. The road on the far end of the park led into the woods. There was a cold stream of sunlight that filtered from the huge tree branches, lighting up the mossy roads. She stood for a while to stretch her arms. He didn’t remember her from that fateful day – not quite well to recognise the softness in her almost curve-less form, of that cascading dark hair pulled up away from her neck. And even from a distant, he could make out those piercing blue eyes. She almost looked like an adolescent boy, all the more in tracks and a loose tank. He didn’t realise that he had was sprinting towards her. She gave a bewildered expression and started running away from the park. In no time he caught up with her.
    “Hi! Again.”
    He didn’t know if smiling would be the right thing to do. He just nodded at her, jogging steadily by her side. She stopped abruptly.
    “Feel better now?”
    “Yes.” He smiled. “Much better.”
    “Now, I’ve asked you. Stop bothering me!”
    What the hell..? Richard was momentarily stunned by her crude brush-off. Firstly, in his weird chauvinistic sense, only a guy could rudely dismiss one night stands in the way she did just now, and secondly, what the hell? He didn’t want to give up. Not now.
    “I’m Rick, by the way.”
    “And I’m not interested”
    She sped up. She was pretty agile- but he was a former sportsman, and he was never out of shape for running. He laughed and caught up.
    “Where do you stay?”
    She was quiet through his tirade of queries. He wanted to test her limits – she set off his challenging side unconsciously and he was enjoying himself. But the mask she put on never caved under the impatience at being interrogated by a stranger, nor did it show any other emotion other than mild irritation. After the umpteenth question, she stopped, breathing heavily.
    “Haven’t they told you