Pensense

It is a long and arduous journey from the ruins to rooftops. Everyone has a turn to be on the "rooftops." And it's now Tanya's turn. 

     She has spent most of her life with Tina who she saw as her mother, little did she know. Her father had died a mysterious death some years back and they lived convincing themselves that he had died of cancer. Tanya and her mother had lived peacefully all these years till now, when her love life became an entrance for trouble. She meets people she had never known and gets more confused to find out they are in one way or the other related to her. She becomes an international wanted person in secret organizations due to some reason she doesn't know, except for the fact that these obscure reasons points to her father. She is left with two critical  questions: "why me?" and "why now?"

     "Life tests you with your greatest virtue." An old Sufi proverb said. Sometimes, what we think is an end is not. It's indeed a bend. It takes Tanya almost her life to realize this.

TANYA'S TURN: From Ruins to Rooftops

The one second silence that seemed to stretch into an infinite moment was suddenly broken by Laura groaning.


Tanya had waited this long moment -a second- for Laura's reply to her question. The more she waited, the more the anger grew. Any moment from now, if Laura won't start talking but continue groaning, God help her, Tanya would blow her face into mess and oblivion. She adjusted her stance.


"Do what?" Laura groaned. "There was more to your death. It would be significant to my family!"


"Why!" Tanya shouted. "I would shoot you now! Do you know that!"


Laura was unimaginably relaxed. It seemed Laura would rather see a pained face than a victorious one from Tanya. "Oh, I know you could shoot me..." she groaned, "...and you would." She groaned louder as she tried to force herself to sit. "But it is nothing compared to what's next..." her breath was now ragged, "...Ronald was the trigger and you..." she spat blood from her mouth. She looked at Tanya and smiled. Her teeth was coloured in an irritating mix of blood and saliva as she smiled at a furious Tanya.


"Fool," she mouthed weakly as her head dropped like a dead weight. She slumped slowly on her blood and stared blankly at the ceiling. She was breathless and dead. The hand that covered her abdominal wound slipped off on the bloodied floor.


Tanya bit her lips and vibrated as she heard a thick voice intrude her one second moment of calm.


"There's more coming Tanya, they won't stop..." She had heard and had immediately pointed her gun at him, cutting him short in the middle of his statement. She heaved a sigh, she had almost forgotten about him. Or had forgotten already. 


What's with the mask anyway? She thought.


"Who are you?" She should not have said that. It was now obvious to the assassin that she had forgotten about him, if not almost. Now was too late for any move, she unflinchingly pointed the gun at him.


"Who are you?" She repeated the question intentionally. 


"Allow me." He forced himself to sit and pulled the mask off, revealing a smooth dark skinned face under a curly mass of hair. There was this scar of a knife fight on his cheek. Her head winced. There something she would like to know.


"There's something about the scar." Tanya squeezed her face.


"Yes, there is. Now's not the time for memories Tanya, we gotta move."


"To move? With you?" She laughed. "I should shoot you now, you know?"


"I know you could, but shouldn't. You can't face them alone. The future is mire treacherous than you think, they're gonna be all over you." His accent was non-American. There was something about that accent that made her head wince again. She tried to remain strong.


"More of 'em," she would not understand, "of us," he added quickly. "I can help you."


CHAPTER 12: "THERE'S MORE COMING TANYA..."