Chapter 11

In the late evening, she was coming back from library after returning the books that she had issued to study immunity. Besides one or two cars passing by there were few people around who either came from their offices or were returning from grocery shopping. She was moving briskly sunk in the joyous thoughts she had about the earlier presentation. She felt to have found purpose in life. It wasn't just a presentation it had become a goal in her life. In her little exposer to the hospital, she had seen grief and the fear of death in people's eyes from a close distance. That fear was a driving force for her to do something larger than life. The more she studied the more she fell in love with her career. "I must go quickly and grab my laptop to highlight the next project." She thought as she widened her stride. "I mustn't waste my time. It's extremely valuable." She also thought of discussing her next assignment with David. So, she hurried towards her home.

After walking a little further her eyes fell on the movement of grass near the tree giving her a hint of somebody's presence. She stopped short in her way trying to figure out who that was. "Who is there?" She asked loudly. "What do you want? Come forward," She shouted again. But there was no response. "She looked around to make sure her escape if there was any alarming situation. She moved slowly towards the tree only to confirm that it was a stray cat who ran away seeing Amelia approaching." She exhaled deeply when the threat warded off.

Her gaze followed the cat which ran behind her. It was just then that she realized her fear had only vanished for split seconds. It wasn't the cat that scared her. It was the guy who was standing behind her only few steps away giving her a smirk. "So, you are miss Amelia, am I right?" He asked raising one of his eyebrows sceptically. She bit her brows trying to recall his identity but he was nowhere to be seen in her nearest acquaintances. "Who are you? And what do you want?" She asked trying to hide the quiver in her voice. "You needn't know me." The boy replied immediately. He was wearing black sports jacket tucking his hands in pockets. The crew cut he had was giving him a sinister look because of the two lines perfectly going from forehead to the back neck each on both sides. He had an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Look girl I know who you and your mother are and... where you live?" He paused and glanced at the building where her house was. He came closer to her as she stepped back. She was thinking of running away when few more boys appeared and surrounded her. She was terrified because she was all alone and couldn't see anyone nearby. "What do you want?" she asked again apprehensively. "We want you to stop being clever." She furrowed her eyebrows trying to understand his words. "Oh, we have heard that you are up to something. Trying to be a messiah..." he said sarcastically. She looked directly at him without uttering a word.

"We just want you to stop that non sense." He shook his finger while threatening her. "Otherwise, you will go to hell where your father is." Amelia was confused and utterly clueless about everything that the boy was saying. Sensing her cluelessness he reminded her, "we have heard that you are talking about future endeavors and inventing treatments for diseases." Amelia suddenly remembered her presentation and the topic which she had so eagerly presented. But it was illogical to think it had those types of consequences. "If you forget it again just recall your father," he reiterated his words. Tear rolled down her face when she heard her father's name.

"How dare you say that?" A voice suddenly emerged but the person was not visible to Amelia. The guy in front of Amelia looked behind her at a distance. Following his gaze, she also looked behind. David was standing there furiously staring at the boys fisting his hands in anger. "How dare you say that?" He came closer to them biting his lips. "Wo- wo-wo..., so you are guy who protects this messiah? Keeping a close eye on your beloved...han" he smirked. "Isn't it interesting both of them are here in front of us? We won't have to look for them separately to teach them a lesson." He implicitly stared at David. The other boys laughed sarcastically.

"What do you want from her?" David asked fiercely. "And why are you following her?" "Why do you act ignorant man?" The boy shouted angrily. "Don't you know we hate people who come in our way. Who are real troublemakers? Don't you know that your girlfriend is a troublemaker too?" He constantly spitted out with the same anger. "Tell her to treat people like every other doctor not more than that. Make her understand that if she tries to be over smart, she will lose everything." He warned him by putting his hand on his shoulder and clutching it firmly to reassure him of the consequences. David fisted his hand again and wanted to knock him down but Amelia had already sensed his intentions so she prevented him with her eyes by slightly shaking her head. He left them with a warning and was followed by the other guys. They looked at them as the boys walked away.

Then they turned to each other trying to figure out who the boys were but both of them were uncertain. Instead, she asked, "how did you find me here?" She asked curiously. "I was in my room. When I looked down I saw you being bothered by these strangers. So, I quickly came here." "Why do you always come to my rescue?" She asked again with that same curiosity. "Shouldn't I?" He asked in return. "You are my friend and its my duty to protect you." He said holding her by hand and taking her to the house. "We are neighbours. And we should help each other in times of need." He stressed. Just as she opened the door David held her hand again and looked into her eyes, "Don't be afraid, I am with you...Always" he repeated the word always again after a brief pause. "I know but I need to understand how to protect myself too. You can't be always around me." "I will be... I assure you I will be around you always." He convinced her with the certainty in his eyes. You will never be alone I promise. A slight flutter crept all over her body that made her feel sensuous. For the first ever she had felt a strong attraction towards someone who cared for her more than his life. It was the first time she was conscious of her feelings and it felt good to her. She inadvertently reached to hug him tightly and closed her eyes. She sunk herself in the scent of his body and tried to absorb the whole of it. It felt soothing and calming. He slowly hugged her back by holding her tightly in his arms.