Courage

Trisha was running in a state of panic trying desperately to put some distance between the goons chasing her and herself. It was midnight and she had stepped out of her hostel into the deserted streets as she needed to get some medicine at the pharmacy and they only took cash. She had withdrawn five thousand rupees from the ATM around the corner. When she put money in her purse and was returning, a group of three men who looked rowdy and rough started following her. In her panic she had started running and the goons started chasing her.

One of the goons caught up with her and grabbed her hand. She swung back and pushed her fist into the man's groin. He doubled back groaning and fell to the floor. The other two halted in their steps and gasped. Trisha picked up a brick from the ground and hurled it at them. The brick fell just short of the second man. The three men stood up and hesitated. That was the cue Trisha needed and she ran pell mell down the road. This time the men did not follow. Trisha only stopped once she reached the hostel Entrance and reminded herself to thank her karate instructor as she remembered her mother's saying, "Your safety is in your own hands."