Really? That’s News To Me

It was a regular Sunday night at home, just after dinner, clock nearing 10 pm.

Exhausted from cleaning up, I plumped on the couch and turned on the TV.

This was basically how every Sunday, every night, looked like for me, alone in a one-bedroom rented accommodation, living in a city 500 miles away from my hometown, where all my family still lives.

Moving here was imperative, this job paid well, better than any job I could’ve gotten back home, better than any job I could’ve gotten anywhere else in the country.

And it would too, this was exactly why people thronged this city, the city of dreams.

And it was alright, on most days.

Office kept me busy for 10 hours, household chores took up all of the remaining time, making it impossible for me to mope around about how lonely it gets at times (more than ever when I come back to an empty home). Should I look for a roommate? Nah, I liked my peace and quiet. It did get a little too quiet at times, but that’s ok, a roommate doesn’t guarantee the fulfillment of familial love.

Plus, this was only for a few more years, I’d get my parents here once I was properly settled in. Till then, I’m sure I can trudge through a few more lonely evenings like these. So I sat there, a cup of hot chocolate in one hand, complemented perfectly by the frigid weather, browsing through the TV channels.

The dramatic soap operas. Ugh! Nope.

Sports. Boring.

Movies. Nah, I had to hit the sack in some time.

Children’s tv, cartoons, travel shows, cooking shows, music channels, wow, this list is exhaustive. Also, really uninteresting.

News. This would definitely help me go to bed quickly, no temptation to stay up.

Weather, nope.

Switch.

Thunder roared and I was startled for a second.

Soon enough, gushing rain followed.

Distracted, I looked outside through the small window beside the door, into the pitch black, but even with the bright yellow street light, the other side of the road wasn’t visible through the pouring rain. 

I increased the volume from the calming 10 to a blaring 25, which was only just enough for me to be able to roughly make out what they were saying, the deluge itself was absolutely deafening.

Ahh, what’s this? A true-crime show, interesting.

“And this man”, the reporter was saying, as the picture of a sleek looking man came up, “is allegedly responsible for the murders of a family of 6 and 3 other people”.

Oh wow ok, not so sleek.

“Reports are coming in that he has just broken out of his cell in one of the most secure prison facilities in the country and is now at large”, the presenter was saying.

Hah! Some secure facility that is. Such dumb people, I scoffed.

I jumped in fright, a little hot chocolate spilled over, as thunder ripped through the sky again, the downpour continued.

“Residents are requested to stay on alert till the man is apprehended. Also, they’re requested to immediately report any sightings of this alleged murderer”, and the same photograph was shown across the screen one more time.

As I looked at it closely this time, a chill ran down my spine, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Deadly, cold eyes that screamed bloody murder, the jaw was clenched in a determined way, highlighting a sharp jawline, his thin lips mashed together in disdain. He looked almost smugly into the camera. Tousled black hair fell over, no doubt, a very handsome face, barring the murderous honey brown eyes.

Great, this certainly would help me fall asleep quickly now. Should’ve gone with soap operas instead. 

My heart stopped for a second as it suddenly went dark. I blinked rapidly several times, to adjust to the sudden darkness. The TV had turned off and all lights, even the ones on the street, had suddenly gone out. The neighbours were away on vacation so no light shown from either side of my tiny, one floor bungalow, which now sat in utter silence, the only sound was of the earsplitting rainfall.

I groped around with growing anxiety and finally laid hands on my phone kept on the small teapoy. The battery was a good 48%. Thank god! Lights would be back any moment, the flashlight would surely hold up till then.

The white LED flashlight lit up the room and the drops glistened against the window. I held the phone in my mouth and one hand placed the TV remote down on the small desk and in the other, I held the huge mug.

Went over to the kitchen and placed the unfinished cup of hot chocolate on the countertop, I could wash that later.

The deluge continued outside.

Just as I turned to wash my hands, the high pitched doorbell pierced through the empty house.

A visitor? At 10:30 on a Sunday night?

Never happened before.

I hesitated as I took a step towards the door. Shouldn’t have watched the news, it’s probably just a neighbour. But weren’t they away? Maybe it’s someone from the neighbourhood who’s come to ask about the outage. Yeah, that would make sense.

I walked up to the door, flashlight pointed at the floor. Tried to peek through the window, nope, can’t see anything. 

Chuck it, in a minute,  I’ll just have a good laugh about my unnecessary fears.

In a moment of certainty, I swung open the door and shown the torch at the person standing at the door.

Taking it in all at once, my heart started racing.

Standing there was a man in soaking black boots, ripped blue jeans, a wet white t-shirt clinging to a chiseled, well-built torso. I slowly glanced up into his face, sharp jawline, high cheekbones, stunning features.

Lips set in a hard line, familiar honey brown eyes stared back into mine.

My mind went numb. My feet felt like lead. I was rooted to the spot out of sheer terror. Every instinct of mine told me to shut the door and run. Scream. Defend. 

I couldn’t. 

I just stood there, stunned, for an excruciatingly long moment. 

Fixated, we stared at each other wordlessly, neither moving a limb, when finally, hands facing me, slowly raising both arm’s, he whispered, “I can explain“.