Chapter 5 The Scary Aura

Maeve kept the money clutched to her chest tightly and moved towards the store that was at the far end of the street. The small community in the town of Veyantara, where she lived, was made up of five-storied buildings and had no security. Hell, the gate of the community was in tatters. One half of the gate was missing, and the other half was hanging by the hinges. They were supposed to fall any day now, and there would be a big accident. But no one cared about that. All had learned to avoid the space directly under the hanging gate.

No one reputable wanted to live in that community, as the buildings were filled with rude, arrogant, abhorrent and cruel people. All were angry all the time. No one helped anyone. Just like their nature was filthy, their habit was filthy too. Heaps of garbage surrounded the buildings, and no one even cared to clean it or even complain about it.

As the news of Ozul had spread all around, the streets were empty with fear. The tiny girl, whose heart was about to jump from her chest, was walking as fast as she could to reach the store. The eerie silence around her was making it more fearful for her. Now she was regretting her wish. Was it really better to be killed by Ozul, or would it be better to live and maybe in the future she could escape her aunt and uncle?

Tears kept streaming down her face. “Papa! Please come to me! I miss you! If you had been alive, Mom would be happy. I wouldn’t have to live with Auntie and Uncle. They beat me, Papa! Take me with you. But then Mom… how can I leave her behind?” She kept wiping her tears and kept talking to her dead father. She pretended as if her father was walking with her, which gave her slight courage.

Even the sudden rustling of leaves on the roads would make her heart jump out of her chest. She would sprint when she got scared, and when she not see anyone around her, she would walk. “Don’t leave me, papa, don’t leave me,” she kept praying and finally she reached the store. She stood outside the door and first wiped her tears. She rubbed her face to get rid of trace amounts of tears from her face and opened the door.

The jingling of the bells at the door signalled to the owner that a customer arrived. “Oh, it’s you!” snapped the store owner the moment he saw Maeve.

“Mr Thand! I… I want to buy some beer, please,” requested Maeve and showed him the money in her hands.

“I am closing the store. You are late. Get out!” said Thand.

Maeve cried in fear, “no, no, you have to sell me beers. He will… she will… they both will… please! Please!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know they will beat you. Stupid kid like you deserves that,” growled Thand.

“They can beat me. You can beat me, too, if you sell me beers. But if I don’t return with drinks, they will beat my mom. Please help me! I know everyone hates me. I am a curse, my auntie says so. I will let you hit me too, just please help my mom,” pleaded Maeve. She didn’t want to cry, but tears kept falling down her face. She would wipe her face, but her stupid eyes never stopped running.

“Oh god! Always with the crying! Shut up, girl!” shouted Thand.

Immediately, Maeve gasped and stopped crying. Thand smirked at his scary aura. He scared a little kid, and it was a matter of pride for him. “So, you will let me hit you?” asked Thand.

“Yes, yes, anything! Just please don’t send me empty-handed,” cried Maeve, excited. She was at least happy that she would be successful in saving her mother.

Thand moved away from the counter and came close to Maeve. He smirked at her like a devil and raised his hand to hit her. Maeve just gulped and stood motionless to accept the hit. Slap! An immense force shook Maeve’s cheeks, and she flew away from Thand. She fell to the floor, and her whole body skidded, and she stopped when she bumped into the nearest shelf. A lot of tomato cans fell over her body, causing her even more pain.

Thand started laughing and clapped his hands, “God! I love it when you get hurt. Your auntie is right, you are cursed. I just feel a wave of hate when I see you. Let’s see if I can play Bowling with you. You be the bowling ball, and my shelves can be the pin. Let’s see how many shelves you can knock out. If you entertain me, I will sell you the beers.” He kept giggling and giggling.

Maeve tried to slither away from Thand, but he was faster. He grabbed her by her hair and looked around. “Hmm… let’s look at the best shelf for you, one that can cause maximum damage. Maybe that way your uncle would reward me.”

Maeve just kept crying and writhing in pain. She knew she must endure everything. If she went empty-handed, her aunt and uncle would again hit her and her mother. She was trying to protect her mother.

Thand was about to throw Maeve into the shelf that had pickle bottles on it. If he threw Maeve against that, it was clear that either she would be gravely injured or she would die. Why did everyone hate her, she had no idea. No matter whom she met, they hated her. She disgusted them.

A sudden ringing of the doorbell stopped Thand in his tracks. He let Maeve go and stood before her so that no one could see her injuries.

A large man and a tall woman entered the store, and the first thing they did was jerk their faces to look at Thand. He found it bizarre.

“Who is that? Who is that?” shouted the woman and ran towards Thand. He was shocked. He was sure that he hid Maeve with his body, so how was that woman able to see Maeve?

The woman looked like she was going to run into Thand, but she bypassed him and stopped when she saw Maeve. Her heart was filled with love, compassion and adoration. “Oh my! Dear, do you feel what I am feeling?” the woman talked to the man.

“Yes, dear, yes! This is a feeling that I have never felt. These filthy humans and their stench, but this feeling is lovely. Who is that?” asked the man.

The woman touched Maeve’s face and immediately asked, “What happened, dear? Are you injured? Oh my! A sweet girl like you must never get injured. I love you!!”

“You do?” Maeve was shocked. No one ever said that to her. How can a stranger love her when her own aunt, her uncle, the families she lived around, even her friends, hated her?

“Mitri!!” shouted the woman and looked at the man. “She… she… has powers!”

“What?” The man came running, and he gasped when he saw, with his own eyes, the faint red light oozing from her wound, and the gaping wound on her forehead was closing right before their eyes. “What the…”