by Jane Keeler
He waited for a while but there was no response of any kind. He tapped on the door once again, this time a little harder. After a few seconds, he heard the sound of the door being unbolted from the inside and presently it swung open. A stream of light burst out through the door and lit up the dark corridor. He adjusted his eyes to see clearly. Two years had passed and the memories of those days had been pushed away to the back of his mind but he did not fail to recognize the woman who stood in the doorway, staring questioningly at the man.
Rita Taylor had lost a good amount of weight, and she looked frail and tired. There were dark circles around her eyes and she seemed to have aged more than what was natural. In spite of all this, there was still a certain grace and charm about her that made him fall in love with her all over again.
“Rita!” he exclaimed. “I have found you!”
She continued staring at him. “I beg your pardon. Do I know you?”
“Maybe you don’t recognize me but I have not forgotten you,” he lied blatantly. “I’m Johan Walters. We met a couple of years back on Christmas at a party, remember?”
“Johan Walters…,” she mumbled as if trying to recollect something. Then, reacting as if a bulb had just lit up inside her head, she said in a louder tone, “Johan Walters? The man Noel Martins had introduced me to you?”
“I see you remember!” Johan said with a smile.
“What do you want?” she asked in a stern voice, the cheer suddenly disappearing from her sweet voice to be replaced by an ice cold touch.
“I have come to say something I never got a chance to say all those months back,” he began. “Rita, how much I have loved you all this while. My life feels empty without you. Will you please say yes and become a part of my existence?”
She looked at him with that same ice-cold glare in her eyes that made Johan feel as if he would break out into a sweat. Just then, the sound of a crying baby came floating in from inside. He looked surprised. “What are you doing with a baby?” he asked in amazement as Rita turned to go inside.
“Caring for it,” she said without turning towards him. “Just as a mother would care?”
“Mother!” his surprise grew even further. “Rita none of this makes any sense to me. Will you be kind enough to explain?”
“Sure, why not! I have always looked forward to this moment,” she said before beginning with her story. “After you left me abruptly in the morning, I tried getting through to you but all your calls went unanswered. I called up Noel and was told that you were already on your way back to Afghanistan and it would not do much good to try and contact you. I felt a little sad but thought that you would call from the camp. Days turned into weeks, the weeks soon became a month but your call never came. And then I realized that I was pregnant! I had not slept with anyone else since that night with you so the identity of the father was anybody’s guess. I was living with my stepbrother who immediately disowned me as soon as I broke the news to him, insulting me and kicking me out of the house. I took up accommodation of my own and continued working but as the pregnancy progressed, it became difficult for me to report to work. The manager found out about my condition and fired me, saying that I could reapply when I was fit enough for strenuous tasks. Then the baby arrived and had it not been for my friends and neighbors, I would have been dead in my flat already. My savings were dwindling so I had to give up my previous accommodation and come to live in this hell hole! Now you come with your generous offer to take me home and wish to settle down with me. To answer your question, no! If you have nothing else to say then you are free to leave.”
Johan sat stunned in his seat, unable to move a muscle. “You have my baby?” he finally blurted.
“I am so pleased that you understood,” she said in a tone of mockery.
“Can I see the baby once? Please!”
Rita thought for some time and then led him inside to a small room. In the middle of the room was a cradle and inside, a baby girl was sleeping. She looked like a little Barbie doll.
“She is so beautiful!” Johan remarked. “What’s her name?”
“Barbara.”
“That’s such a beautiful name!”
“Hmm,” Rita grunted. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like you to leave.”
“But Rita, she is my daughter. And as her father I think I have every right to ensure that she has good care taken of her,” he protested.
“Father?” she sniggered. “You have become a father simply because you were callous enough not to wear a rubber that night. You think I’d want my daughter to idolize you as her father? She’d rather grow up thinking her father is dead!”
“Rita, don’t say that! Please, just give me a chance. I want to prove myself worthy of the task. Look I agree that all that has happened in these two years should not have happened and yes, I should have been a whole lot more careful. But accidents do happen and now I want to atone for my mistakes.”
“It’s too late now Johan! Please leave and don’t bother us again. Go!” she commanded one last time as politely as possible. It was this polite nature of hers that hurt him more than anything else. He thought that he would have been happier had she shouted at him and taken out her anger on him.
Johan did not fancy staying behind any longer to strike up an argument with Rita and left quietly. He walked out of the shabby old building and looked up, trying to figure out the window to her apartment.
It had been a case of so near yet so far from the Sergeant but there was no way he was going to give up on the love of his life so easy. He was determined to win her over and resolved to go the distance to make a place for him in Rita’s heart. For the young soldier, this war was just beginning!
Chapter 8
The month of January was coming to a close and Johan had not been able to make any sort of progress in his desired relationship with Rita. He had tried visiting her more than once in the last month but she had turned him away on every single occasion. She had shown no interest whatsoever to entertain him and allow him the chance to speak for himself. Johan had even tried sending Noel to masquerade for him but that had not paid any dividends either. She had seen through their plan and sent him away from her home as well.
“Why don’t you give me a chance?” he had asked her one day just as Rita was about to slam the door shut in his face.
“Because you will never have enough time for either me or your daughter!” she had shot back. “I know what you soldiers are like. In the end, it will be all the same for me and little Barbara. I want a normal person to take up her responsibility; else I can manage just as well. You are not meant to be a part of a family. The battlefield is where you deserve to live and die!”
He had been unable to figure out if she was angry at him or at the fact that he was a soldier in the army and had to be away on duty all the time. In any case, he did not push her for an explanation. That evening he came home dejected, her words ringing in his ears. Maybe, just maybe, it was time for him to concede defeat. Without any doubt he was one of the better strategists on the battlefield but in the war of the hearts, he found himself to be lacking in a number of tricks and strategies. Besides, Johan felt demoralized at having been rebuffed on more than one occasion by the woman who was now the mother to a beautiful daughter – his daughter! He did not what to do and he did not know whom to approach. All he knew was that the end was very much near for him as far as his relationship with Rita was concerned.
While all of this turmoil was going on inside his heart and troubling his mind, his father had taken note that there was something amiss with his son. He had waited long enough, thinking that it was just another passing phase in the life of the young man but when the sullen face of his son greeted him at the breakfast table for the tenth day running, Steve Walters decided that he had to make an enquiry.
“Is everything alright son?” he asked Johan. The young soldier looked up from his bread and butter. “Yeah dad, what could possibly go wrong?”
“I don’t
know, you tell me! You haven’t been yourself for quite some time now I see and thought that I had to ask.”
“It’s nothing dad. I’ll get over it!”
Steve was as much a warrior as his son was and there was no way the old man was going to give in to his son so easily. He walked across the table and sat down beside Johan, placing an arm across his shoulders. “Son, I’m your dad. I believe you still trust me with your feelings and secrets, don’t you? Like you always have?”
He looked in wonder at his father. “Why do you ask such things? Of course I do!”
“If that is so, then why are you not telling me about what is bothering you?”
Sergeant Johan thought for some time. Then in a very soft tone, he said, “There is this girl, dad. I love her so much!”
“Then go and tell her so! What’s there to be worried about so much?”
“That’s the problem dad. I have already told her but she doesn’t seem interested. I want to marry her and settle down with her because I feel Rita is just the girl for me. But she refuses. In fact, she even has my daughter!”
“Your daughter?” Steve said in surprise. “When did you become a father?”
“Well I got to know about it only a month back,” he said and narrated everything, right from how they had first met two years back down to his meeting with Rita when he was out looking for her.
“Hmm…no wonder she is not interested!” his father remarked.
“I don’t see what you mean.” he said.
“Son, she has a little daughter now and chances are she is looking forward to building her entire life around the little baby. This girl you say, Rita, probably has plans of her own in life and if you go in asking to be your wife and everything, things may not be agreeable with her as of now. I think you should give it more time.”
“How much time do you want me to give her, dad? I have barely five weeks in hand before I return to Afghanistan and who knows when I will ever return again! And who knows if she will be around for so long. You should have looked at the derelict conditions in which she is living with the baby. I feel for them, dad! I want to do something that brings them out of this misery. I was the cause for all this and I feel I should be the one who solves this as well.”
Steve Walters looked at his son and wondered for a while. The young man had matured more than he had imagined. “May be I should go and have a word with her,” he said.
“No dad not you,” his son said. “You have already done a lot for me in life and I don’t want to drag you into this mess any more. I’ll figure out something, I promise.”
The old man raised his hands in blessing. “God be with you, my dear.”
Chapter 9
It was Valentine’s Day and Rita Taylor was rushing back home through the shadowy, empty streets. She had been away for a job interview and had been delayed in the process. Now she was hurrying through the streets of the shadowy neighborhood she lived in. There was not a soul in sight and the better part of the street leading to her home was shrouded in darkness. The place was not safe at any time of the day and things got even worse after sunset, especially for women roaming alone on the streets. Rita clutched her purse close to her body as she walked along. Every time she crossed an alleyway, she stole a fleeting glance inside just to ensure no one was looking out for an easy prey. There was little that she could see in the dark and this scared her even more. She simply turned her head and walked along. A feeling of relief washed over her when she noticed her building in the distance.
Suddenly, Rita felt the presence of a couple of shadowy figures behind her. She increased her speed and the two of them did likewise. Just as she was about to break into a sprint the young woman slipped and fell to the ground. Immediately she turned around and noticed two men standing close by and laughing down at her. She felt helpless and did not know what to do.
“Please don’t hurt me!” she pleaded. “Take all the money you want but please spare me.”
“Money?” one of the men shouted. “We don’t want money. We want you!”
“Yeah…yeah,” his partner joined in.
“Please! I beg of you, don’t hurt me. I have a little daughter at home,” Rita pleaded with them almost breaking into tears. The two men did not say anything but simply laughed a most evil laughter.
All of a sudden, there was a loud smack and one of the men fell to the ground. His accomplice was taken by surprise and turned around to gaze upon the darkness. Another smacking sound followed and he too was down in a heap. Rita was unable to figure out what had happened. Just then, Sergeant Johan Walters emerged from the darkness. “Are you okay?” he asked her.
“Yeah, I guess so. It was a nasty fall!” she said. “Thanks for saving me.”
“Just doing my duty,” he offered. “Will you be able to walk?”
“Yes, I think so. By the way, what are you doing here at this hour? Don’t you have a Valentine to spend the day with?”
“That’s why I came here in the first place! But then you were away so I was just leaving when I spotted these two attacking you.”
“Johan I have already said that it can’t happen. Why don’t you just leave me alone?”
“Please Rita, he loves you more than you could ever have imagined,” someone said in the darkness. She was startled but Johan did not move a muscle. Just then, the two men who were lying on the ground stood up and positioned themselves behind him.
“JOHAN, THEY ARE GOING TO ATTACK YOU!” Rita screamed out.
“No we are not,” Noel said stepping out into the light.
“Noel? What on earth made you attack me in the darkness?”
“It was all staged Rita! This fool here wanted to show how much he cared for you and in order to do that, he did not have any second thoughts about putting his best friends to the sword!”
“Yes Rita, he loves you like crazy! Besides, you don’t lie about love on Valentine’s Day,” Matt chipped in from behind.
She looked at Johan, a puzzled look in her eyes. He could tell that she was still debating something in her mind. “What is it dear?” he asked.
She hesitated a little before speaking. “I don’t know Johan, it’s about little Barbara I guess. Will your family accept her?” she asked.
“MY family? You mean my dad? Just take a look behind you,” he said. She turned around and saw an old man walking up towards them through the street. He was carrying a little baby in his arms. The baby was happily clinging on to his chest and giggling. Its gaggles could be heard from where they were standing. Even in the dim light of the street lamps Rita did not need telling that it was Johan’s father who was walking down the road towards them.
“The baby girl seems to have taken a liking for me and my son,” Steve said as he approached Rita with Barbara in his arms. “Now only if the mother would be so kind enough to make peace with the father, we can all go home happily together!”
She looked at Johan as tears streamed down her eyes. Deep inside her, this was the sort of fairytale moment in her life that she had always craved but never imagined to be possible. Rita ran up to him as the two lovers embraced and then locked lips in a passionate, heartwarming kiss. At that very moment a cracker lit up the sky in a bright red color, announcing the day of celebration of love. It seemed almost as if the Heavens were acknowledging the reunion of the couple.
Johan felt overjoyed. It had been a bit of a long war and he had been required to fight valiantly to overcome all adversities. Now all that was over and he had emerged victorious. Finding and conquering the heart of his true love, Johan realized, would forever remain in his mind as the most beautiful war that he had fought and won.
*** THE END ***
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Book Twenty
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DEMON LOVER
By Jane Keeler
There was something about the way people were acting about Sasha's new job that made her know that she had made the right choice. Sasha had decided to wor
k for Dale Houser, the up-and-coming local politician in the New York. It was her party for her graduation and people were crowding around him, shaking hands and smiling for pictures. He had a chiseled jaw with a bluish tint to his skin and creamy white hair that he held back from his face, but mostly let fall to the side of his cyan eyes. He was running for Mayor and was sure to win the docket.
She watched him from across the room at times and would look over to him, seeing the man for what he was to her, a new opportunity. Her career was about to take off when she worked for him as a speech writer. She had all the trainings and summer internships under her belt, it was time for her first actual job in politics. She knew this was the best place to start. Working with a man like Dale Houser sounded like just what she needed. And it sounded like he needed her to work for him, too. She was brilliant, the top of her class and highly recommended by all of her former internships and teachers. She knew how to write a speech and knew she would help him win by doing so.
He approached her at the party and she broke away from conversation to see him.
"I'm sorry I haven't come to seen you, yet."
Sasha tilted her head and smiled, "Oh, that. I would expect that. Everybody wants to treat you like you've got their vote."
"I believe in them if they believe in me."
They started walking onto the patio, closing the door to the party behind them.
"Oh, I like that," she told him. "I might have to use that in one of the next speeches."
"Please do, I want to reveal my true self to the entire world."
She smiled, then nodded and said, "I think we can."
He smiled back at her and she caught herself looking into his pale blue eyes for a moment too long.
"Oh, by the way-"
His face was close to hers when he cut her off by saying softly, "What is it?"
"Oh, just that I think we'll really enjoy it."
"What?"
