Simon drove the car amidst the tension, but he was careful not to make another mistake. The less traffic on the road was a big advantage to him and he was sure that if he and his company were lucky, they would reach their destination in a few minutes.  More often, he would peer through the rear mirror to look at the stranger, who, because of his carelessness, was treading the thin line between life and death, and each time he peered at her, he would imagine her susceptibility to danger and felt as if her heart would stop beating any minute; that is if at all it was still functioning.  Slowly, he turned westward.  Suddenly, three jeeps with tinted windows and personalised number plates with the national flags poised near each of the headlights came rattling towards his direction. These were some of

The doctor was impulsive but was quick to escape her question by interrupting her, "I mean- he looks tired. That's why I suggested it. Forgive me for my clarity, ma'am." Simon knew he had to concede with his partner in order not to leave any trace of suspicion in her mind, and holding her hand with tenderness, he affirmed, "I think he's right, mom, I feel very tired and worn out. I need something to drink.""Ok, dear I will bring it." She strutted out. This was an opportunity for them to hold a discussion freely before she returned. The doctor drew closer and sat beside Simon after a deep sigh."Hey, that was close.""I know, doctor.""You must have fainted earlier. I

Simon held his breath. He could feel her nearness and the scent of her perfume that whipped through his nose. For a long time, he had been avoiding her and never let her come this close to him. He had withstood her because it was Emilia's choice, but he kept confessing to her mom that he didn't love her yet the latter insisted that with time, he would learn to love her. It was obvious to him that it would never work because his characters were opposed to hers; He was calm, polite and down to earth while Nisha was proud, discriminative and arrogant.Needless to say, the two were credibly incompatible and never the twain could meet although they were both brought up in well to do families. Simon took after Miguel; his character was nothing close to Emilia's.He was trapped and felt pissed," I must be stupid. What was I thinking?" He thought and wanted to give up

Esther was credibly confused. "What has come over him?" She asked herself, and then lifting her head, asked, "Are you okay?"He gulped and was shy. He wanted to kiss her and tell her that he loved her- that she was driving her crazy, but didn't know how to start because he had never been in love; he had never kissed or been intimate with any woman and now it was hard for him to resist, yet he was scared of how she would react if he made any attempt."I am sorry," he said trembling, "I...may I…" he stammered drawing closer at every word he spelt. Esther heaved and her body shook. Seeing that Simon's face was close to hers, she held her breath. He held her pretty face in his arms and…"Simon!" Nisha's voice countered from behind him and his jaw fell. She ruined his moment! He had almost kissed her, but N

It is late in the evening and Miguel is back from work. He enters the living room with a face daubed with weariness and appears dead-beat and extremely cut-up. His neck-tie loosely hung around his neck and his laptop bag clenched in his hands seemed to be weightier than it was."Sir, welcome, Sir, good evening…" The three maids who were around greeted him with a sense of absolute politeness.He responds with a nod and a dearth of his usual warm smile to their greetings as if he hadn't the least strength to talk and they looked at one another and then drew their astonished gazes at him in dead silence and shrugged and took to the kitchen.Miguel went straight to his room, but as he climbed the marble staircase, one couldn't fail to notice that he was struggling to get to the last step and halts briefly to catc