Terror before Christmas

I was walking down the crowded lanes of North Bangalore shopping for baubles and gifts for the festive season. The shops were overflowing with Christmas trees and decorations. I wanted to spend my whole day shopping and had decided to return home loaded with goodies that would then require to be packed as Christmas and New Year gifts for friends and family. It was tedious yet exciting to think about the likes and dislikes of friends and family. After all, it was time to show them that I really loved them.

It was while selecting a top for my niece that I saw the man first. A bearded man, who was dressed in casuals and a denim jacket, was looking at me eagerly. I felt uneasy and moved away. After a few minutes when I checked, he was still there looking lost in thoughts.

Stepping out from the shop, I hopped into my favourite bookshop to treat myself to some new arrivals and best sellers. Though engrossed in selecting my books, I became aware to the presence of the bearded man once again as he entered the shop and lingered near the shelves looking around aimlessly. He sighed as though in relief when he saw me, started to walk towards me and I panicked. Gathering whatever books I had selected by then, I approached the shopkeeper to pay for them. I walked hastily out of the shop to get rid of the stranger who was still following me with a fanatic look in his eyes.

I quickly turned a corner, stepped into another street, and crossed the road. Looking back, to my dismay and horror I found the man a few steps behind me. He had crossed the road and was now calling out to me to stop. I didn’t and ran straight towards the duty police officer and complained to him about the stalker.

The police officer confronted him.

“Sir, I am not stalking her. She is my former colleague, Priya. She didn’t recognize me. I was just playing a prank on her by acting like a stalker, to punish her for not recognizing me,” said the stranger and I gasped as I recognized him at last.

“Bimal, you idiot! How dare you play a prank on me? And what is this look you are sporting?” I asked and swatted on his shoulders playfully. The police officer walked away, complaining audibly about mad youngsters disturbing him.

“So much terror because of my poor beard,” said Bimal with a snigger and we walked together to the nearby café to catch upon where life had led us during the three long years that we had spent apart.

I am accepting tag from Canary in this post.

‘This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette”