Chapter 6

The man reached up and took off his sunglasses before he turned towards her. “Are you alright, Miss?”

She continued shifting her body backward. “Get away! You, get away! There are a lot of people here. They’ll come immediately!” she cried out in fear.

The man only paused and smiled helplessly. “Miss, I don’t know why you’re acting this way, but I’ve no evil intentions,” he explained, “If I’ve scared you by talking to you, then I’m sorry. I’ll leave right now.”

He backed away as he spoke. Then, he kindly crouched down and asked her, “Will you be alright on your own? Shall I call for someone else to come here?”

Vivian did not reply and simply shrunk back, staring at him fearfully and warily.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll leave right now,” the man soothed her gently, then lifted his wrist to check his watch. He pointed at his car and added, “Miss, I’ll be back in about thirty minutes to get my car.”

He strode off and did not say anything more.

It was a bright and sunny day, but Vivian felt as if her body had just emerged from an ice cave and she was shivering from the cold. She was still sitting on the ground with her skirt covered in dust as she felt a mild stinging from the abrasions on her palm. However, she could not bring herself to care about the pain. With a trembling hand, she fumbled in her handbag to grab her phone. Then, she called Liam.

“He’s found me! He’s found me!” She was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow. That was all she could say over and over again.

“Who?” Liam asked.

“It’s him!” she answered in a panic, “I saw him! He’s come back for me!”

Time seemed to rewind back to the past. She had woken up crying from nightmares countless times, fearfully telling Liam that “they” had found her. He fell silent, then gently soothed her, “Viv, it’s alright. They’re already dead. Those three men are dead. Don’t be afraid. Tell me, where are you now?”

She was not sure if she was calmed by her fiancé’s steady voice, or if the humidity of this summer day had finally thawed the chill on her body. Vivian slowly calmed down and answered, “I’m at the university just behind the office block.”

“Is there anyone around you?”

She looked around her. There was a steady stream of people passing by along the intersection. A student had even spotted her, and after a bit of hesitation, walked towards her.

“A student is coming over,” she replied.

Liam chuckled gently and teased her, “Hurry up and wipe your face just in case your students laugh at you. It’s really hot today. Maybe you suffered from heatstroke and your blurred vision mistook him for someone else.”

That sounded reasonable, so Vivian replied softly, “Mmm.”

Before she could hang up, the boy who had come to check on her asked, “Miss Caraway, are you alright?”

She recognized this boy. He was a foreign language student and a cadre in the Student Council. He regularly helped out at the office block.

“Fine. I’m fine,” she replied. Then, she hurriedly said goodbye to Liam and hung up. She explained to the young man, “I accidentally slipped while I was walking just now.”

She smiled in embarrassment, then tried to stand up.

The boy rushed forward to help her. “Can you walk? Do you need to get it checked out at the hospital?”

Vivian’s heel was not that high, so the fall was not too bad. She stood on the spot and rotated her ankle a little, then tried to put weight on it a few times. Despite the slight pain, it was no big deal. She waved her hand and graciously rejected the boy’s offer for support. Then, she slowly walked towards the office block. Just as she entered, a colleague called out to her, “Right on time, Miss Carraway. A relative of one of your students has asked to see you.”