The Alley

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"Why is that man looking at me?", she thought to herself. She had no answer so she simply waved the thought off and continued her wait. Adaora has been standing at this bus stop for nearly two hours.

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She couldn't explain what was happening today; "why aren't buses that usually ply my route coming through?". Only small cabs that weren't traveling long distances were passing by, "something must be wrong somewhere" she said to herself. About seven other people were also waiting at the bus stop two hours ago but now, just two women were left. The women sat at one end of the bus stop discussing; they were definitely friends. Some of the people who were there earlier had joined the small cabs that came through while others decided to trek to their houses; "maybe they didn't live far from here" Adaora thought. Anyways, she wasn't considering trekking home as an option.

The two women were having a chit-chat when one of them received a phone call. Her smiling face gradually had a frown on it. Adaora who was eavesdropping on their conversation tried to guess what the issue could be. "Maybe someone close to her lost their life? No that's too bad" Adaora thought to herself; "she isn't shedding tears so it can't be death, then what?" Looking at Adaora you could tell that she was lost in deep thoughts, "maybe the caller was asking her for money, maybe she was called back at her workplace, was she sacked from her office?" These random thoughts were still going on in Adaora's mind when the woman ended the call.

"My husband just called me", said the woman who just received the call; she was now talking to her friend. "Wait!, this woman is married? why didn't I think of that? she didn't look like ...", This was Adaora, still immersed in her thoughts. The woman continued with her narration, "he said there's a serious traffic jam on the road leading to the amusement park just before this place so he won't be able to pick us up as it would be very late before he gets here". Adaora now knew the reason why there were no buses today; "the traffic jam must be really serious but what could be the cause?" she asked herself. The two women had started deliberating on the next option to take as darkness was already covering the sky. Since there wasn't any bus in sight, they decided to start trekking to their different houses. Going through the main road would be a very long journey so one of the women suggested that they pass through an alley behind the bus stop which was a shortcut.

Turning her head to the left, Adaora's eyes met with those of the man who was looking at her earlier. Suddenly, fear gripped her. She realised that she was now alone at the bus stop as the two women had left already. "What do I do now?, I should have followed those women; they were surely going my way". Adaora's thoughts were racing by now. She had to think of a way to get home and she had to think FAST!.

She decided to go through the alley; "maybe I'll meet the two women on the way if I walk fast" Adaora said to herself. Grabbing her handbag, she left the bus stop, tracing her way to the back and then towards the alley. The alley was actually darker because of the high-rise buildings on both sides and also, the alley was lonely.

Needless to say that Adaora was scared but her fear heightened when she started hearing some footsteps behind her. Again, her heart started racing, "who is coming behind me?, should I look back?, the person would know that I'm scared; maybe I should run". She could still hear the footsteps; slow but consistent. Gathering courage, she turned her head backwards to see who it was; she did this while still walking.

The face she saw scared her more. A rugged looking, unfamiliar face with bruises all over. His bloodshot eyes were focused on her and his footsteps, slow but consistent. "Who is this man?, what is actually happening to me today?" Adaora was scared, teary and tired all at once. She knew she couldn't afford to waste any time so she increased her pace. She was thinking of running when she saw someone else coming towards her from the opposite direction; the exact direction she was walking to.

It was the same guy she saw staring at her while at the bus stop. "Are my eyes deceiving me? she asked herself. Her legs were now shaking; she stopped walking. The alley was now pitch-dark, the only light leaking through was from a dilapidated roof so she could see the face of the person approaching; it was certainly that guy.

Thinking quickly to herself, "where do I go from here?, what can I do now?". Tears were already dripping from her eyes. "So you think you can run, now I've got you " said the first man who was already close to where she was standing. Getting to where Adaora stood, he grabbed her bag and started searching through her belongings, it was clear that he was a thief.

The guy from the bus stop still walking towards them shouted at the thief, "give her the bag and let her go". Adaora was surprised, "what's happening here? Is he trying to save me" she thought to herself. The thief just looked at the guy and continued searching her bag. Immediately, the guy from the bus stop got to where they both stood, he started a fight with the thief. It was a really quick fight where he beat up the thief and recovered everything that was taken from Adaora's bag. The thief however escaped.

The guy from the bus stop who refused to reveal his name helped Adaora pack her things which the thief scattered on the road as she couldn't even say anything; she was still in shock. She couldn't explain what just happened. He escorted her through the alley and explained to her how he knew the alley very well. He said he knew it wasn't safe for her to pass through that road alone as there have been reports of constant robbery on that road. He had taken it upon himself to protect people from robberies like the one she just experienced.

Adaora finally found her voice as she exited the alley and muttered some words of appreciation to "the bus stop dude". Through his help, she got home safely but vowed never to pass through the alley ever again. He just stopped her at her gate and left without revealing his name or exchanging contacts.