Fangs of Fear

Fangs are usually associated with Vampires. It is said that when a Vampire bites a normal human being with its fangs, the person in turn gets converted into Vampire. In a similar manner, when the fangs of terror dig its way into an individual, it leaves its mark till the very end.

     She sat at two tables ahead of me, cheerfully chatting with her friends and enjoying her lunch at the canteen. I could not see what she was eating, as she had her back towards me. I took a small bite of the samosa in my plate and stared at her, ignoring the continuous babbling of Raj and Saurav sitting beside me. I had no interest in the samosa, or in taking any lunch. Once I tried to pick up Chicken Biryani and Momo and both were awful as were all the other items. But I had to take something to sit there the whole hour and samosa seemed to be the ideal item.

    A lock of hair fell over her eyes and face. She picked it up carefully with her slender fingers and pushed it behind her ears, lost in the reverie of discussions. One thing I always notice in her is that she is never upset; always a big smile flashed across her face, her features radiated a glow of happiness and confidence. How can someone be so happy all the time. That smile acts like a magnet to attract everyone close to her. The sound of the bell indicated the end of recess and the canteen is filled with a buzz of activity, everybody stood up and hurried to reach their classes.

               

   Suddenly she turned and fixed her flashing beautiful eyes into mine. I was grounded under her glare in my chair. Finally she gave a crooked smile and stood up to leave, her eyes never leaving mine. I was left dazzled for several seconds, before Raj shook my arm.

“Hey come on we shall be late for the chemistry lab, hurry up.”

“I will be right back.”

Damn, she always keeps me dazzled like this. Sometimes I think she likes me, but then again, I can’t find a reason for her interest in me. I am neither the most handsome, nor the most talented person in the class. But for some reason, she always seemed to be aware of my presence.

I was very happy; I neither needed her approval nor her answer, just her simple presence.

         That was around one year ago and during this period; I could neither approach her nor even talk to her, just enjoyed her presence and always found solace deep within her eyes. Every time I gather enough courage and try to express my feelings, something deep within clutches my heart, forbidding me to say anything. Every time she comes close to me something stops me to reciprocate her.

          I was lost in these meanderings, sitting in the middle of tuition class, when Vijay shook my hand and asked,

 “Are you all right?” “You didn’t even write a single line.”

“It’s nothing I am fine, I am just not in good mood.”

   

     I glanced toward her, sitting a bench ahead of me. She wore a black sweater and blue jeans. Her hair is tied up at the back with a black clip. As usual, she looked amazing. As I watched her, a pang of terror shook me up. It was my last tuition class and I knew that I could never meet her again after today.

     Finally the class came to an end and everybody started packing up their bags. I closed my book and put my pen in the pocket and as I stood up, I came directly face to face with her, her eyes was fixed upon mine. But unlike other times, her eyes were filled with pain and depression. I tried to avert my gaze from her but it was futile. She slowly stood up and left. I never saw her again.

    From the moment the fangs of fear touched my heart it left its mark there.

 “Obstacles are like wild animals.  They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can.  If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.”

     ~Orison Swett Marden