Regrets come back to haunt us in the least expected ways at the least expected times.  

As she walked past the Dark Coal alley – an odd name for an alley, she realized the night had to be one of the coldest in the year – she should have worn her new, cozy-warm jacket. She looked around – it was as deserted as it was expected to be at this time of night. As she walked she could hear her own heart beat like a distant drum roll and her breathing like the low growl of some angry animal. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the bark of a dog somewhere in the distance. Pulling herself together as she quickened the pace of her steps she cursed herself – “How could you be so forgetful G? I mean – you forgot your phone and keys in the library, I mean who does that? You are new to this city, no friends and it isn’t like you own a car or anything!” She turned around the corner and could see the intersection that cut through her path to the library. Even though feeling a bit relieved, she continued to berate herself “You knew you would have to walk back if you forgot the keys and phone.” She slapped her forehead as she crossed the intersection “You are being foolish again G. How would you have known you would forget the keys? Now you are really being foolish. You know this is why your friends called you stupid and they start to avoid you after a time. You become annoying!” As she entered the library parking lot she heard a faint whimper behind her, when she turned back to look, as expected there was no one around.

She entered the library building to be greeted by a sleepy desk receptionist who asked for G’s library card but waved her in even before looking at it. G made her way to the second floor, into the study room she had spent her time earlier supposedly “Studying” and there she found them – the keys and her phone lying in the same place she had left them. She thanked gods and walked out of the room only to realize she had forgotten to pick them up. She slapped across her forehead again and walked back in to pick them up.

As she pocketed the keys she had the decision to make – did she walk back in the cold or stayed? She was apprehensive to walk back. Only yesterday there had been news of a theft in the neighborhood of her new place and the brave adventure she had undertaken to walk to the library was enough for the night. She was mentally too tired to walk back home. So, she decided to stay in the library.

She walked to one of the corner computer cubicles and logged in. She tried to study but couldn’t focus. She looked at the time and it was still two hours away from sunrise. As she started browsing random stuff, she lost track of time until the light in her cubicle started to flicker. She curiously stood up to look around to realize that the floor was completely deserted. As she sat back was when she noticed a painting hanging on the wall beside her. She turned to look at it to realize she hadn’t noticed it earlier as this thought crossed her mind another thought formed “This painting wasn’t here when she had walked into the cubicle.” She thought to herself “But then G when have you ever been the one to notice and remember things?”

She blew a breath and continued to read about a country named Tajikistan but her thoughts kept reverting to the painting. She finally gave up and walked to the painting to look at it. It was of a woman probably in her late fifties – the way she held herself for the portrait was regal. Accentuated by the exquisite navy blue gown she was wearing, pearls necklace around her neck was elegant too, the smile was serene. It wasn’t until G looked at the eyes that she realized she had seen this woman somewhere. Rack her brains as she may – she couldn’t place the face in a background that she could remember.

“The things you do to waste time G are amazing! You should be studying!” she thought to herself and went back to the computer but, this time, she couldn’t bring her mind to browse random stuff either. The painting bothered her. More importantly, those eyes bothered her. Caught up with the thought of eyes she hadn’t realized that the room was getting colder. It wasn’t until she shivered that she realized she was cold. “What is wrong with the building management?” she thought to herself and walked down to the reception desk to request the receptionist to crank up the heat but found the desk deserted.

She rang the bell and waited but no one answered. The cold was getting worse by the moment; she looked at the time on her phone and decided to brave the cold and tried to exit the library but was surprised to see that the exits were locked. “Wasn’t the library supposed to be open like – 24 hours a day? Stupid receptionist!” G thought and turned to go back up the stairs only to be startled by the same woman G had seen in the portrait, now standing near the receptionist desk. She was wearing the same serene smile.

As they stood there looking at each other G knew she should have been scared but oddly she wasn’t. She walked up to the woman and said; “You have a warm smile.” The woman stood there silent and still smiling. It wasn’t until G said “but I know you from somewhere. Don’t I?” that the smile vanished to be replaced by disapproval. That was when G felt a little jumpy. Her brain said to run but her legs – it was as if her legs had grown roots deep into the ground. The woman started to talk “You don’t remember me? You people today – busy, occupied with silly things that don’t even matter. My children were like you – when I couldn’t earn anymore they forgot I even existed and threw me out of the house and you, all you had to do was to get some warm cloths to save me but let me guess – you forgot!”  It all came back to G – the woman outside, shivering in the cold at her old place. G had decided to give the old woman some warm clothing but when she had walked into her home, seeing a breakup text from her then boyfriend – she had spent the night crying and had forgotten about the woman. She remembered reading the news of a woman dead in the cold later but even then she couldn’t place the woman’s face. Now everything fell into place and it was at the same time that she realized she had to run to save herself.

She dashed to the doors and tried to open them again and this time, the fifth door opened luckily and she made a dash out. The cold was even worse outside but she had no other option. All the while as she ran she could faintly hear whimpers. She ran without looking back and finally reached the Dark Coal alley. She thought to herself “Almost there, almost there.” But the cold was unbearable her toes and fingers were numb.

***

The next day in the obscure pages of a local newspaper which nobody bothered to read said:

Unidentified, young woman found dead near the Dark Coal alley. Authorities say the likely cause of death was hypothermia.