The Hunting Hounds

It’s been days since I hid in this remote village. It will be very difficult for them to find me here. The hills surround this village from all directions; people here seldom have any visitors from outside. By that I mean, the last to come was an old man, returning to his birthplace and that was 6 years ago. Natives of this village are friendly and content. This population does not dream of wandering off to bigger cities or towns, they like it here. I cannot tell you the exact location but that’s only to my advantage. Today, the weather reminds me of that dreaded day, when I was being chased by those flesh-hungry dogs. I couldn’t remember who sent them but they were definitely hunting me. They were huge hunters. I have never seen any such before with big and sharp teeth that were ready to dig into my flesh and break my bones into pieces. Their loud bark still wakes me up at night. Salivating, chasing me, and locating me in all my hideouts by following my scent. I am unable to forget their red angry eyes. This rain reminds me of that day.

Suddenly, thinking about all that, I thought I am losing my mind. I could hear their barking again. I think my brain was playing games with me. Why is the whole valley echoing with their bark! I was desperately trying to find a stray dog barking somewhere but the lanes were empty. The echo was growing louder now. I moved away from the window, my hands and legs shaking. I never heard the noise of shattering vases and night lamp that fell as I was trembling and walking backward. My head was swirling. I was trying to focus. Everything was falling around me or maybe the fear got me to hallucinate chaos. Those barks were growing louder and louder with every second. My legs were shaking with terror, I fell to the floor. I was praying for it to be my imagination. The horrifying sounds were ever so increasing.

How could they find me again! After so many days. Did they never stop hunting me? What should I do? I was paralyzed with terror. The barks grew loudest. Almost at my doorstep. I was about to get up but with the flash of lightning and sound of thunder, I heard another sound that was most dreadful. The door of my small one-room cottage fell on the ground. I saw those terrifying eyes again. This time, only more angry, hungry, and red. If I didn’t die of shock just then, then it was not good news. Now I have nowhere to run and I couldn’t imagine feeling the pain of my flesh being torn away from my bones. Their sharp teeth digging into me, layer by layer, skin, flesh, and then bones. I could see them panting and walking slowly up to me, salivating. As they approached me, they were surrounding me from all directions. I was now literally paralyzed with fear. I couldn’t, even if I tried, move a single muscle. They waited for the slightest signal. Maybe the blinking of eyes, twitch of a muscle, or maybe another thunder strike, to pounce on me and tear me into small pieces. Then it happened, somewhere in the cottage, a plank of floor wood, creaked. Everything went blank. I couldn’t find my voice to scream as the jump on me to feast. Just then I screamed as soon as a pair of eyes came so close to me that I was feeling its breath. My own scream woke me up and I woke up to find that I was in a dream. I woke up my parents too. I was sweating, panting and my heartbeats were running everywhere. It felt that I had been dreaming for years. The real touch and affection of my mother were so comforting that I was assured that I had only been dreaming.