Love Tremors by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (early reader books txt) 📖

you” Ram reminded her.

“Mind your own business” Susie barked.

“Don’t you have manners? Why do you insult like this?” Ram told her loudly.

“Because you deserve it”

Without waiting for his answer, Susie locked her system and walked to the pantry.

“Sorry, Ram” Suma apologized to Ram for Susie’s behavior.

“I know how to handle her” Ram replied with a smile.

“Move over there” thundered the hefty man with the pistol in his hand. Susie along with the other customers in the bank was pushed into the nearby room.

The room with a high ceiling did not have any windows. The room had rows of racks stacked with old records. The stench from the corner suffocated Susie and the ceiling fan high on the wall moved slowly with minimum air.

Susie never thought her lunch time would turn into such horror filled moments within a few minutes. Susie came to the bank ATM to draw money. Usually it took only ten minutes for her to draw the money and return to her office.

It took some time for every one of them to realize that the bank was under the control of five merciless youngsters who wanted to loot the bank and escape with the money. The man with the pistol walked around and collected all their mobiles. He then switched off the mobile one by one and threw them into the water pot in the corner.

“Come here” He pointed a finger at her and called.

Trembling with fear, Susie looked at him.

“I asked you to come over here” He screamed at her again. Reluctantly Susie moved toward him. A strong hand gripped her by the arm and pulled her toward him. He placed the pistol on her temple and warned everyone to sit down without making any noise or movement.

Susie shuddered at the pressure of his grip and the cold touch of the pistol on her forehead. Her eyes moved around and looked at the people who were sitting on the floor.

Everyone squatted nervously with their heads down and a deadly silence enveloped the room. Susie’s eyes then spotted Ram sitting at the corner with his head resting on the wall. Susie could not control her tears and they started to flow profusely from her eyes.

“Oh my God, he is here” Susie murmured.

“Will everyone be alive? If I am alive, I would……” A simultaneous thought erupted through her mind.

As if he read her mind, Ram lifted his eyes and looked at her. Shocked to see her at that time, Ram starred at her without blinking. Though Ram understood the grim situation, he wanted to help Susie.

“Done” Someone called at the man and with a jerk he released Susie from his grip. After moving out of the room, he locked the room from outside.

The jerk pushed Susie down. Before she managed to stand properly, she fell down unconscious.

“Susie” Ram moved fast toward her. One of the women who was near Susie helped her to sit on the floor. Ram filled a glass with the water from the pot and sprinkled on her face.

It took some time for Susie to regain her consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ram anxiously looking at her.

Someone knocked at the door and screamed for help. They could hear people running toward the main door. The Cashier at the counter was the first one to react. As the phone lines were disconnected and the mobiles thrown away, they did not know how to contact people outside.

The boy who usually brought lunch for the bank staff opened the locked main door and informed the police. The drama that started around 1:30 pm in the afternoon came to an end around 2:00 pm.

The police arrived within five minutes. Most of the people were still in the state of shock and no one spoke to each other.

“Thank god, nothing worse happened” Yet, the ordeal was not over. The police inquiry went on till 9 pm at night.

The police arranged for refreshing drinks for everyone in the room. A few sips of coffee or tea helped them to come out of the shock.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police arrived around 3 pm and he requested Susie to answer his questions. Susie could not answer anything coherently.

“Relax, relax” Ram kept on telling her. Susie’s trembling hands gripped his hand tightly and did not allow him to move away from her.

Every member of the police team asked her again and again. “How did he look? What dress he was wearing? Can she remember his features?” Susie felt tired answering the same questions again and again.

Till 6 pm, no one in the office knew about the robbery in the bank. When they learned about the robbery, Ram’s friends rushed to the bank. But no one could meet either Ram or Susie.

The entire building where the bank functioned and the nearby areas were brought under the control of the police and the area within 100 m changed into a restricted zone.

Ram looked at the dripping phones fetched out from the water pot. But luckily Ram’s phone started to work after he dried it and restarted the mobile. Messages started to pour in and people started to call him one by one. Susie’s phone was dead and she was also not in a position to check if it worked or not. She was still in a state of shock and answered everyone in syllables.

“Shall I drop you at your hostel?” Susie nodded her head and climbed into the car. When

Ram opened the front door and asked her to get in, she responded without refusing.
Susie rested her head on the car seat and closed her eyes. The cool evening breeze relieved her stress and assured her that she has escaped an ordeal unhurt.

On the way to the hostel, Ram took Susie to a restaurant that served hot soups and dinner. It took more than half an hour for Susie to complete the soup. Her hands trembled and drops of soup scattered on her dress.

“Wait” Ram served the soup from the bowl to a cup and asked her to drink it slowly. He waited patiently till she finished eating and dropped her at the hostel after explaining to the warden whatever happened.

Susie lied down on the bed and closed her eyes, she could not sleep. The tight grip of the robber’s hand and the cold touch of the pistol on her forehead still remained in her memories.

Ram frantically checked all the missed calls and messages in his mobile. All the calls and messages were from Susie. For a moment he could not guess from where she was sending him all the messages and the missed calls.

Ram called his friend who was working at the local mobile service provider and asked him to find out from where the messages were sent to him. When his friend told him that they were from the local bus shed, he took his bike and rushed to the place.

When Ram reached the place, a huge crowd stood outside the closed gates of the bus depot. Ram could see huge volumes of black smoke raised above and lingered above the bus depot. The evening sky hid behind the clouds and made the place darker.

“What happened”? Ram shouted at the security guard.

“The entire shed is on fire”

Ram could see a group of girls standing near the office. Ram immediately recognized them to be from the office where Susie worked.

Ram rushed toward them. He could spot Suma in the narrow passage before the office.

“Suma, what the hell you are all doing here?” Ram shouted at her.

“Our bus got stuck in the middle. So we came here for the spare bus” Suma replied him.

“Where is Susie?” Ram’s eyes searched for her in the group of girls.

“We are waiting for her and others. I don’t know where she is now. She came along with me only”

“Did she go there?” Ram pointed to the shed at the farther end of the bus depot.

“No, we are all waiting here only” Suma could feel a heavy lump in her throat. Something is going wrong. Suma felt restless.

“Allow me to go. Susie is there” Ram screamed at the crowd.

The dry twigs that lined the fence were in flames. The firemen fighting their way into the flame tried to reach the abandoned shed. Luckily the place looked empty except for a few number of buses that needed repair.

The soil damp with the fresh fuel prevented the crowd to rush into the shed. Ram followed the firemen into the shed. They frantically searched for people in the huge area. No one was there. Ram looked at the far end of the shed. He could see a bus at the end. The bus was in a crooked shape. The wind shields and the glass panes were broken and the window bars torn apart.

“Don’t go there. Come away” the fire sergeant shouted at Ram. Ram climbed the abandoned bus and started to search for Susie.

“She is there” Ram shouted to the sergeant. The fire crew brought the flash light and turned it around the corners of the bus. Susie was lying down in one corner of the bus near the driver’s seat. Ram lifted and placed her down on the stretcher.

“Oh my god, I am lucky to find her” Ram could not tell what made Susie to come over there to that abandoned shed.

“How did you find me there in that place?” Susie asked Ram.

“Do you want to know now?” Ram replied in a low tone.

“It is the fragrance of your love dear. It pulled me to you and helped me to rescue you.” Susie grasped his hand tightly.

Their eyes locked in the gaze of love tightened the love spell around them.

The dream ended abruptly. It was so confusing and the images from the dream still lingered in his eyes. He wanted to call Susie and find out how she was. To his surprise, he called her within a few seconds.

“I have to go to the police station today. Will you come along with me?” Susie asked him politely.

“That will be my pleasure” Ram beamed with a happy smile.

“We will go to the office first and report whatever happened. Then both of us can go and come back” Susie felt relieved.

Susie’s parents wanted her to be with them for a few days. Yet, she could do so as the police requested her not to go out of Chennai till the inquiry is over.

“How do you feel now?” Ram inquired Susie on their way back to office.

“I could not come out of that shock still. I think it will take days to be back to normal” Susie replied him.

“True. It is a shocking experience. But I like it” Ram told Susie.

“What, you like it!” Surprised Susie looked at him.

“Yes”

“Why”

“Because that brought you near” Ram smiled at her.

“That is your wish. But don’t count on me. I am not interested” Susie replied