I spent most of the night playing and replaying the video but I wasn't able to find any useful clue at all.
He somehow knew where I live so it's safe to assume that he knows more about me. It was just so frustrating that I don't even know his name yet. He looked young, he's maybe around twenty at the most.
He is tall for his age but the assailant earlier was clearly bigger and taller. I think around thirty years or so. But my saviour scared him away. I don't believe that that person was only drunk or something. He clearly said that he would kill me.
My mind was flooded with all sorts of theories. Maybe there are monsters around that disguises themselves as humans. Or maybe even aliens. All I'm sure is that my saviour knows all the answers I need.
'I will surely look for him again.' I muttered and finally settled on my bed.
It was already dawn when I fell asleep. I was too tired that I woke up the next day when the sun was on its hottest. I missed my morning jog.
I was still yawning nonstop while I was preparing for my food. It's Sunday and I don't have anything much to do. Maybe I'll visit Beatrice and tell her my adventures last night.
I was in high spirits. My fear last night didn't last long. I was more curious now about my personal saviour and I am planning to tell Beatrice all about him later. It rained as I just finished my meal.
Feeling depressed, I slumped back into my small couch and looked outside the window. The rain was so heavy that I can barely even see the road outside. I sighed.
"I guess I will stay indoors for the rest of the day then."
I turned on my TV to drown out the noise of the pouring rain. I switched into the local news channel and then opened my camera once more. I played my video footage from last night once again, pressing pause, play and rewind on certain moments.
I was too focused on my camera that I jumped in surprise when my phone rang beside me.
"Hey, Are you at home now?" It was Amanda.
"Yes, It's raining so hard so I can't go out."
"I'm coming over. Let's go and visit the mall. I'll pick you up." She didn't even bother to wait for my response, and ended the call. I could hear the sound of road traffic on her background. She was driving.
I quickly changed to casual blouse and jeans and prepared to meet her.
The mall wasn't too crowded when we got there. It was a Sunday afterall, plus the rain. We just strolled around, checking on some shoes and sandals. We were just letting the time pass by.
Around two hours later when we got hungry so we hit a nearby café.
"What happened to you?" Amanda suddenly said, touching my elbow.
We were sitting across each other and my arms were on the table. It's only that time that I became aware of the bruise on my left elbow, running down to my wrist.
I felt the pain on that area last night but I had too many things in mind that I didn't pay it much attention.
Amanda, being the big sister she always is, touched my bruised arms lightly.
"Did you slip on the wet floor or something?" She asked with a worried face.
I was thinking of making a white lie out of it as she already offered an excuse for me, but I quickly changed my mind.
"Something happened last night. Look." I said, pulling the camera hanging on my neck and handed it to her.
"You went to solo adventures again?" She gave me a puzzled look then flipped my camera open.
I just looked at her silently as she watched my video from last night. Her initial bored face was soon replaced by fear and anxiousness.
"You were almost mugged last night?" She asked after a while.
"Watch it again and look closely." I answered, giving her a mysterious smile.
"You're video footage isn't too long, I already watched it two times."
"Did you find anything strange about the whole thing?" I asked and sat beside her.
"Well, Why were you outside during that time? What happened to the guy who got beat up? Did you report this to the police?"
"That's all you can say? Did you see that man lifted the other and pinned him to the tree with a single arm?" I said, replaying the footage I was talking about.
"The man has a muscular body, and the other can be considered skinny if they stand side by side. It's a good thing that it didn't last too long." Amanda said while shaking her head.
"That's all?"
"What do you mean? It's a good thing that the situation got under control and you were not involved."
Amanda looked at me with a puzzled face. She really just saw everything as the video has shown her. It really just look like some man, beating up another. And then there was me, videotaping the whole thing.
I sighed. 'I wondered of she would believe me if I tell her what I actually think.'
Amanda is the big sister in our circle of friends and she would listen to everything that we say. She was used to listening my absurd theories and just laugh at it.
I contemplated for a while then decided to keep my theories to myself for the moment.
"Avoid going outside alone during the night. You're too beautiful and fragile, it's not safe." She said as she touched my hair.
I just nodded and smiled to her.
We spend another hour on the mall, walking around before she drove me home. It was almost dark and the rain had finally stopped.
I bade her goodbye and went inside.
I got up early the next day. My car wasn't released yet so I need to prepare early to catch the bus for school.
Nothing much really happened during the day. Beatrice told me about her postphoned date yesterday and how she almost cried, cursing the relentless rain. We had lunch together on our school canteen chatting with each other. I didn't bother telling her about my adventure the other night. I was sure she would react just like Amanda did yesterday.
She offered me a ride home after classes but I declined. She was going on a date tonight so she needs all the time she can to prepare for herself. I just told her that I have something to do in the library and told her to go on without me. We exchanged hugs before saying goodbyes.
I went to the library and opened up some books. It's too early for me to go home and I will just get bored there anyway. Living alone has that effect on me. I have been living alone for more than two years now. My parents will come and visit me on some holidays and special occasions and I understand them. They are busy with our family business abroad.
It was around 6:00PM when the school bell rang. It meant that students with no classes should leave the campus. I quietly gathered my things and left. The campus entrance was mostly empty when I stepped outside. I walked to the gate, humming to myself.
The sun was almost gone when I arrived to my usual bus stop. I sat there for a while then I remembered something. The things that happened the other night was still in my mind so I went back to the park.
There were few people in the area when I got there. There are some couples walking hand in hand and some children laughing with their family.
I approached the spot were I hid the other night and scanned the area. There was nothing much in there. Then I looked at the tree a few dozen meters away. It was there that my saviour got pinned by the muscular assailant.
I approached the tree and examined the base and trunk. I quickly noticed the outer bark was peeled off and there were even visible cracks on it. The grass was uprooted and I can still make out the shoe prints indented on the ground.
I knew something was off. They are not normal human beings afterall. I have seen enough hollywood movies to come up with such conclusion.
I retraced the area until I reached the deserted alley where I was cornered by my assailant. The area looked different already than the other night. I looked around the area and tried if I can still recover my taser but it was already gone.
I sighed, and turned back. Maybe I'll just need to buy a new one. It would make me feel safe and secure. I was passing by a street when I noticed a familiar figure.
I craned my neck and sure enough. He was the man from the other night. The man I was looking for.
I quickly crossed the street and chase after him. He had his back on me and walking casually. I walked fast and caught up to him in an instant.
"Hey, Fancy seeing you here!" I said, tapping his shoulders.
He took a glance on me and sighed.
"Look, I don't even know your name yet." I said, walking on his pace.
"I'm Jairo. Nice to see you again, Martha." He said with a nod.
"My name is Agatha."
"That's what I just said."
I just rolled my eyes. There's no point arguing with him over such issue. I looked at him once more. His shirt and pants were dirty with mud. He also has a reflective vest over his shirt.
"What?" He asked as he caught me looking at him from head to toe.
"You work on a construction site?" I asked.
His clothes tells me that much already. He was holding his safety hat on his other hand and his vest has a logo of a construction company.
"Wow, you could tell?" He answered with a smirk.
Here I was, on a clean school uniform, looking fresh from the class, walking on the street with a construction worker beside me. I can only imagine what would my bestfriends say if they saw me at the moment.
"I work there." He pointed to the tall building up ahead with scaffoldings standing outside like a skeleton.
I nodded, not saying anything. I have a lot of things to ask but it's not about construction.
"Where are you headed? Isn't your apartment in the opposite direction?" He said, glancing at me one more time.
"I want to ask you something important."
" Okey, ask away."
"I went back to the park earlier and I saw the tree. There were cracks on the trunk and most of the grass nearby were uprooted." I started, giving him a serious look.
I waited for his answer but he kept quiet. He just continued walking forward as if he didn't hear me.
"I thought I'm allowed to ask questions." I said.
"You just told me that you went back to the park and saw the tree. I'm still waiting for the question."
My eyebrows raised involuntarily at what he said. 'Is he trying to annoy me?'
"Okey, what are you? What was that thing that attacked you?"
"What kind of question is that? I'm just a normal city worker, doing my job and pays my taxes."
"Don't try to trick me with that kind of lame answers. I clearly saw the man's green slitted pupils. His nails grew like a bird's talon before my eyes. He was chasing for a while before you arrived at the park." I said, my voice was a little higher now.
He stopped walking and looked at me with a grave expression.
"If you won't answer my question, I'll just discover it myself." I said, meeting his gaze.