The office echoed with classic 80's music. The cabinet near the old and weary record player was stashed with albums which were arranged sequentially. One could always clear the mists of time with the evergreen collection of music Ashton owned. They could go stroking the forgotten yet historic milestones, reminiscing the good old times.
Ashton was sitting on his chair deep in thought.
He felt a little off thinking about the way Lyza left earlier.
'Was I a little too much? Should I have toned down a bit?' He thought.
[After a little while]
Jerry pushed the door wide open, slightly scratching his head in doubt.
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" He asked
"What are you thinking?" Ashton asked indifferently.
"That you didn't pay her"
"Oh shit.I forgot"
"She didn't ask?" Jerry asked in surprise.
"No", he replied
"Wait…How did you know that I didn't pay her?"
"Common sense, boss. She came empty handed and left empty handed, unless she kept the money 'some place safe', if you know what I mean!"
'If his skills were as smooth as his retorts'. Ashton thought.
He sighed and checked his watch. The time was already past 6.00.
"I am leaving first. Tally the records before you put up the shutters"
He grabbed his wallet from the drawer and walked out of the salon.
'May be I will meet her again'.
[THIRD CHARM]
'Miracles happen all the time. It is just that we are too lazy to notice it.You ought to believe in them when life insists on revealing it'
'Why can't I get her words out of my mind?' Ashton thought.
'Damn, those words. I want to believe her but my judgement is getting in the way'
The sky was switching into a crimson hue. Even the smallest of things on the road casted an indistinct shadow striving to establish its own mark on this cruel yet captivating world.
Ashton kept rubbing and blowing over his hands to keep it warm as it was getting a little colder. He was not a cold person.
He heard something moving around from the bamboo forest nearby. He looked in that direction and saw something hiding within the darkness, cast by the long shoots. He recalled a tale on 'Pontianak', a woman who changes into a monstrous form while she feasted on men and helpless people.
"Who is that?" Ashton asked nervously.
A young woman in soiled attire with dark dishevelled hair stood amid the darkness of the forest. A mild and chilly breeze blew over her face and left rustling in between the slender and crescent-cut cane leaves.
"Oh God… Save me!! It's her!" Ashton cried in a horror.
He was petrified.
'She is charging towards me'. He stepped back.
A terror stricken Ashton skidded on a rock and fell on his back while she came pacing towards him in haste.
"I am so sorry, I dint mean to scare you". Lyza exclaimed while holding out her hand to help.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ashton asked in disbelief.
"I was just following you". Lyza tried to explain.
"That is even weirder. Are you a stalker?".
"No… No!! .I thought about coming to you again after I left. But I was a little bit embarrassed with the way I left last time".
"Look. If it is about the payment you could have come to me directly. I keep my business separate from my personal life. Moreover we could have avoided this awkward scenario." Ashton told politely while he stood up pressing down on his slightly bleeding head.
"Are you okay? You are bleeding!"
"Ahh. That's okay. May be it's the karma serving me for the accident I caused the other day morning."
"You know the saying, 'What goes around comes around'."
"I definitely can't say that third charm is lucky". He told in a quirky tone and smiled.
The street was partly lit by some flickering incandescent lights around which a few flies flew around, some of which hit the hot glass topping and fell straight to the ground. The yellow tinge of the light gave a golden finish to the road which lay straight ahead.
Her lustrous hair glistened in the lamp light which fell over her. He gazed at it in awe.
He couldn't help but notice her hair which was quite longer than before.
He shook his head realizing that he was staring at her.
"It is getting dark. You should head back home."
"Next time if you want to talk, come directly." He said jokingly.
He put his hand in his pocket and took out his wallet to pay her.
As he stretched his arms to handover the money, Lyza grabbed it all of a sudden and started pulling him.
'What the hell is wrong with this girl?' Ashton was baffled.