No way. It couldn’t be him. Could it? The similarities were unmistakable. That same broad forehead extending upto his hairline. The nose that looked like you could hang your coat on it. But, it had been so many years and she was so little, when he had disappeared. No no. She was making a mistake. ‘Imagining things’ as they would tell her then.
She peered closer. He smiled, and her heart trampolined into her mouth. That sneer. There was no mistaking that sneer. So evil that you had to avert your eyes, lest your blood froze to a stop.
He had changed. His hairline had receded, extending the expanse of his already wide forehead. There were grooves at the ends of his sneer. On anyone else they would have been called laugh lines, but not on him. And there was something strange about one of his eyes. The pupil had not moved at all, while the other one took in his surrounds. It shone, almost translucent. Glass! Why, how? Surely, not because of her…that night, twenty-five years ago.
She had been tossing and turning for hours. She had sipped cold water, hugged Mr.Teddy tighter. Prayed. Nothing had helped. She could feel his fists from under her bed, through the mattress, punching her spine rhythmically. And every few punches would be punctuated by a soft whistle. Should she call out to her parents? No. He was sneaky. He would find a spot to hide if they came. He always did. And they would be upset with her.
She had heard them talk, ‘It’s from all those books. She always has her nose buried in one. We should cancel her library subscription for a few days.’
No. She could not lose her books. He whistled again. Matilda would not be scared of him. She felt the dog-eared book under her pillow. She had stuffed it there and pretended to be asleep when her mom had popped in to switch off the lights. Matilda was 12 too. She reached out for the drawing compass on her desk. The point gleamed in the moonlight streaming through the window.
She raised her hand above her head and lunged it through the mattress. His scream rang out in the darkness. She plunged again and again and again. His scream turned into a groan, then a whimper…and then there was silence. That’s when she stopped. And she slept.
For the next few nights, she slept with the compass close at hand waiting for him to strike back. But there was silence. No punching. No humming. No calling her name. He was gone.
But, now he was back. The spoon slipped out of her fingers and clattered on to the saucer. The noise caught the attention of his roving eye and it came to rest on her. It was his turn to peer at her. Would he recognize her after all these years and with only one good eye? No way. But what if he did? No, she could not let that happen. He was still peering at her, a hint of recognition beginning to light his one pupil. She picked up the spoon without a sound, raised her hand and plunged it into that roving eye. Hah!