Short story -

Stalker

It was the ideal scene any artist would have loved to paint. Shades of orange, red and blue cascaded through the evening sky as the sun gradually descended; hiding its glorious face among the distant mountains making way for the twinkling stars to rule the night.

Anna turned her head slowly to look at him. "Oh, god has not been unfair to this gorgeous male specimen", she thought, chuckling softly as she placed him under her intense scrutiny.

There he was sitting right next to her in the rock edge of the cliff, his handsome face glowing as he gazed into nothingness ahead. His unruly hair clouded his thoughtful eyes.

How can anyone else be more handsome than him? The very thought made Anna shiver against the chilly night air. He gazed down at her as she rested her head peacefully on his strong shoulder. She inhaled deeply. Now what was his perfume? She was just about to make a good guess when she felt his hand reach her face. He tilted her chin up so her eyes met his. It was a magical moment. The night sky grew darker as snoopy stars appeared here and there.

"I love you". His voice sounded husky and his eyes grew moist with untold affection. They remained unmoved, oblivious to the slight breeze tat blew through their hair.

"Cut!!" came the ear-piercing shout from nowhere. Anna stood up to see the burly director hurrying towards them, his chubby face beaming with satisfaction. Suddenly the peaceful night was awakened with the rush of activity. People scurried about carrying heavy gear towards the approaching vehicles.

"Jon, Anna that was a brilliant piece of acting", he said shaking Jon's hand solemnly and then hers. "Hope to see you both tonight", he said referring to the award ceremony which was due to start off later that night. It had been one of those weary days.

The long hours at the set had dragged on until Anna had felt the heat waves torturing her tired body. Finally the day had come to an end but she had only three or four hours to get ready for the great occasion.

Being a successful actress was providing out a harder task than she had assumed. Well, not everyone can be as lucky as she was. For instance how many girls would die for a chance just to stand beside Jon Evans? She sighed deeply savouring the sweet satisfaction.

"Anna you sound tired", Jon remarked, looking down at her with concern. No, no, I'm fine", she said shaking her head trying to hide a smile. How sweet of him.

By the way......," he came up to her and reached his hand out. "That was excellent performance", he said shaking her hand firmly. She returned the gesture smiling up at him, her usually sharp tongue surprisingly silent. Had he seen my perfect manicure, she wondered. She hoped so.

"Well, see you later", he said. "Tired or not I'm sure you'll look sensational tonight". He winked at her, causing her heart to miss its beat and walked away whistling softly. She started walking towards her car, a dreamy smile playing on her delicate features.

The chauffeur opened the door for her as she approached. Anna stepped inside. Heaving a sigh, she rummaged her hand bag for a couple of aspirins. Suddenly she caught sight of a small package wrapped in a silver paper placed neatly on the far corner of the seat.

The smile vanished from her lips and the muscles of her face and neck tightened as realisation swept over her. With shaky hands Anna reached for the package. Then she noticed a folded paper tucked under it. Holding her breath she held the note and started reading.

"A small gift for my princess. Hope to see you tonight"

The paper slipped from her hand. She gripped the edge of the seat to steady herself and then tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a red velvet box. Her heart was pounding hard.

"Relax Anna", she scolded herself. "Bombs don't come in such small packages". She held her breath as she opened the box with sweaty hands.

Her eyes widened with disbelief. No, how could this happen? She wondered staring at the pair of ruby earrings inside the box. Her mind raced back to the first time she had seen them.

It had been a Wednesday evening, nearly a week earlier when she had arrived at the "Glamour" jewellers looking for a pair of earrings that would match her elegant red dress. After looking through the collection she came across a pair of earrings that stole her heart instantly; heart shaped rubies encircled by white diamonds. The colour matched her dress exactly.

"How much is this?", she asked the shop assistant, opening her purse.

"Sorry madam, it's already reserved for a gentleman", said the helpless assistant.

"Would you like me to show you through our other collection?"

"No", Anna forced herself to calm down. "Is there any way I could get in touch with this gentleman, may be he would change his mind".

"I doubt it madam, he said that the earrings matched the colour of his girlfriend's dress exactly."

Anna felt defeated. She knew the colour was very rare. I'll just have to wear my mother's old pair. She had thought bitterly.

Anna's thoughts were suddenly distracted by the hum of her mobile phone. She clenched her hand around it when she saw the number displayed on the screen. Stalker. Just as she tried to answer the call it was disconnected. She should have known.

It had always been the same. She had tried to call then umber several times but there had been no answer. Ultimately she had come to the conclusion that her stalker, whoever it was, has no intention of revealing his identity. Anna leaned back in the seat, exhausted.

Her gaze moved high up to the night sky as the car moved swiftly along the deserted highway. She still remembered the vital day as well as she could remember yesterday.

It had been the night of the premiere of her first film. Good word about the film managed to draw an incredible number of people to the cinema hall. When Anna reached the scene, she felt like a princess.

21 year-old, Anna Fernandez's claim for stardom lay in her expressive dark eyes, delicate features, her slim, athletic figure and her long, lustrous hair that fell in silky waves below her shoulders. Though she had the looks of a celebrity, she had a sharp wit within her that many people found taxing to converse with.

Her easy manner and charming ways kept their interest transfixed in her. The film was a huge success. Prominent people in the film industry were in attendance. Their blessings were bestowed on the upcoming actress.

After the event she glided towards her car feeling giddy with happiness. She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes dramatically, a beautiful smile glowing on her soft lips. She turned her head heavenward and thought, now what have they said.

Anna you are the most promising newcomer I've seen all year.

That was brilliant. I just couldn't take my eyes off you. That was superb acting. She had almost brushed away the piece of paper along with the magazines and newspapers on the seat in the sense of euphoria. Then in a sudden impulse she had opened it. It read, Diamonds cannot match the gleam of your eyes

Roses cannot match the beauty of your face

Angles cannot match the grace of your walk But my dear, nothing can match the strength of my love that grows for you......

"Hmm, nice poetry", she had thought, Fans, Perhaps I might as well think of opening a fan club.

Anna's fame continued to spread through the country and letters of praise kept adding up to the ever growing heap in her room. She did not take the note seriously until the same verse appeared on her mobile phone. It was the beginning.

Every morning she woke up to find his messages. There were poetry, words of praise and even comments on her dress code. Each day Anna carried the burden on her shoulder. With every passing day the number of messages kept growing along with Anna's distress. Her attempts to contact the stalker met with a big zero.

Once when Anna attended a party organised by a production house, wearing a bright yellow chiffon dress, her stalker sent a message on the very next day. It read, You look gorgeous in whatever you wear, but my dear yellow doesn't suit you.

You look sensational in pink.

Anna despised pink from then on.

And sometime later she accepted a comic role in a film. On the day of the premiere she came back home to find a note attached to the front doorknob. It silently read, I'm proud of you my darling. Your performance was breathtaking even in a comic role.

Anna rejected every comic role offered to her after that. Her heartbeat raised whenever the mobile phone rang and she lived in constant fear, dreading his ultimate appearance.

After thinking it over she finally changed her phone number. But even before she could finish giving her new number to all her friends, he contacted her. Sometimes she wondered what there was to worry about; so far he had done nothing to hurt her physically. But the irritation of knowing that someone was discreetly observing her every move, caused the mental trauma.

Now thinking back to the events of the past Anna couldn't help feeling agitated. her instinct told her that he was about to make his final move. A few minutes later she reached her home, a two storey building situated in the posh residential area in town surrounded by lush greenery.

Once inside her room Anna collapsed on the bed, completely drained. She laboriously dragged herself up and somehow managed to get ready in a half an hour. Adding the final touched to her flawless make up, she regarded her self in the mirror.

"Hmm, not bad", she said aloud. "You'll be the head turner on the red carpet", she congratulated herself while applying a deep shade of red to a her lips. Then she touched the ruby earrings with shaky hands.

Should I wear this. She debated with herself. May be not.

Suddenly a whirl of beeps erupted inside the silent bedroom. Anna froze in her tracks when she saw the screen of her mobile phone. I message received.

Stalker. Anna gritted her teeth. She grabbed the phone from the desktop and with blazing eyes she started reading.

I can't go on like this anymore...

I'm ready to show myself to you my darling...

Please open the door, I'm at your doorstep.

Anna felt her knees buckling. The unexpected was bound to happen but knowing that he was just a few feet away from her made her feel more vulnerable than ever. She stood numb in the middle of the room, debating what to do. her first impulse was to call the police. But what could she say.

Hello, inspector, this is Anna Fernandez. I want you to come down here. It's urgent. Someone's standing at my doorstep? They would laugh their heads off for sure and of course her photo would appear on the next day's newspaper under the heading "Anna Fernandez gives nuisance calls to the nearest police station".

"No, I'll have to do some thing myself", she thought. And then the door bell rang. Anna descended the stairs, two at a time, her heart hammering against her chest. She walked on tip toe towards the window and moved the curtain aside to take a look.

She caught a glimpse of a tall man standing in the doorway, his back turned to the door. He didn't seem to have anything that could harm her. A wave of relief swept over her.

'I might as well get this thing over with", she thought, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She faced the door and turned the knob with sweaty hands. She held the door ajar. He slowly turned to face her.

Anna gripped the door to steady herself. No this can't be happening. May be this is just a nightmare. My alarm clock would ring any moment. But it was real. Anna found herself staring in to the dark eyes of Jon Evens. He stood there holding bouquet of red roses, with a smile that resembled a bashful school boy.

"What can I say Anna". His tone was husky. "Every thing is fair in love and war."

by Chathurani Ranathunge - Kandy