Zoi's Window

As I walked down the deserted road, I felt someone was following me and knowing of the dangers of being stalked in the dark, I quickened my footsteps. Seeing a lamppost a few steps ahead, I hastened to reach it. Probably I was a fool in finding solace in light, but I believed the words of a great literary figure – ‘It is the unknown we fear.’ For me, what lurked in the darkness, trailing my footsteps, was unknown. It was only after I had reached the lamppost and formulated a plan consisting of kung-fu moves learnt many years back that I turned around. My adrenaline, gushing out in huge amounts, had done something strange, making me more calm than nervous. Surprisingly, I found myself almost anticipating the fight. Greater was my surprise, when a quick scan of the surroundings revealed nothing apart from the empty road and ever-watchful lampposts. There was no one around me! I took a deep breath, steadying my shaking nerves and resumed my walk. I reached home safely. Destiny...

We were playing hide-and-seek in the park when a large furry creature raced past us into the adjoining woods. The seeker being notorious for finding hidden kids, we paid the creature little more than a glance before resuming our game. “NINETEEN. TWENTY. Ready or not, here...” The rest of the words were never heard.                A sudden barking of dogs forced us to look beyond our game. A score or so police cars had pulled up in front of the park gate, accompanied with a multitude of policemen on bikes.  The police leapt off their vehicles and raced into the park after their dogs. Pedestrians were screaming everywhere. And then we heard it, amidst the cacophony of honking cars, barking dogs, and the terrified screams of civilians, a loud roar – the roar of a lion! I’d recognise that roar anytime. It wasn’t the roar of just any lion – it was the roar of Regal, the main attraction of Centra...