Saturday Night Scares!

It was Deepankar’s birthday yesterday and we intended to do something special and so the 4 of us ended up at Rice village for a quick stroll and dinner! For those of you who know D and didn’t wish him.... please do... he is one of the nicest people I have met and is one of those rare loyal friends.

After dinner, we decided to sit by the pool side until one of us had gathered enough spirit to run to the grocery store and buy some ice-cream to substitute the birthday cake! We were just about to leave when a white male approached us. He was lanky, about 5.8 feet tall, wore a red jersey and a baseball hat that partially hid his face. He walked up to us from the other side of the low fence and whispered something. At first I thought he was the manager and was asking us to keep it down or leave. But there was something weird about the way he kept looking over his shoulder while muttering the unknown. He looked undecided and under the influence (drugs/alcohol). Something about him did not seem right.... but neither did he seem to be dangerous instead looked rather lost. He mumbled something incoherently; his eyes scanning everything around him. He looked scared and his fear infected me. I peered at his face automatically trying to read his lips....but he was speaking rapidly and in very low tones. He muttered “I live here in # 101”. He turned his head and continued to look behind him which blocked the next few words. He finished scanning behind him and turned his head around chattering nonstop“ need -----, don’t think you can help me. My wife---” These words seemed to trigger something in my mind. I watched him closer trying to understand if he was hurt or just lost. But then he turned again and I lost the thread of the conversation. He continued mumbling with increasing unease... now something in my head didn’t like all this.

Without meaning to, I looked down and my gaze landed on his hand. I saw a silver triangle that glinted under the lamp. It took me a second to realize that it was a blade that he was shielding under his palm and forearm. (The exact same way Bond hides the butter knife in Casino Royale!)The blade was long and he was clutching it hard as he continued to mumble and scan our surroundings. At the sight of the blade, my brain reacted fast... without even realizing I turned and took 2 steps away from him. Then I turned to face him again and whispered to my friends in hindi to step away from him as he had something in his hand. I did not want to spook him by using the word ‘knife’. I don’t think the other 3 even understood me instantly... however they responded to the urgency in my voice and to the fact that I was moving away from that guy. Thankfully they followed my pursuit and we brisk walked to the apartment eying him all the time. I didn’t dare run... I was sure that the guy could out run me if tried to.

This was the first time I experienced the true meaning of the word’ fear’! However short lived it was. All this happened in less than 30 seconds but all the time I had a strange intuition... that hinted at something not dangerous... just something weird. My instincts have seldom let me down and hence I have learnt to trust them. So this time, when they told me that something about that man was weird but not dangerous, I subconsciously tried to help... tried to understand what he was mumbling. I assumed he was strung out and was looking for his apartment.... but something about his posture, his state of mind bothered me. Looking back I realize now, that he was too alert for someone I thought to be drunk and this put me on my guard! I didn’t like the fact that he was literally faking the confusion....and my eyes searched for some physical evidence to back my nagging instincts.

The minute I spotted that knife, my feet acted of their own accord... I did not consciously turn away and step back or just tried to flee. My conscious acts were what followed later...turning around and asking the other 3 to move away. I do not know if that momentary impulse of fleeing is what they call survival instinct... but I sure did feel adrenaline coursing through my veins. As good citizens (well secondary ones) we dialed 911 and reported it. Turns out he was an outsider who was either too high on his medication or had skipped them. There was a guard on duty who informed us about the man being determed ‘harmless’ by the cops who had responded to our call. This guard that I speak of (well write about and am sure will speak about to a lot of you who are reading this and will call/email) was an old man who seemed to be unarmed. When we questioned him if he felt okay patrolling the property at late nights without a weapon... he launched into a rather disturbing dialogue about how a simple fountain pen can be a weapon if one had ‘the will’ to use it! He continued detailing how he planned to defend himself with an innocuous fountain pen. Frankly this made the aged man seem scarier than that man with the blade. The old guard did not seem to be intimidated or bothered about harming strangers and that was unnerving! But on second thoughts... if that oldie was like a normal old guy he wouldn’t have been able to patrol the area effectively! So after that incredibly eventful evening.... we called it a night!

Lesson Learnt: No more late night hang outs at the pool! DAMN!