Chapter 11 The fear of men

Ria reminisced over the earlier incident with the man who had retrieved her purse at the pack. She had really tried to concentrate on counting her steps back to the ward with the bottle in her hand but then someone had bumped in her way and she lost concentration with the bottle falling off her grip. It didn’t take long for her to hear giggling in the hallway then she realized children were around. She had searched for the bottle of water but couldn’t find it and at that point she almost regretted not letting Emily take her back to the ward. All her mind was on Phoebe who needed water and she was still searching when she heard masculine voice but as usual she could see nothing. Ria was blind so she couldn’t see whoever it was!

Ria remembered how she had tensed up immediately, how her heart beats rapidly and the palms of her hands becoming sweaty when her whole system processed there was a man right in front of her.

“Are you okay?” The raspy voice had said and her body trembled when he took her hands to drop the bottle.

At that moment, Ria thought of hitting him with the stick for holding her but he was wise enough to step away from her. She doesn’t know what he saw but she concluded that it must have been the way she held the stick in a defensive stance ready to fight him if he did anything stupid.

“All they know is harassing women and never minding our feelings.” Ria mumbled to herself.

Ria doesn’t think he was different. To her all men are the same. They are monstrous in nature! Men are cruel! They don’t deserve to live! But Ria once knew a good man, the only one good man in the world who was different from every other men – Her father. He is the only she regards as a good man.