THE ESILE OF FLOWER

Chapter - 7

Ensuring that it was  safe to get up, Jessica peered out of the window. All the windows of nearby houses were open digesting the recent scene. Jessica looked at her surrounding. She couldn't die at the hands of Flamel or those Mary or Moldro like this. 2parties were chasing after her dear life. What secrets does her life hold? Whatwas so special about her that this many people were planning just to suck herlife? She wanted to get out of there badly. She was reckless about her life.She had to hold on to it as much as she could. She had much time left to seethis quarter of the world. But how could she escape this dungeon? She shook thegrills in anger. Her anger knew no limits. But just then the violent shaking took the pieces of rusty metal out of it. In front of her bare eyes, the hard metal reddened and melted creating an empty passage large enough for her skinny body to get through . 

She glanced  back at the stable for a fleeting moment, grabbing her backpack. She slipped through the window and hid behind a tree. Her eyes on the window of the cottage. But she couldn't manage to see the doorstep. The night was in terrible silence except for the chilling rings of the cricket. She tiptoed from the backyard to the passage to the forest she often followed in  the midnight. Being confident enough to slip right out of their doorstep, at the same time keeping an eye towards the cottage , Jessica almost ran and walked to be greeted with her greatest nightmare. The Flamels whom she thought to be inside the cottage, were sitting on the foot of their Mahogany door. Their eyes meet for a fleeting moment and Jessica couldn't help but feel a flow of fear evoke in her veins. Their  eyes were settled as Jessica was backing at the door as much as she could as once she was out of their territory, they could do nothing to stop her. Until Mrs.Flamel shrieked, " Get the pollen grains!" There was a beat as Jessica didn't wait any longer. She dashed towards the market knowing it to be the closest. There was a bright flash of light to the place where she stood. She ran out of the neighborhood ending up in a crowded market full of shoppers for their evening shopping. She squeezed through the crowd, the Flamels behind her. " You didn't get any good time to finish off all of it!" Mr.Flamel was muttering behind. Jessica swiftly pulled the door of a nearby shop and slipped in along with a quarter of the crowd. Her eyes darting at nothing but the glass which viewed the Flamels going shop to shop in search of her. " Hey, How on earth can a beggar end up in a jewelry shop?"muttered a wealthy looking man who was none other than Mr.Parkins. One of his golden teeth glinting in the many sparkles of diamonds around. Jessica glanced around for help. She was clearly trapped. Before neglecting her decision of going running into the    market, her eyes caught site of the lightly crowded back door. " Enjoy your shopping , Mr.Parkins!" saying that Jessica pushed through the crowd towards the deserted back door. But as she pushed it open something unexpected waited for her. " Thought you would escape us so easily!" saying that Mrs.Flamel pulled her collar towards her and threw her on the pile of cartoon stuffed with tomatoes. The tomatoes smashed and the whole pile collapsed. Jessica's already blood soaked shirt was drenched in red tomato sauce as she lost balance. Her plan was lost badly. Now nothing could stop her from being dead as Mr.Flamel pulled her out dragging her collar. " Now get back. Time is ticking out!" shrieked Mr.Flamel heading towards the direction towards home. It was all over. Jessica felt ashamed of her coward attempt to save herself. " Bloody Hell, My tomatoes!" shrieked a woman. Striding towards their direction as the Flamels looked ,back was the tomato's owner. She was famous all over the neighborhood for being the angriest and fiercest woman.  Mrs.Flamel's grip loosened.They looked utterly baffled. " Where the hell are you going? Destroying my months of hard work, you bastards!" the Flamels looked so funny as they went down to them to console them. Jessica smiled and as the woman shrieked, " You are not going to get away until you pay me and buy every tomatoes you wasted!" the exhausted Flamels came back to the spot they left Jessica after paying the woman. But where will they get her? Jessica ran as fast as she could towards the forest. The people were staring at her as she often stepped on their foots muttering sorry to them. As she neither cared what people thought of her. But there was only one thought in her mind and she took it as a mantra, ' I will not die no matter whatever happens' she knew the Flamels footsteps echoing behind her. Finally the familiar pine trees came to site. She ran as fast as her foots could carry into the deeper parts of the woods where the wild flowers  bloomed and snakes hissed. The cranes were settled on the trees declaring the river nearby. She followed the trail. She had come to this path many times at night. But it looked so mysterious in the tensed atmosphere. Jessica had never felt so much intensity of fear and tension in her life time. She sat on the bank or was forced to as her feet couldn't take it anymore and glared at her reflection in the moon light. It was nearly days before full moon. Her whole face was covered in tomato sauce and even her tangled hair which looked like a bird nest. She realized how much weird she looked while running through the crowd. No wonder did they look so much disgusted and why not? Who would like to be touched with a ghostly girl covered in blood and tomato sauce and dirt? She kept the backpack on the ground and bent to take a sip of water. The taste of that stable water still felt weird in her mouth and when the river water reached her tongue, it felt weirder.