Chapter-4
San Antonio 9:30 am
Mehek Morgan and Daniel reached the main Alamo entrance.
This colossal edifice is located
in San Antonio, Texas, it is an 18th century mission church. It was
the scene of a pivotal battle in the fight for independence of Texas from Mexico
and got severely damaged in the Battle of Alamo in 1836. Inspite of being
referred to as a church, it is actually a 4.2-acre complex that contains a
mixture of historic and modern structures dating back to 1744. The complex was
a labyrinth of shrine, walls, gift shops, and a long barrack. The initiate had
been told that walls of the church were never completed. So, the stones were
added to the façade to bring the walls on each side of central section up to
the level, raising the height of it to receive the gable end of the roof. The
profile of the building, as a result of this round cresting, has become an
iconic symbol of the quest for freedom.
They entered this cavernous and tranquil church.
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It was exactly one week later
that he saw her. The Cedar creek waterfalls is one of the most spectacular
waterfalls exhibiting the resplendence of nature. This is located in San Diego,
which is approximately 225km away from Pasadena. It is an early spring morning,
with birds chirping everywhere, bright green leaves were drifting in the fresh
breeze, and water was flowing down the cliff and falling onto rocks. Neil crouched on a rock focussing the
exquisite face of the waterfalls. While Neil was about to capture the picture,
a girl stood in the way of focus. She seemed to be reporting the location and
weather details to a news channel. ”Excuse me” Neil frowned.
She turned at Neil and replied
“Sorry” by moving away from his focus.
Oh my god. It is her, whom I saw last week at the conference. She had
been blessed with the smooth glowing skin of olive complexion. She used no
makeup and wore her thick curly black hair down till her waist. She had black
eyes and a great smell.
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Despite its magnificent history
and structure, few members of public alone were present milling around in a
chaotic way. There was a lot of security than usual due to the lawless
engraving of the symbol on the church wall the previous day. Among those
security guards, one started to carefully study a couple approaching the main
entrance of the church. The women was white skinned, trying to opaque her fears
from the outside world, the man seemed to be ruminating about something. To
elucidate his suspicion, he walked in the opposite direction stopping the
couple.
“Good morning madam, Is
everything fine?” looking at the women. “Yes”, Mehek drew a sharp breath “Yes,
absolutely!”. Daniel made his initiative by proverbially inquiring about the
place. Meanwhile, few tourists grasped Mehek’s attention by staring at a wall
for few seconds. What are they looking at?. Daniel saw Mehek bristle. “Mehek, what
happened?” oblivious to Daniel’s words, Mehek headed towards the wall at which
tourists starred. She stood astonished by the sight of the symbol on the wall. She
ran to the officer “Officer, What is that symbol?” hardly breathing. ”Do you
know who engraved it?”
“It was engraved by a person
yesterday at around 6:30 pm .He’s been arrested as he acted against the rules.”
“Which jail?”
“San Antonio jail”
“Thank you sir”.
“I need to meet him now” Mehek looking at
Daniel
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After completing his work at the falls,
he went to the parking lot where he saw her again. The van driver was
scrutinising the engine and her face seemed to be paced with befuddlement and
anguish. She seems to have trouble with
her office van. “Excuse me…do you need any help?” Neil addressed the van
driver. The girl interrupted, “Yeah…Can you help him fix the problem in the
engine…” The van driver gave an ungracious look at her, she continued “He’s
been trying to fix it for the past one hour”. Her voice sounded like the dulcet
tones of a guitar. ”yes sure” Neil replied, controlling his urge to smile.
After looking at the engine Neil turned towards the driver and said, “Your starter
motor needs to be replaced. You can have it replaced in San Diego”. “Oh No! I
have to submit my report today” looking at Neil, She said “Can I come with you
till San Diego, if you don’t mind”. “Can u tell me where you are supposed to go?”
Neil asked her looking deeply into her eyes. ”Pasadena” She replied.” ”I’m
going to Pasadena too…you can come with me till Pasadena” Neil said to her
hiding all his intuitive feelings for her. ”Thank you so much…this means a lot
to me” She sat next to Neil in his car. She
smells incredible, it is this smell that is causing my mind to look at her
every single moment. She is just few inches away from me. While my heart is clamouring
for her sight, my mind is forcing me to drive like a good stranger.
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11:00 am, San Antonio Jail
“Let me handle this by myself” Mehek holding Daniel’s hand.
“It might be inappropriate to tell you this.” Hugging Mehek,
Daniel whispered in her ears” Happy anniversary Mehek. Be careful”
A Guard at the central counter: “Miss Mehek Morgan,
You can meet him now”
She entered the chamber with
great intimidation. The chamber was separated into two parts by an iron mesh in
a way that each can just view the other’s face and it has a CCTV recording
camera. A man entered in an orange culprit uniform with his head lowered facing
the ground. He made his position on the chair. The very instant he lifted his
head towards Mehek, She was astounded.
“Glad we meet again, Morgan”
It is him. I still could remember him
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Breaking the silence prevailing in
the car, He initiated the conversation “I think it’s a bit late to ask this,
May I know your name?” “I’m Tara Ballem,
working as a junior reporter for Fox news and I’m from India.” Tara continued “So,
tell me about yourself”. In a husky voice, Neil replied “I’m Neil Hamilton…” She
interrupted “wait wait…Are you Neil Hamilton, International award winner for
photography in architecture and nature?” “Yes…”Neil replied in beatitude. “It’s
a great achievement!” She continued “and I am glad to travel with you” .My body got completely flushed by listening
to her. She’s so addictive. My heart is
beating harder than usual when she’s talking about me. “Thank you” Neil continued”
Tara can I take you to dinner tomorrow?” “Ya sure” Tara answered chuckling. What’s happening to me? Did I ask a girl out
for dinner? “What’s happening?!” Neil murmured in a low tone. She asked “What?
Did you say anything?” “No, Nothing”.
- -
- - -
- - Flight announcement - -
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- - -
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“Neil wake up, we’re are about to
land in San Antonio” Tara woke Neil up. The plane landed on a terminal in the
vast expanse of San Antonio International airport. Tara and Neil gathered all
their bags and stepped onto the mobile staircase. Stay calm Neil, Erwin will be fine. Having these thoughts in mind,
Neil walked forward across the runaway towards the main entrance with Tara. A
man with a shaved head, wearing a blue uniform stood near the main entrance
holding “Welcome Neil Hamilton”.
”There he is” Neil showing the cab driver rushed towards the cab followed by Tara.
”Welcome to San Antonio” “Thank you, Can you take us to the Alamo quickly” “Definitely
sir”… Neil and Tara got into the car. After keeping their bags in the car, he
started driving. In the midway to Alamo, Tara received a text message from SAS
news “Stop the car” Tara exclaimed. “Why? What happened?” “The one who was imprisoned
for engraving a symbol on the Alamo wall escaped from jail last night”
To
be continued…..
