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The evening was bitter cold. The wind scratched and gnawed at his cheeks. Pintu pulled his collar up a little higher as he moved a little more behind the stone wall that was hiding his form. His man had gone into the tiny door just across the square of this frozen Russian village and he was stuck here until he came out. Just above the door was a large dimly lit billboard. The image of a hearty man with a glass in his hand was the focus. As Pintu stared at the advertisement he heard the door bang shut.

Thes way pwees

“Thes way pwees.” The Asian waitress led him thru the maze of empty tables to one in the back against a large round window. A neon light buzzed in his ear as he peered out into the rain drenched parking lot. Would she show up he wondered. Would she recognize his worn and traveled face? The rain began to lessen. The cars in the parking lot began to thin. The waitress had stopped asking to fill his cup. The hours passed and he sat there alone. He would have given up long ago but he had nowhere else to go.

Road apples

The truck bounced over the old road and Pintu felt every hole on his sore tail. The farmer had said in a broken English that the town was just over the hill, but he had been riding in this truck bed for at least 30 miles. When he was about to ask how much longer, the truck’s brakes squeaked to a halt. Dust swallowed them. The farmer waved to Pintu from within the cab and Pintu jumped out. As the truck turned off, Pintu saw no town, no houses, just a lone tree and some fallen apples on the road.

No Way Out

Pintu’s ears twitched as he stopped to listen to the echoing footsteps. He stood silently, breathing in the cool, damp air of the long abandoned stone tunnel. His shadow cast long in front of him. The sound of gravel under foot forced him to slowly turn back toward the entrance. The harsh light burned his eyes as the black outline of his phantom pursuer stepped forward. Pintu’s breath quickened as his eyes darted around the tunnel looking for an option. “Finally, I have you” said the man. Pintu spun around and blindly ran into the dark, with no way out.