The Eyes

But…they were just too scared to stay…

Expertly turning the cigarette between her delicate fingers, Sarah knocked the ash off into the saucer full of coffee grounds. The two boys were staring at her, and she was enjoying it immensely. They seemed very interested when she talked while mostly looking at her lips and cheeks. But today was the very first day she felt that she had managed to indeed their attention truly. She tilted her neck a little to make the moment last longer, and she kept on talking.

“My cousin said she had nightmares there all the time. Even her baby wouldn’t stop crying since they set foot in there….”

“So you mentioned someone who went there to perform some sort of exorcism? In that nowhere? Was it one of the local chaps?” interrupted.

“That’s nonsense. Don’t you remember it was early July, and we went to the garden house in the same region? It wasn’t far from Mashhad[1], and the whole place was crowded like a city!” replied Reza, slowly as ever.

“It’s not too far at all. Even so, it’s kind of right beside a village...” interrupted Sarah, not wanting to be left out of the conversation again.

The coffee shop was emptying. A blonde girl got up and left her seat while peeking at Reza beneath her bangs. She opened the entrance door and poured the remains of her tea inside a giant green vase beside the door on the sidewalk. On the way back to her chair, she tried to pass by Reza deliberately, yet, noticing Sarah’s glare, she decided to turn her face away and sit behind her laptop.

“Never mind the girl, she’s gone!... then somehow this medium shows up to do an exorcism to see why your cousin’s kid wets his bed every night?” said Ali, watching Reza’s indifferent expression, and he took a sip of what remained of his latte.

Reza kicked his leg under the table. Yes, his new girlfriend was a tad dumb with a bad nose job, but he just could not let this one go as well, or else he would end up alone again…Ali leaned in his chair laughing, but inside he was picked a bit. The females always preferred bloody Reza…

Although Reza was worried for nothing, Sarah did seem like a girl who could take care of herself pretty well. She continued excitedly and pulled Ali out of his thoughts.

“What a load of bullshit, Ali! No… let me tell you all that happened. You see, my cousin and her friends threw this party the first night. As they were dancing and drinking, my cousin n’s husband suddenly starts to feel a little lightheaded. So he steps outside to take a walk and get some fresh air when he spots this strange figure standing straight on the garden’s wall! So he runs back inside to warn others because he thought it must’ve been a damn cop or something. And as he comes back a minute later with his brother, there was no one there. But then… hey, Reza, can you pass me another one? Darling, I’m talking to you. Would you please listen?!” she said, pointing at the cigarette pack.

Reza tossed the pack to her, while Ali hastily held the lit lighter in front of Sarah and asked: “and then?”

Eyes wide open, Sarah showed off her long violet nails by raising her hands in the air and trying to fix her hair as if she had bangs. She took a puff and glared at Ali amidst the smoke.

“Nothing… They saw there was nobody there. But when they looked around, they spotted him again on the roof, the strange figure, standing straight, inanimate, just like a statue. So they run back inside, frightened, and come back with a couple of men. And they find no one!”

Ali leaned back on his chair and played with the remaining frosting of his cake. “Wow!” he grunted sarcastically, trying to imply he did not believe one word of the story, yet the boys’ interest in what she had to say was no secret to Sarah and her woman’s intuition.

Reza took a quick peek at his phone to check the time as he picked up the remaining potato chips from his plate to eat. It seemed as if he was profoundly thinking. “Alright, so… what was that entire story about exorcism?”

“Only a local woman who cleaned houses. She had this son, 12 or 13, I don’t remember exactly, who used to hang around the garden house. Looked like the little brat saw something in my cousin and realized she was unhappy. He told her about this person he knew, who performs all kinds of exorcisms and said he could ask her just to check what is it about… you know… those kinds of “fun” plans in parties.” Sarah answered.

“And?” said both of them at the same time.

“There was no appointment. There was no time for it. Even though they did book the garden house for four nights, they only stayed for two… they had all these plans to hang out with their friends and have fun, you know… but… they were just too scared to stay.”