The bar The seven stars, is a very busy place, people come and go as the night progresses and at the door they are greeted by Omaira, a tall and thin young woman, dressed in a combination of white blouse and black skirt. Her frizzy hair pulled back in a bun highlights her long neck adorned with a pearl choker, a souvenir from her grandmother. As she walks ahead of them to take them to the inner room where the tables and the bar are, she feels the male gazes, she is very attractive, but she is used to it and does not take it personally. The hours go by and at four in the morning the employees finish their work. The street is dark, the pavement shines under the light of the lamps, a cold drizzle makes the group leaving the bar shiver.
"I'm freezing, let's hurry up, I invite you to have a few drinks at the house", says Julian, while he pulls up his jacket.
"Good idea, my friend! I need to relax, work today was very heavy, with the tourists who arrived from Canada, a large group, but I think they left satisfied with the service". Miguel is in charge of the bar and wins the sympathy of the people with his jokes.
They are six young people, of different nationalities, and Omaira is the only woman in the group.
"This time I don't go with them", she takes off her high heels and changes them for black sneakers, "I'm tired. I just want to get home and go to sleep".
"But Omaira, since you're going home alone!, let's go and then I'll go with you".
"Don't worry, Alberto, I've done it before and nothing happened, and nothing this time either".
"Omaira, listen to me. All right, I'll go with you, I'll see you guys tomorrow."
But Omaira doesn't let him and Alberto, with anguish and against his need to protect her, leaves with his friends.
"Take care of yourself Omaira, you have to keep an eye out and if you see anything strange, call us on the phone".
"Thanks, my friend, I love you a lot", She puts her hand to his mouth and blows her a kiss.
As he walks, he turns to look at his friends who are already diffusing into the night, he covers his neck with a gray scarf, a gift from his mother and keeps walking, he only hears her footsteps, everything is silent. He hurries, he still has four blocks to go to get home.
"Why don't they light the streets well, gee, don't they think about the people who, out of necessity, work at night", while she talks to herself, she stops to listen to the sound of several footsteps. She stands still for a moment to find out where they come from, she feels them behind her and closer and closer. She turns around, but cannot see anything in the darkness.
She decides to turn into a street and waits on a corner to see if anyone passes by, but she no longer hears the footsteps, they have also stopped, and she has no doubt that she is being followed. With trembling hands, she pulls out her phone and looks for the number.
She takes out her phone with trembling hands, looks for Alberto's number in her frequent contacts and the word "call" appears on the screen, but... Omaira does not dial it. She doesn't want to expose her friends to danger, those men may be armed.
She doesn't know what to do, her hands are sweating despite the cold, and beads of sweat are also running down her forehead. Her mother comes to her mind, who is waiting for her, surely awake, and she decides to continue as fast as possible. She crosses the street running and passes in front of a lighted wall and in addition to her shadow she sees two other shadows just a few centimeters away from her. But she does not hear the footsteps, she already feels their hands on her. But nothing happens, and Omaira turns around when she hears Alberto's voice calling her.
"Omaira, wait"
When he reaches her, he crouches down to rest. "What a run I've had. When we got to Julián's house, I couldn't get in and went back to look for you, I saw two men following you, but you were a little far away, and I started to run. When you crossed the street I didn't see you alone, next to you there were two people following you, who were they? The men who were following you left".
"But Alberto, I was alone. But something very strange happened, I could see their shadows on the wall. What did they look like?
"I can't make them out very well, I only know they were tall and strong... I thought they were accompanying you". Alberto doesn't know what to think, but Omaira has an explanation.
"Come on, Omaira, we have to get to your house soon, lest those men are lurking somewhere".
They arrive at the house at first light, and when they open the door, Omaira's mother comes out to greet her. A smell of hot chocolate and the warmth of the kitchen wafts into the living room.
"Daughter, how are you? Hello Alberto! How nice to see you accompanying my daughter".
"Like this, Mrs. Julia".
"Come sit here in the dining room while I bring you a hot chocolate and tell me what happened. Because something happened... Didn't it?"
"And how do you know, madam?" Sitting at the table with a cup of steaming chocolate in his hands, Alberto is curious to know what happened?
"Because I felt it, you told me with your mind daughter when you were in danger and I asked the souls to protect you. They were the shadows that were with you, they chased those men away, and you could see them too, Alberto. There is no logical explanation for most people, but the women in my family have believed in them for generations".
Thank you very much for reading my story with which I participate in The Ink Well Prompt #104
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)