Her name was Karen , She was from a small town called Newbury , lying in the western part of the British County of Berkshire . Newbury was known for two things , one was its massive racecourse which hosted one of Britain's popular flat horse races called Lockinge Stakes , the other was its beautiful countryside. Karen , however , did not have a very keen interest in horse racing . In her free time , she would usually take a stroll along the canal , that runs through the town , and day dream . She loved to immerse herself in thoughts , be it recalling the hurtful memories from the past on some days and fantasizing a pleasant future on the others . Living in the small town had its pros and cons . Karen loved growing up in the countryside in this peaceful lush green town away from the hustle bustle of a big city . However , Even after spending 20 years in the neighbourhood among a few but friendly people , she often felt lonely and felt the lack of loving people in her life . Karen's parents got separated when she was 12 years of age . She was told that the reason of separation was that they had fallen out of love and wanted different things in life , but Karen knew the reason of separation was something else . She never dared to ask her stern father but she always suspected that it was her mother who was unhappy of the marriage and wanted to leave .
One sunny April afternoon , Karen went out for her usual stroll along the canal . But today was different , she could feel it in the air . It was the onset of much awaited Summer after a longer than usual Winter . She strolled along the canal in her white dress with a colorful floral print. She enjoyed the bright sun and the warm breeze for a while before slipping into one of her dark reveries . She started to think how this day would be perfect only if she had someone to share it with . She compared herself to the other girls in the neighbourhood and how they had love in their lives either in the form of a loving family or through a lover . Karen had neither . She always was attracted to some of the boys in her town while growing up but she was too timid to approach any one and when someone approached her , she would become nervous and feel shy to respond positively . She did however had a brief relationship with a boy named Robb when she was 17 , but it only lasted a month . Robb had left her for another girl of the same town . Maybe this along with her mother leaving her at an early age gave her a sense of abandonment and was perhaps one of the reasons for feeling unloved .
Karen had walked a couple of miles without realizing . Along the canal , she wandered into the neighbour town called Kintbury . Kintbury was smaller than Newbury with respect to number of people living and even the overall span . As she walked by the canal furthering into the town , a tap on her left shoulder broke her reverie . She looked back instantly and her heart skipped a beat . A young man dressed in faded blue jeans and a white t shirt with arresting looks seemed to have lost his way around town . She guessed this by the look on his face and his vintage looking black car parked behind him . " Can i help you ? " she asked politely . "well yes indeed , i am really lost at the moment . I am trying to get to Newbury " said the man in the white t shirt . " You are actually in Kintbury and Newbury is the town next to this one . " , " I live there " she added in the end , although she wasnt sure why she mentioned that . " Argh ! Bugger ! I should have asked for directions before " , " Anyways , thank you so much .. " He stopped for her to fill in a name . " Karen " , she replied with a sparkling smile on her face . " I was about to walk back to my Town , but i can come with you and show you the way as well " said Karen . She was surprised at herself as she usually would not offer to do the same with a stranger but she felt something within her that made her say yes , maybe it was just sheer attraction . Either Ways she was now in the car with this man she knows nothing about . Karen gave him the initial directions to drive out of kintbury . The drive was not more than 10 minutes . Once they set off on route , they started talking again . " Whats your Name ? " Asked Karen softly . " Dan Nelson " he replied . " So , What brings you to Here ? " She asked again , hoping to know more about his reason of visit . " Its my Brother , I'm paying him a surprise visit , its his birthday tomorrow " He replied . " Alan , Alan Nelson , if you have heard of him " . " Umm , I Cant recall the Name . Where exactly does he live ? " asked Karen . " He lives on Walton Way . I don't visit him often due to my job in London . It keeps me really busy . But this weekend i thought i would visit him and surprise him on his birthday and maybe stay the weekend with him and see this countryside he talks about so much " Said Dan . Karen laughs and adds " Oh , I live on the same street but I havent heard of an Alan , and yes Newbury sure is the place if you are looking to wind down this weekend " . Karen gives him further directions and assures him that they are almost there and they talk some more . She can tell by the conversation that he too is keen on knowing her which makes her happy but at the same time she tells herself not to get ahead of herself to avoid disappointment .
As they reached their destination , Karen said " Thats the street on your right " . Dan was relieved to have finally reached . He thanked Karen enough and said " It was nice getting to know you , i would love to see you again if that's fine with you " . Karen was obviously going bonkers about this but she hid her apparent excitement with a tepid " Sure " . They exchanged numbers , Karen got out of the car and walked back home feeling ecstatic . She reflected back on how she accidentally walked into Kintbury and happened to meet Dan who happened to be lost at that same place at that same time . It felt surreal to Karen. Something really was different about today .
Karen reached home , prepared dinner and waited for her father to come home from work . Karen's father owned a Bakery in the town center . They did well for themselves . Just as she finished laying the dinner on the dining table , the door bell rang . It was her Father . Karen's father was particular about house rules and was big on discipline . Be it Dinner , going to bed or Waking up in the morning , everything needed to be on a specific time . Karen didn't mind that , she grew up in this atmosphere . Karen's father loved her and did everything in his capacity to keep her happy . He realized she got lonely and tried being there for her whenever he could , but the Bakery kept him busy .
After dinner , Karen kissed her father goodnight and went to her room . She changed into shorts and a loose t shirt and jumped into bed and again started reflecting on her day . She smiled incessantly . She thought of texting Dan , but dropped the idea thinking it would seem desperate . Just when she kept the phone down on the bedside , it rang . It was a text from Dan . It said " Hi Karen , Thanks again for helping me reach Alan . He was really surprised to see me . " . Karen jumped out and sat on the bed and started to draft her reply . She texted " Absolutely not a problem , happy to help . It was good talking to you . Would love to catch up again " . She kept the phone down and stared at it waiting for it to ring again desperately . And it did . Dan Replied " How about now ? The party is over . I'd love to meet now " . Karen's heart started beating out of her chest . She made up her mind to go and meet him but then thought she would be in trouble if her father finds out . However , after much contemplation , she decided to go forth . She put on a sleeveless amber top on top of her black shorts and managed to sneak out of the house through the front door and closed the door behind her as softly as she could .
Once out , she called Dan and asked him to meet her in front of Alans house but Dan insisted she came home first . Karen obeyed and reached Alans house . She opened the front door and made her way in to find out that the lights were out . She whispered 'Dan' softly . Dan was sitting on the couch in the living room watching Television . She could barely see him . Dan called her in . Karen steadily walked into the living room and sat on the couch next to him . She asked " Why are the lights out ? and Where is Alan ? ". Dan explained that Alan went to bed as he had had quite a lot to drink . He turned on a lamp kept besides him on the coffee table. She finally got a good look at him . She again felt weak on her knees . There was no doubt that she was attracted to him beyond hope . Dan put his hands around her as they sat on the couch and watched the television . Karen's heartbeat raised . She could sense the palpitations grow stronger . Dan could sense that . He slid his hands down from her shoulders to her waist and pulled her closer . For a moment , Karen thought of what she was doing and felt completely insane . She barely knew Dan . But she knew she couldn't resist even if she wanted to . She felt helpless . As he pulled her closer , she could smell the strong cologne he had on . This made her loose all her inhibitions . She turned her face towards him and kissed him on his lips , just a peck on his lips . He responded with another kiss . Soon they were kissing each other madly . Dan pushed Karen softly back on the couch as he got on top of her . Karen had'nt done this in a while and was extremely nervous , but the idea of doing it with a guy she barely knew made her even more aroused . She let go and let Dan kiss her all over . She removed her top and undid her bra . Dan instantly started kissing her breasts and fondling them . Karen layed back and watched Dan ravish her .Then She pushed him back as he sat back up on the couch and then she straddled him with both her legs around him . Karen's breasts were now in Dan's Face . He contintued to fondle them . Although Dan was taking his time , Karen couldnt hold anymore . She got off Dan , took her shorts off and asked Dan to fuck him . Seeing Karen in all her glory makes Dan go bonkers .Karen was an attractive girl . She was fairly tall , had a thin body frame but was well endowed . Dan undressed as fast as he could . He pushed Karen back on the couch . She fell on her back . He took off her purple cotton thong nearly ripping it apart . He then spread her legs , pulled her closer from her thighs and entered her . She moaned loudly but then muffled it with her hand realizing it would wake Alan up . That would have been the last thing she wanted at that moment . Karen was almost lost in a trance . So was Dan . Soon after they finished off , they layed on top of each other mesmerized .
After regaining some energy and coming back to their senses, they got up and got dressed . Karen kissed him goodbye and said " I should rush home before my father finds out " . Dan pulled her closer and said " Dont Go , Stay the night ! " . Karen smiled and whispered in his ears " Tomorrow , my love ! " . Dan let her go . Karen rushed home , sneaked back in the house and went straight to bed . She slept that night contented , pleased and satisfied thinking about Dan and how she finally found someone for her .
Next Morning , She woke up to a loud chatter coming from the living room . She got out of the bed feeling a bit muddled and walked towards the door to see who it was . She opened the door and was startled to find cops standing in the living room questioning her father . She went back in the room , tidied herself and went out to see what was going on . She walked into the living room as her father explained " One of the neighbours was brutally murdered last night .". Karen immediately asked " Who ? " The cops answered " Alan Nelson " , Karen was dumbfounded on hearing this . The cops told Karen that his body was found naked in the living room and said " He is likely to have died of excessive bleeding from the blow on his head . The evidence scene suggests that the victim was having sex before this happened . The forensics team is working on the scene and we will know for sure soon . "
The Cops further said " The neighbours say they saw a girl in a orange top and black shorts enter his house late in the night " .
Karen was still in shock trying to piece this together when the cops took a good look at her ,then held infront of her the picture of the man who was murdered and asked sternly " Maam ! Do you recognize this man ? " .
Karen Froze .
It was a photo of Dan .
