The Dream or The Reality?

She was alone.
Standing on the crossroads, and rain poured all around her.
There was no light, not a soul in sight.
It rained so hard till the road became a shallow river.
And in the middle of it, she was alone.
A light shines from somewhere. Perhaps a car. A speck in the distance. It grows closer.
The girl seems vulnerable. Scared. And soaked to death.
Matted hair clung to her face. The excess water made her skin pallid and old rubber skin like.
She was thin. And shivering.
He felt confused. What is she doing here in the middle of the night.
Worried. He was a doctor after all.
Compassionate. Human emotions take precedence.
He slows down. Honks.
She does not budge. Looks at him, scared still.
Her dress is black. She's tall. Thin. A little self assurance creeps through, despite the state of affairs.
He stops the car next to her. Rolls down the passenger window.
Calls out  "Hey!
Need to go somewhere?"
She looks at him, blank.
It's raining hard. It's getting dark. He needs to reach home fast before this becomes a storm.
He calls out again. She's now looking ahead at the road.
Both sides are fields. There's no hut, or soul in sight.
He sighs, caught between the desire to rush, and the guilt of leaving this (probably) retarded girl here.
He gets out. Goes up to her.
My! She's nearly as tall as I am, he thinks. The chivalry shrinks a little.
It's impossible to talk in this rain. He gestures towards the car. And then waves towards the road ahead.
She turns her head slowly. Looks at the road. then the car. then the man.
She nods.
He feels relieved. Hop in, he says
She glides slowly towards the door. He rushes towards the wheel.
He sits. locks. Starts the car. Changes the gear. Accidentally (?) brushes the girl's hand.
Feels a shock. They are too cold. and hard. Almost like...
He looks at her. The eyes are boring back into his. They are black, with a strange emptiness.
Then he notices the dagger. The cold, wet, sharp dagger. He remembers the hitchhike stories.
A raise, a swipe.
Blood splashes on the car windows....


He wakes up in a fright. Cold sweat breaks out on his forehead.. But he's alive.
Next to his bed is a jugful of water and a glass. He pours himself a glass.
As he raises the glass, the girl is reflected in the steel exterior of the glass.
A raise, and a swipe..
In his last moments, he remembers the hitchhike dream...