Six Months Episode 3

                                                            FIVE

-“I think my brother has started doubting about our friendship”, said Suniti.

-“What?  Your brother? He hardly knows me! How could he come about us?”, said Ravi.

-“I don’t know, but last night he gave me a huge speech like a philosopher.”

-“What sort of speech?”

-“About growing up, life, struggling,  not trusting strangers and so on.”

-“Yeah I understand. Don’t worry, guardians give such lectures and ‘bla bla bla’s at this age, don’t take it so much seriously. Just relax.” He planted his hand on hers.

She smiled, “Yeah, probably you’re right, I must not get tense. Thanks! You’re my best friend.” She held his wrist tightly, shook it and giggled. Ravi smiled, “you are so simple and child-like, you deserve a best friend in your life. Why are you so introverted?”

-“You forget, I do have a friend”, she kept her hand on his shoulder, “my best friend indeed.”

Ravi put down her hand from his shoulder and held it softly, “I know dear, I am not talking about myself, other than me you’ve no friends, you are so shy.”

-“Why should I need other friends when I have you?”

-“Yeah, we wouldn’t have been friends if I did not interact with you.”

Her eyes became bigger as she said “I paid attention to you, that’s why you approached me!”

-“Well yes, but I played the main role.”

-“You!” ,she planted a light punch on his hand. Ravi laughed and returned the punch back to her.

-“You hit me!”,she said dramatically and returned it too.

-“Ok my friend you win. It’s because of you we’re friends, you are so smart, so, so smart”

Suniti laughed.

MONTH-3

“ I never asked her about the boy. I always wanted to, but I could not, because I did not want her to feel that I doubted her. I chose to keep silent.

       After two months, I had six truckloads of packages in my store. Gradually I grew eager to know what was there. I knew that it was forbidden and I also knew that there were electronic goods in there, still, I had a strong intention open up and see the products. Besides, Suniti and my mother always wanted to know about what kind of business I was doing. I did not want to disobey that man who had given me such an opportunity.

     There was also a telephone in the bungalow. That was always for business purposes. I was not allowed to use that phone except for contacting Mr. Sam. He used to call me sometimes and collected the necessary information for his business from me. That day he called me again,

-“Hello. Sunil speaking.”

-“Hello my boy.”

-“Yes Mr. Sam , what can I do for you?”

-“How’s the business going Sunil?”

-“It’s wonderful, as usual. There are eight trucks full of goods in the store.”

-“Right. Two weeks left for the returning truck to arrive.”

-“Yes sir, that’s right.”

-“Okay. Keep calculating, After this month, I want to talk to you.”

-“About what sir?”

-“About the job, my boy.”

-“Why Sir? Is there anything wrong?”

-“Oh no no no no, Sunil, you are very simple, no there is nothing wrong with your duties, It’s about something else, relax, okay?”

-“Okay sir, thank you sir.”

             He hung up the phone. I started to think what he was talking about? Would there be any change in my duty? Or, would there be any promotion in my post? Well, whatever, all I knew was not to worry, as he had asked me to relax.

             It was afternoon then, after completing my lunch and siesta I dressed up and went out for my evening walk. I changed my evening walk path from the one Suniti used to return, to a road through woods. It was a beautiful path and a very ideal for an evening stroll. I didn’t want to be a cause of such an awkwardness to them. I thought it was enough to understand for her from that speech that I told her that night. It was a narrow path covered with dry leaves falling from the trees on the both sides of the road. So, there was only sound of my feet crushing those dry leaves on the path. The silence was beautiful, periodically broken by the sound of my feet on the dry leaves. After a walk of twenty or thirty minutes I stopped to take some rest and breathe.

But, there was something wrong happening behind me, yes, something that was invisible, something that was following me all through the road, because as soon as I stopped, there was sound of feet and leaves lasting for just a moment later, and I was damn sure that I had not missed that moment.  It was not a fancy, I was sure. I turned back and looked around for a long time, but I could not see anyone or anything. I was afraid thinking that it was some kind of wild animal, because I was inside woods and I had walked a long path and the woods had become deeper. But this narrow path was created by daily walking of human beings and I never heard about any animal in these woods, the woods weren’t dense enough. May be it was a snake! I assumed that and kept on going further. That sound did not come chasing after me anymore. It  was definitely a snake.

                       Suniti returned home a little bit late, no, she did never returned so late after the previous night, but she never returned at regular times too, it was not tough for me to understand what is going on between them.

-“Suniti, I want to talk with you about something”, I could not hold my anger and my will to warn her again to be with a stranger, because I knew she was a very simple girl and she could never make out what a stranger had in mind, anyone could fool her. May be that boy was a really nice guy, may be not. But I had to talk about it.

-“Wh-what vaiya?”

-“Come here.”

                   I pulled her to her room. I did not want my mother to hear all the things that could worry her sick at this age.

-“ Who’s that boy?”

-“What vaiya?”

-“Don’t behave like you don’t know anything. Tell me!”

-“What are you talking about vaiya?”

-“Don’t lie to your own brother. Stupid!”

-“You followed me na?”

-“No dear I didn’t follow you, I saw you with him.”

-“How would you see him if you weren’t following me?”

-“I was on my evening walk. Now don’t question me, answer me!”

-“ He’s my only friend vaiya.”

-“Suniti, couldn’t you find a friend from your own school?”

-“ I don’t have any friend in school. I hardly speak to anyone.”

-“Then how did you get acquainted with him?”

-“ He spoke to me first, and now we are such good friends. Don’t scold me for this, please.”

-“Look Suniti, please try to understand, it is not safe for you-“

-“Please vaiya, my life is boring without that friend. I can’t only study all the time! I need a friend to talk to! Please try to understand vaiya!”

-“Okay, as you wish, I can’t make you realize what I am talking about, may be one day you will know.”

              I came out from her room. I did not want to argue with her any further.

The next day, I took the same path for walking. And this time I took a small bag on my back and kept a bottle of carbolic acid in it, to spare myself from snakebites.

This time I walked for just five minutes, I heard the noise again. I stopped, then it stopped also. But I didn’t turn around, again I started to walk, it started again. Well, now my patience had crossed the last mark of my patience-meter and I turned around quickly without stopping and waiting and quickly brought out the bottle. But something moved away behind the trees. No, it was not an animal and obviously not a snake. It was a human being, he began to run away, I chased him, I didn’t want to lose him because he was following me from the previous day, I wanted to know the cause. He was too slow and it took me a little seconds to catch him. He looked like a mad, he was wearing dirty clothes, clothes were torn at different spots, his hair was grey and rough and tall enough, he was very weak. He looked at me making his eyes bigger and he had a clear fear in his eyes for getting caught by me.

-“Who are you?”

      He didn’t reply. I repeated the question sternly. He remained silent for some time, and then, laughed out loudly. It irritated me to handle such a mad guy, but I had to know why he was following me?

-“Tell me, who are you and why are you following me?”

    He kept his smiling for a while. Then he said just three words,

-“Don’t do this.”

    Then suddenly he gave a jerk and released himself somehow from my grasp and ran away. I had no energy and intention to chase such a mad guy down again. But his words left me astonished. I stood there for a while thinking about what he had said to me.”