In the quiet of the
early morning, Ved could hear his name being called with a clarity that was
disturbing. He wasn’t sure what had brushed his consciousness in the first
place, but he felt as aware as if the blood flowing through his veins were a
distinct stream in the quiet of the dawn. Though he tried to go back to sleep,
the restlessness he felt, refused to let him relax. He had been sitting beside
the window of his room till the wee hours of the morning, when unaware, his
eyelids had grown heavy and had fallen asleep. Now that he was wide awake, he
decided to go outside his room and check for himself, if the indistinct humming
he had been hearing was real. His house was deserted. He could not clearly
remember, where everyone was. The silence and eeriness around him was exactly
like the nightmare he had been having since the past few days.
.
It was still dark
outside and he could hear the faint rustle of the leaves on the tendua tree that stood a few feet away from
his house. The wind on his face, relaxed his senses and he started walking, in
no particular direction. He just wanted to walk. After a while though, he
saw something in the distance, white as an apparition. For some reason, unknown,
he felt drawn towards it like a firefly towards a light source. The darkness
made it impossible to see where the path led, especially across the hilly
terrain. It was only when he reached the plain it became clear that he had been
following a small group of people- a young boy in the center, holding a small
wicker basket led by a young woman. The were heading towards the bank of the
small stream that led to the cremation ground.
He looked at
the young boy again. His eyes were sad and empty but not a drop of tear
escaped. Unable to take in the scene , Ved decided to leave. He knew how quiet
his departure was, and how everyone had been unaware, of his presence around
them.
.
A few days
later Ved saw the small boy again, walking past his house. Ved wanted to talk
to him, to offer words of comfort, of encouragement, to make him aware that he
had been there when they were at the Ghat the other day. What difference
would that make?
Saddened by
the thought, he decided to follow the boy. He had been tired and bored of his
loneliness, of hanging around doing absolutely nothing since the past few days.
His mind, perhaps had begun to play tricks on him, how many days had it been,
since he had first seen the boy? He
could no longer keep track of his days and nights- he would find himself doing
something one moment and the next moment he would wake up to something
completely different. He had been thinking to visit a doctor, just to make sure
that he was not actually going crazy. Breaking the chain of his thoughts he
followed the boy.
.
Ved tried to
remember his name; just the other day, he had heard someone call out
to the young boy. He almost remembered, but soon it slipped past his
consciousness,to be replaced by a void. The boy had disappeared already.
It wasn’t dark, yet all he could see were the lush green pasture of bamboo that
sprawled like an unending forest in front of him. He felt himself become one
with the stillness of the air around him. He was about to leave, when he
spotted him sitting at the edge of the field, his
tiny form barely visible against the lush green background when it came back to
him.
Manan.
He had had snatched
the tiny bit of information from the depths of his memories, before it could
escape this time.
.
Manan just
sat there looking up at the sky, till the stars came up. Manan was sad, Ved could
clearly see in in the way he sat, his back bent under some invisible weight,
the shine and spark missing from his eyes. Ved went and sat beside him, and
whispered into Manan’s ears, “Hey!? How are you?”. Manan looked at
him, but did not answer. Ved thought that perhaps he was so shaken up that he
did not want to talk. He decided to give Manan the silence that he longed for,
but never left his side sitting there till it was almost time to go back.
Ved again tried to
start a conversation with Manan, “Won’t your parents be looking for you Manan?”
But it was his
silence that greeted him. Again.
As if realizing
that he should get going, Manan picked up his bag and made his way back into
the city, with Ved by his side. The silence between them stretched like an
eternity with nothing to be shared. Manan’s tiny steps back towards the city
broke his heart, he wanted to ask Manan about the other day, when he had first
spotted him at the Ghat, but all the efforts Ved made towards starting a
conversation went in vain. Manan would just not respond.
The loss had been
more than a mere mortal’s life. The young boy had learnt to remain silent and
calm at an age where he should be running around, demanding to be pampered and
taken care of. It was seven
by the time Manan had reached his house and went inside without a glance at
Ved, leaving him standing outside- thinking for a long time.
.
“Where were you?”
Arunima’s anxious face greeted Manan at the door. Before he could reply
Arunima held him by the elbow and dragged him inside. “Do you realize how
worried I was, to find out that you were not at school today? Do you think you
are old enough to wander about on your own” Arunima went on scolding him. Manan
stood there, his head bowed low, fat tears pouring down his face. Arunima bent
down sitting in front of him, so that they were at the same level and shook
him, “Answer me”. He remained silent and a wave of pity rose inside her
and she pulled Manan into a close hug. “I am sorry baby; Maasi got worried
for you”, wiping his tears she looked into his eyes and said “Promise me, you
won’t ever go anywhere without letting me know”, Manan’s silent nod seemed like
a dead weight to Arunima. She
realized how difficult it was for him, to have lost his dad, his best friend,
who meant everything to him at such a young age. Arunima’s sister had long left
a void in their lives when Manan was born.
Manan was dearer to
her, than any other person in existence. He was the only link to her past, her
own childhood. After losing her sister, she had not thought that Manan would go
through the pain of losing his only parent. But such had been the irony of
life. Manan’s father Tanush, was a lively man, full of life and happiness. The
news had shocked everyone. Arunima knew how badly shaken up Manan had been to
see his dad, lay there all, the accident spot all bloodied. It was a miracle
that Manan and Arunima had escaped unscathed from it.
The damage was
however, deeper; since that day Manan had not uttered a single word. With each
passing day Arunima was getting worried for him and had tried everything she
could to make him talk. Today was the first time that she had the courage to
send him to school and he had run away, without telling her anything.
.
“Do you want to
eat? I made your favorite pasta today….”. Letting out a deep sigh Arunima
took him inside , holding his hand and gently made him eat. Manan ate without a
word; not once he resorted to the pranks he usually played with Arunima. She
was his playmate and partner in crimes, the only person he loved and trusted
other than his father.
It was well past
his bed time when he finally fell asleep. Arunima tucked him into his bed, and sat
beside him, afraid to leave even for a moment. When she had found out that he
had disappeared from school that day, she had gone wild with anxiousness. She
had called all his friends at school, talked to their parents to know if they
had any clue about his whereabouts. She had reached a dead end everywhere and
she was about to go check the police station, when he had turned up. She felt ,
that some invisible angel had brought him back home safely.
.
The last thought
that she had before dozing off was to bring the old mischievous Manan back,
from the land where he had wandered and seemed to be lost .
to be continued....
