A SLICE OF LIFE AND TIME(PART-2)

She was getting panicky and tried to calm down. She again turned on the television. The same broadcast disturbed her. Suddenly, she ran and closed all the doors and windows. The large house seemed to be a fort without a moat. She was tensed about herself. But she decided to, at least pretend to be brave in front of her parents. Who knew if Mom’s blood pressure shot up again? No, she had to be brave. She gave her parents a call and tried to reassure them. She wondered if they were pacified by her conduct. Her dad informed her that most probably a curfew would be imposed in the town. He had a few contacts but they weren’t too reliable. After all, who could ensure his daughter’s safety, even within the four walls of her home at such a time . He was almost dead with fear.
It was two in the afternoon. She was in a pair of trousers and a shirt now, her short hair camouflaging her as a smart gentleman. All her fear, apprehension had begun to reduce a bit. Then came hunger. She searched the kitchen without making much noise. There was an instant noodles pack and some fruits. She boiled the noodles after reading the instructions carefully. She ate very little. She put the leftover in the freezer and tried to call her parents again. Gosh ! The network was jammed. She thought all this to be a weird dream. Then,she heard a loud explosion. Before she could guess ,it was followed by loud wails and clamour. Her throat ran dry. She was half-crying,half-blabbering.She couldn’t believe that this “little piece of paradise” had such a hell hidden in its cloak. She wished to rush into the safety of her mother’s arms. The clock was ticking away. The sun set. An errie silence prevailed.She sat still on her bed,motionless.If everything were normal, she would have boarded the train by now. Her eyes shone at the idea. Before she could think of anything else, a loud thud was heard.Somebody had scaled the high walls of her house and …
Terror gripped her heart. Someone who could scale walls embedded with sharp pieces of glass could do anything. Clasping a kitchen knife in her palpitating hands,she rushed into her parents’ bedroom.She had a brainwave. Her childish instincts came to aid; she hid herself in her mom’s wardrobe. Just as she entered there,the lights went out. She clutched her cellphone tightly. Closing the wardrobe gently,she sent a message to her mom-Mom,I’m fine.Don’t worry.A reply came-‘We have started for Jeypore.Will b reaching there at 4 am.’ She again typed-‘but..der is a curfew,u’ll hav 2 walk at least 20 kms to home in darkness. Don’t come,who knos if Maoists r on d prowl. Mom, don’t worry,I’m alrite.Plz 4 God’s sake,don’t risk ur life.’ She called this time.The phone was in zero brightness and light only mode (so that no one could suspect her being there). In a hushed voice,she repeated her words.Her parents said they wouldn’t walk home,but they’ll be in the nearest town.She agreed to it.The silence was broken by faint sounds of someone crying and mumbling to oneself. A man was crying with incoherent words.It pierced the innermost cords of her heart.He bluttered out,”The cowards!Rosa!!they..they..burnt you..” and broke into a sob.She dared not move.Again,he broke down,“Rosa…..you left your Shiva all alone.”
She heard the name Shiva. Shiva-her playmate.Was it he?Was it Happy crying? Happy- Shiva's petname.Instinctively,she smiled a bit but again,did not budge.Suspicion had overruled the chords of friendship and innocence.Still, deep somewhere within, she felt a bit secure.God knows, if she fell into a swoon or was lulled into slumber soon after. A womans’ body,a man’s clothes and the pallid child-like face- she resembled the insecure face of dying humanity.
But her intuition was not wrong. It was Shiva, indeed, her playmate. He lay in the courtyard, with his back resting on a wall. He cried, talked, gesticulated all rolled into one- just like a mad man. He was broken, sad, furious and petrified. Afraid. All he could think of was one name-Rosa.