Didi

The sounds will just never stop. The sound of the leaves dancing to the wind’s rhythm, the sound of various birds chirping, the sound of the cold wind rushing its way, and the sound of the mighty Alakananda flowing at her own pace. Nature has made a pact with us to always keep the richness of her important presence alive, why would the sounds stop?

I breathe in the fresh, crisp air; with each breath I take I realize the essence of simplicity. I realize the need to connect with nature. I can feel the air go in from my nasal cavity, creating a tingling sensation, into my windpipe and into the lungs. Lungs. My lungs feel like young flowers receiving the sun rays that will help them bloom.

I hear another sound. No, it’s not from nature.

It’s from the engine. I stop my bike on the side to check. It has overheated and isn’t turning on. The nearest village is still forty-three kilometers afar. There is not a soul here.

 Who do I ask for help? Where do I go? It is going to get darker in three hours, within then I need to secure myself. I must find shelter from this harsh weather and escape the mouths of hungry carnivores.

Not seeing any other option I hold the handle of my bike and start pushing it along with me while I walk. The evening birds are singing their final chorus of the day.

Tall green trees, the sound of the now furious river, the birds' diminishing sounds, and my bike are the only companions of mine in this quest of finding shelter.

I walk and I walk, still not a soul in sight.

Something moves in the bushes behind me. It is quick.

I hear a low growl.

Alarmed, I slowly take a few steps back and try to stay as still as possible. I can sense that even the animal is scared. It slows as it nears the ends of the bushes and emerges out of the bushes proudly.

It is a Vulpes. A cub. They are the subspecies of the Himalayan Fox - Vulpes Vulpes griffithi. It was once seen in Bhujani and Khaliya top areas of Munsiyari. They don’t come down near human civilization unless they have a hint of fresh meat.

It looks at me. I try harder to stay still. It isn’t completely a young cub; it’s a little grown and has its set of teeth. It could tear a piece of flesh right out of me. There’s only a gap of around 7 feet between us.

I think it didn’t sense any danger so it sniffs a couple of times before cautiously moving forward to cross the road. Stops and looks around for any other human traces.

There aren’t any vehicles around here. Maybe about six vehicles pass in an hour, if in the evening hardly two.

It happily crosses the street, jumps onto the other side, and runs away into the wild.

I'm thankful for being alive.

 It is getting colder. I pull out a muffler and gloves and put them on. I’m starting to get scared now. I’m in the middle of a road surrounded by extreme wilderness. The owls are hooting in the distance and it is dark enough to need light now. I take out my head torch and go step by step.

I finally see a house. A tiny house on the edge of the tiny hill to my right. I park my bike below the tree at the start of the cliff, wear my backpack and look around to make sure no one is watching. There’s a man-made path that leads me directly to the front door of the house.

It’s a tiny house made of bricks; unpainted and old. Plastic sheets have been put on the roof. The roof spreads over the house to extend its shelter to all four sides. At the entrance, there is a bulb. There is no doorbell so I knock softly three times.

No answer. I knock again. No answer.

How am I going to spend the night all alone in this wild?

I simply sit below the extended roof and decide to rest here because I had no other option. I lay my bag pack on the floor and sit. The dried cement is extremely cold and rough. Now, I’m hungry. I search my bag to find two protein bars. I rip the covers and put it into my mouth. I feel a little better.

I notice the window on the wall beside me on the far left.

I now notice two eyes peeping from them.

I thought no one was home.

Why were they staring at me instead of opening the door? Were they scared of me?

I stare back at them. I get up and awkwardly walk towards the window. They’re startled. I bend down to match their eye level. Their eyes are filled with innocence and terror. She’s a girl, I realize.

I sign with my hand that I’m cold and that she could open the door so we could speak. She doesn’t respond. She was only staring at me in wonder who or what I was doing here at this hour. I go back to my place, fold my knees and arms and rest my head on my knees. After about ten minutes I hear the door open. I lift my head up and see her asking me to come.

What a relief. I happily march to the door with the bag pack and stand outside the door, ready to answer her questions.

Surprisingly, she doesn’t ask me anything. She welcomes me into the house and softly whispers,

“You have to leave at sunrise tomorrow,” she says trying to be authoritative.

I nod gratefully. At least I had a place to stay.

There’s a hall the size of a room, the left corner is divided as the kitchen and on the right corner is a bedspread. I try to search for any extensions or extra rooms or even a bathroom. There are none. I keep my bag pack aside and look at her. Now that there’s light I can see her properly. She’s very young about 13 years old. She has a round face with a long nose and complimenting eyes. Her long thick hair is braided with oil. She’s standing there crossing her arms behind her back and looking down at her feet. I don’t see anyone else in this house. Only her.

“Do you live all by yourself?” I ask.

She nods her head very slowly as if she was forced to answer. How can such a young girl live all by herself in the middle of the woods? There are no other people around and no means of communication or entertainment. I look at her with pity.

“You don’t have to pity me” she raises her voice, “I’m not a scared of you or anyone for that matter, I know how to fight so don’t you dare do anything to me. And if you think about stealing, you don’t have to waste your time because there’s nothing in this house.”

I giggle and say, “You don’t have to worry about all that. I just need shelter for the night. My bike broke down on the way and the village is really far away. I’ll go in search of a mechanic tomorrow morning. Thank you for letting me stay.”

Her eyes were widened. She relaxed and didn’t hide the fact that she was thrilled and surprised.

“Didi (sister), you can ride a bike?!”

“Yes, I can.”

“How? Does everyone approve it?”

“I don’t need anyone’s approval to ride a bike….what’s your name?”

“Bholi”

“We don’t need anyone’s approval to do the things we love Bholi. We’re just not supposed to hurt anyone.”

There’s a friendly smile on her face. She likes bikes I guess. I smile back at her.

“Can I have a glass of water and can I also cook something for myself? I’m starving” I ask

“You don’t have to cook, didi. I had made extra roti and daal today hoping my brothers would come back home. You can have their share. Please go freshen up; I’ll serve the food for you.”

Brothers? But…but she had nodded her head when I had asked her if she lives alone. I assume she was shy and don’t suspect her.

She isn’t shy or scared of me anymore. She goes past me; I follow her to a back door. It opens into a vast garden. In the middle of the garden is a small room, which I presume is the bathroom. She stretches her hand in that direction and I go.

The water is freezing cold. I’d rather skip washing up but my hands were all dirty and I had to clean them. I quickly pour the water onto my hands. I come out into the dark and try to search for a napkin. 

There’s another room at the end of the garden. The lights inside are on. Was it another house? Or perhaps their storeroom? I walk towards it to turn the lights off. As I near it I can smell something rotten. Not the smell of fruits or vegetables rotting but of meat. Maybe it’s a storehouse for meat.

I have ten steps till the door,

“Dinner is ready. Where are you headed?” Bholi screams.

I’m a little embarrassed for trespassing further into her garden. I return to the warmth of her house and dinner which has a delicious aroma. I thank her for the food and sit down.

“So, where are your brothers that you were hoping them to come?” I ask as I take my fourth roti.

Without hesitation, she shares “It’s a long story didi. As you know the nearest village is about forty-three kilometers from here. To even have one day’s food, we need to go to the village to sell our fruits and earn the money to buy groceries. But to buy groceries we have to go to the town that is twenty kilometers from there,” she had a tone of irritation and anger, “it would have been easier if we had some vehicle but we can’t afford it. So we need to walk the forty-three kilometers barefoot with our fruits, sell them, and if we are lucky we find a bus that’s willing to drop us to the town in exchange for half a kilograms of rice because we can’t waste our money by paying him.”

She pauses and asks me if I need anything else. I had had seven Rotis and was full. But I had forgotten about Bholi.

“I’m so sorry Bholi. I finished the Rotis without even considering if you had eaten or not”

“It is okay didi, we will have our share of a complete meal tomorrow” she faintly grinned. I think her brothers were coming back tomorrow. I urge her to continue her story.

“My mother had died after giving birth to me in this very room. My father had lost his job as a driver as tourists now preferred rented cars which they could drive themselves.

We grow fruits like hisalu, timla, kafal, and plum in the garden behind which fetch us a fortune when sold to tourists in the town. Although we produce a large and fresh amount of fruits, half the fruits would have rotten by the time we reach the village on foot, hence we get only half the actual profit. My father was attacked by a wild animal a few months ago and since then my brothers have taken the responsibility of providing food.”

I feel bad for them. Is there any way I can help them? Probably by not wasting our food. We waste food like it’s in great produce when the truth is there are so many people struggling to even have one hour’s food. I pat her head and say,

“That’s sad, Bholi. But don’t lose hope. Hold onto it. There’s always a way out. I wish you three all the luck’

She sadly nods and bends her head. While lifting her head up her focus shifts to the back door which causes her to smile. I turn around to see nothing.

 We stare into the nothingness for a while.

“Tomorrow I have something I want to show you. I think you’ll really like it. Be ready within six. Goodnight,” she says and hands me a bedsheet.

What could she possibly want to show me? I can’t think anymore as my exhaustion was blocking them. I fall asleep instantly.

Is it already six? I’ve been asleep for hardly two hours. Bholi is waiting for me to get ready. She is energetic and I can see a sort of momentary happiness in her eyes. She waits for me until I freshen up. She is standing in the garden looking at the sky like she’d found new hope. She doesn’t talk much and leads the way.

We go past the storehouse. The smell has worsened.

 There’s a path that leads to the top of the hill adjacent to their house.

What is it that she wants to show me?

The hill is tall. It will take maybe an hour to climb up. I can’t hear any early birds chirping even though it’s six.

Is it really six? I had no way to know, my watch was in the house.

We take a right. A small bridge connects this side of the hill to the other mainland over the Alakananda River. I can’t enjoy the view as it is still completely dark. I follow Bholi to the other side and she plainly says,

“Just a little further.”

I sigh and tag along frustrated not knowing where she was taking me.

Two hours of continuous walking in the cold has drained my energy. The sun’s beginning to rise.

Are we there yet?

I see faint rays falling onto the mountains in view.

She stops. I stop. It’s the end of the hill.

She doesn’t utter anything. Simply lets me be.

The view, although not completely visible yet is worth waiting for. I stand on the edge of the hill taking in the fresh air and mental sketches when I feel numerous hands on my back. Before I have any chance to react, I fall off the edge.

              The sun is out.

             I can feel her warmth.

             My body is weak.

I try to open my eyes, I can’t.

I clutch the ground beside me and lie there still.

A voice nears my ear, a voice that I know.

 A voice that now sounds confident and satisfied.

The voice whispers into my ears,

“We will have our share of a complete meal today, didi"