A huge house with tallest of the compounds that looked like a bungalow or a modern day mini palace was almost always lit up even if it meant a power cut in the town. It housed the town’s most powerful people who ran all the important businesses and were the richest people only next to the ministers’ family whose house didn’t look half elegant as this one! It was almost midnight when he walked back from the lake still contemplating whether to go back to the cave-house or find shelter elsewhere after what had transpired with him during the day that annoyed him about the sanyasin and also her habitat.
He couldn’t stop himself from noticing this bungalow, coming close by as he heard several voices that seemed to be shouting at someone and made him sense that something was really wrong in there! As he went further close to the compound walls, he almost heard what they conversed.
‘Throw her out and don’t let her in’ some voice screamed. To his surprise, no one from the neighboring houses had come out to watch this rather disturbing fight in the middle of a silent night. That also spoke how strong these people were and none dared to interfere.
‘Go away… don’t forget you are only a slave here, you’re only a woman’ were the last of the words he heard before which a huge gate broke open and a woman was flushed out of it like a bucket full of water! He noticed her bending from behind and felt she was the same woman he had seen in the morning who had walked out of the cave-house in tears.
He realized her people had gone in and probably shut the doors. He approached her slowly and saw that there were no traces of tears in her eyes.
‘What happened? Are you alright?’ he asked.
She just nodded and signaled him to leave.
‘Do you need help? Where will you spend the night?’ he asked to help her.
‘I’m fine. Please leave’ she ordered to which he didn’t argue and left worried.
His mind was occupied with her story that replaced his own set of worries. ‘Why did she walk out the cave-house in tears! Why is she not crying after being abandoned from her people!’ he questioned.
In no time, he reached the cave-house and saw that everyone was still awake and looked tired and dizzy. As he entered, the lady woke her son and got involved in setting up the dinner. The sanyasin smiled gently and posed a regretful face. He himself felt strange and guilty for unintentionally making them starve so long. He walked up to the boy and said,
‘I’m sorry, but I brought you something special.’ The boy forgot his sleep and smiled with twinkling eyes.
He opened his bag and gave the boy some chocolates and the boy was happy.
‘Won’t you thank me for this?’ he asked.
‘Why should I thank my bhayya? You came late and this is your punishment’ the boy replied leaving him pleasantly surprised.
He looked at the young sanyasin and something told him that she was not bad but had committed the blunder of hypnotism leaving him puzzled. ‘May be she had a reason. I should know’ he thought and smiled at her.
‘You’ve come with questions that need to be answered before you leave…’
‘How do you know about me? I’ve not said anything to you’
‘But your face has.’ She said composing herself, ‘I have the answers you need. Do you have enough time?’
‘Yes, I do’ he asserted.
‘I don’t want to see the doubt in your eyes. Only when you believe, you’ll find it and you’ll understand it’ she said and they headed for the dinner.
He looked at her again and got connected back to her. As they ate, he knew for sure there was a lot to be revealed than he could think of. He had to just wait with patience and all this was part of that big game. He nodded in acceptance as he sipped a glass full of butter-milk and she acknowledged. At the end of the night, two things swirled in his mind…
‘You’ve come to give’
‘Do you have enough time?’
‘Do I have so much in me that needs enough time to be given away!’ he questioned as his eyes closed under the dark sky!
Continues…
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