Vijay had planned to finish laundry early so he could walk down the nearby mall. His wife was taking lessons on music so he decided to finish the household chores. It was usually she who would finish these works early to focus on her lessons. Mamta, his wife, was very disciplined and efficient in finishing tasks. She would either finish or make all preparations for days’ remaining work so she could engage in hobbies, she carried over the period. She could not complete her studies as she had to leave it to support her family. Her parents separated when she was quite young. Her mother raised her with difficulties as they were left with little resources after her father left with another lady to a different place. Vijay met her during a casual walk downtown; she was rushing to a grocery store.
Vijay was distracted by a loud sound outside and thought it could be some mischievous work of Jaggu, the next-door guy, energetic but distracted. Jagdish, called ‘Jaggu’ by friends, and Vijay were buddies. Thoughts flashed through his memory about their growing days when he almost slipped while rushing outside. He could somehow manage to balance himself and continue with his work. Vijay had planned to have a good time in a nature park with Mamta that weekend. It was sunny that Sunday, the temperature was not as high as it used to prevail during these months.
Nature Parks had always fascinated Vijay. Sindhrot, a small village on the left bank of the Mahi river was full of such places. A system of gullies flowed parallel, intricately crossing each other at some places. A complex network of small and big gorges overlaid the river bank. During rains, green grass would cover the entire area with intermittent patches of bushes fighting for dominance. Some minor trees stood erect trying to establish themselves. Blue bulls had made these ravines home, a bunch of them usually seen jumping from one parcel of land to another as if playing the game of hide and seek. Herds of these beautiful creatures would be encountered quite often while traversing the course of the ravine from head to tail and families from nearby towns loved the excursions on weekends.
Some strange footsteps of an animal could be observed once in a while, ‘a wild animal might have passed through the path last night’, the local villagers would whisper with a mark of fear and excitement on their face.
‘These could be the sign of cattle foot, returning home after grazing’, another senior person would clarify.
These observations made the visit to Nature Park more exciting and a sense of nervousness at the same time. Vijay loved the exploration in the wilderness, particularly the unknown terrain.
*****
‘A picnic to nearby Nature Park would make the day pleasant, Vijay thought.
‘Would you love to join me for a picnic’, he looked at Mamta, who was preparing morning tea. She didn’t notice and continued with kitchen work. She would usually finish preparations for days’ work early to give her enough time to pursue other unfinished tasks. She was still engrossed in her activities and moved towards the next room.
Vijay tried to re-connect with her, “Don’t you like the proposal?”.
‘Ok, we can stay back in case you don’t feel like’ Vijay reassured her.
Mamta entered into the gallery, “I will prepare you tea in a short while”, She murmured. She had not given attention to his words. Mamta would always respond to any query in her way but it was different this time. Her reaction shocked Vijay. She tried to look composed in an attempt to attend to Vijay and this surprised him, “what is that disturbing her?”
“I need to engage with her to clarify”, Vijay whispered. He wanted to help and get into the cause of her erratic behavior, ‘something is not well with her mood’. Of late, Mamta had a different tone of reactions to the developments around her. She would look embarrassing in her responses more often. Vijay had not noticed such behavior up till now.
*****
A close friend of her school days, Devyani, dropped in last week and Mamta looked so bubbly during their interaction, discussing past and present. They would talk for hours, often bringing Vijay into their conversation, though he couldn’t persist with their chat for long. During such momentum, Vijay decided to slip away leaving them engulfed with old memories.
“I am leaving for golf ground and would be back in the afternoon”, he glanced at Mamta and pushed himself into the car. He was not into his best at the ground, the ankle pain was adversely affecting his efforts to excel in his moves. The game finished early by noon and Vijay had no mood to stay there.
“I would take bath and rest for the day”, he decided and returned home. Mamta and Devyani were not there. Mamta would leave a note without fail, whenever she left for work outside.
‘Where could they go suddenly as they had a full-day plan to gossip and spend time together at home?’ it put him into anxiety.
Vijay looked around for clues. The room was properly decluttered and cleanly managed. He peeked into the bathroom; it was smelling with odor as if it had been sanitized profusely. Vijay wasn’t amazed at the finish given to the linen in the next room. However, he felt some missing things. Devyani’s luggage in the corner was not there. Devyani had just arrived a day before, ‘she could not leave so suddenly’. He keyed in Mamta’s mobile number; she didn’t answer.
He made a couple of attempts unsuccessfully and decided to wait for some response. He wondered if Devyani had decided to stay away at another place, ‘Devyani might have left to attend some emergency back home!’ thoughts flashed through his mind.
Vijay comforted himself into a sofa and switched on the television. He thought to contact some common friend to enquire, ‘who could be in a position to share their whereabouts’. He couldn’t remember any close friend of Mamta, who had only a few acquaintances; she was not good at socializing. The news channel aired recent developments on world sport, Vijay didn’t seem to be interested and switched it off.
*****
Mamta and Devyani flocked together during their High School days. On weekends, they would move into unknown areas to explore the local flora and would prepare a good record of it. In one such excursion, they slipped into a thick forest and had an encounter with a little puppy during a picnic in a nearby forest.
“What a beautiful creature” Devyani exclaimed,
‘She is missing her mother probably’, Mamta seconded as they closed in on her.
Mamta lifted the puppy in her lap and moved her hand on the puppy’s back, ‘My God, how could her mother leave her alone in unknown territory?
“The puppy could have walked away while exploring the territory without her mother’s notice”, Devyani consoled Mamta. Devyani noticed a pale look and anxiety in Mamta’s response.
‘What circumstances her mother might be in?”, Mamta countered, ‘that she ignored her baby and left her to fate in this forest’.
The puppy was crying as if she was in shock. Mamta frantically looked around as if she was searching for the puppy’s mother.
‘Let’s move towards the forest to find puppy’s family, her parents might be anxious’, Mamta rushed towards nearby bushes.
‘We may encounter some wild animal’, Devyani warned and forced Mamta to move away from the forest.
The sun was slowly setting in. Mamta decided to raise her and took the puppy home. Mamta’s nervous look disturbed Devyani.
‘Did her past have some connection with her strange response’, Devyani wondered.
Mamta had disastrous memory of her youth days. Supporting her struggling mother, after her father left them, made her emotionally poor to handle the tough times. She would often personally relate with the developments around her and react strangely bearing full pain herself.
*****
The pain in Vijay’s ankle became severe by evening, he could barely push himself towards the gate. Mamta and Devyani were still not home.
‘There will be dark soon’, Vijay was getting impatient. Bearing severe pain, Vijay called again Mamta on phone. There was a recorded voice on the other side.
‘I am staying back at Devyani’s uncle’s home tonight; would share details on reaching home tomorrow’, Mamta had left a message for Vijay.
He took a deep breath hearing her but this tone of Mamta worried Vijay. He was struggling to piece the days’ developments together. He prepared coffee and a sandwich for dinner; and started browsing the daily newspaper to divert his attention. Taking a pill to get relief from pain, he slipped into bed after dinner. The past events raced through his memory and he quickly got into sleep.
The morning the next day was different. Mamta would usually wake him up with a cup of tea and a bubbly smile; she was still not home.
‘Mamta should have arrived by now’, Vijay wished.
He walked towards the bathroom to get ready; he had to see his family doctor. He drove to Dr. Kalra’s clinic for consultation. The Doctor wasn’t in town for the next couple of days and he was the only doctor nearby.
“I will have to drive to twin-city to see one to get urgent medication”, Vijay decided.
But he was not comfortable traveling that distance as the pain got intense when he tried to move to the car. Vijay somehow managed to get a hired cab to see the doctor who suggested a major surgery after examination of his ankle’s x-rays images. His health parameters wouldn’t approve of the surgery, so the doctor advised medication and complete bed rest for a couple of days and assured medical re-examination thereafter. He returned home emotionally down as he was advised against any physical movement, and stay bedridden.
Mamta was anxiously waiting for him at the door. She looked impatient and nervous.
“Where is Devyani?”, Vijay peeked into her eyes.
“Her uncle had a stroke”, Mamta sobbed and narrated the incident.
They talked for quite some time about the developments of the previous day. Mamta was a strong woman, but emotions flashed across her face while she was sharing Devyani’s story. Vijay heard patiently and felt the nervousness she had passed through the last night. Consoling each other for the unfortunate developments, they vowed to spend the day together at home. Vijay got himself engaged with gardening work backyard. Mamta busied herself with preparations for a sumptuous dinner late in the evening.
*****
The next morning was beautiful. Vijay woke up fresh and looked out of the window; the green grass was turning yellow in patches at some places. Winter was giving space to summer gracefully. Lying on the bed, he tried to straighten his leg; still feeling slight ankle pain, he thought about nature’s changing color with time. The trees, at some distance, had started shedding leaves and soon the green space would look devoid of its beauty. He got lost in memories of how time flew past the youthful days. The city, he grew up in, had turned into a collection of old structures with only old people left behind to guard them. The twin-city, nearly fifty miles away, was bubbling with commerce and peripheral business activities. The youth from places far off would migrate there for earning and leisure time. Vijay always wanted to be close to nature; he returned to his native place after his employers asked him to go on leave and decided to help his distant uncle on his farm. Mamta was his neighbor who supported her mother in a small grocery store beside the domestic chores. The city was away from the rapidity of life at twin-city but the time spent together with family gave a sense of togetherness. Vijay thanked the destiny for unfolding the moments in his life and looked at Mamta, who was humming some song while cleaning the kitchen platform.
*****