BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 32

Early next morning, the three of them are ready to leave for Bali. They hitched a ride on Raman's three-wheeler tempo up to the main road, and from there, they were to board a bus to Bali. They had to wait for about half an hour before the crowded bus arrived.

Half an hour into the journey, Samar got a place to sit. He accommodated Nand on his lap. Bandu, who was carrying the framed photo, asked Samar to hold it for him to stand comfortably.

"You should have removed the frame and rolled up the picture. You need not have brought the whole frame," Samar opined.

"No, Samar, I wanted to use the same frame. You see, it would bring down the cost," explained Bandu.

Finally, after some time, Bandu bagged a seat for himself. Traveling to Bali was not a regular affair for Bandu. The last time he traveled this far was for a wedding, and that was seven months ago. As he glimpsed the view outside, he realized how fast the world had changed in that seven months. The roads were concerted and widened. Many tea stalls and eateries had cropped up on the way, but rather than feeling disgruntled at them appearing more attractive than his tiny shop, he got some ideas to improve his shops' overall look.

He was distracted when Nand came and made himself comfortable on his lap and was soon dozing. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed Samar on the other side sitting with his head hung down. It did seem strange, but he felt good cradling Nand on his lap.

Miss Sakhi suddenly entered his thoughts from nowhere. He tried to shake it off, but her beautiful face lingered in front of him.

(What will I talk to her about? Maybe about the weather, but I don't know anything about the weather. Why does she want to meet me?). Bandu just huffed and puffed, trying to get the nervousness inside him to disappear. But for some unknown reason, his defense mechanism was not working that well against her.

He sincerely wished inspector Sarathi was present during this meeting to take care of all the talking because he was way too uncomfortable conversing with women species, whom he rarely interacted with.

Soon the scenery outside started to change, as trees began to diminish and concrete houses and tall buildings appeared on both sides, an indication of the outer limits of the city. After few meters, Bandu set his eyes on a display board welcoming visitors to Bali.

From there, it took another half an hour for the bus to reach its final destination. All passengers alighted at the bus depot. Bandu gently woke up Nand. He looked around with his droopy eyes and noticed people getting down and asked Bandu why they were doing so.

"We have reached Bali," Bandu answered him.

The three of them were the last to disembark. Suddenly Bandu looked at Samar stretching himself.

"Samar, where is the frame?" Bandu asked anxiously.

"Oh...I have forgotten it inside. I will get it now." Samar said and quickly boarded the bus again and returned with the frame.

"Sorry, Bandu, for my carelessness," Samar said apologetically and handed it to Bandu.

"It's ok, Samar, no harm done. Come, let's move away from this place and get something to drink."

Just outside the depot were the eatery stalls and all varieties of delicacies were available. The air around the eateries was filled with the aroma, teasing and tempting them towards the stalls. But Bandu decided to quench their thirst first and move towards the juice vendor and order three glasses of sweet lime juice.

"Since you reside here, can you give me some directions to the hospital," Bandu suggested to Samar.

"It is called the MMR hospital and the only multispecialty hospital in Bali. Just walk along the road to your right for about 7 to 10 minutes, and you will see a three-story glass building. That is the hospital for you. What time will you be returning home?"

"I think I will board the evening bus from here. I want to visit the market to inquire about the prices of some utensils. Also, have to repair the frame. What about you? When will you be returning?"

"I will meet you at the shop tomorrow morning. You better inquire about the last bus to Goriyon,"

Samar finished his juice at one go and paid the money, to which Bandu objected but finally ceded. He bid them goodbye and hailed an auto to his destination, with both Nand and Bandu watching him. With Samar's autorickshaw out of sight, both of them finished their juice. Bandu walked back to the depot to inquire about the last bus at the ticket counter.

"When is the last bus to Goriyon?" Bandu asked the clerk at the ticket counter.

"It's 8.30 pm." the clerk replied.

"Will I get a bus to Guntak from here?"

"Yes, you will."

"How far is it from here?"

"About half an hour to 45 minutes...,"

"Which bus goes to Guntak?"

"Bus no. 75, and it will leave in 45 minutes"

"Thank you very much,"

Bandu left the depot and followed the road to the hospital. He wanted to get the meeting done with Miss Sakhi before his travel to Guntak. He would just say hi and hello, describe the weather, wish her a speedy recovery, and leave. With that agenda settled he felt happy. But looking over at Nand, he observed that the boy was unusually quite. He decided to ask him about it later, as he saw a glass building looming ahead of him.