BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 34

Who was he? Why did Sakhi ask such a question? Bandu had no time to think, and reacted as he would naturally.

"There...is nothing to tell...my name is Bandu... really. Why do you think that I am someone else?" Bandu stammered in his confidence, trying to convince her and at the same time trying to tug free his wrist from her grasp, but it tightened even more. He could hear his heart's thudding in his ears but kept a composed facade.

"Then tell me...truthfully...the stud earrings that you wear on your ears...do they belong to you?" the convection with which she questioned him felt like a tight punch to his gut, making him want to run away, but he couldn't because her passionate eyes held him captive in a trance.

"Bandu! Tell me! Are they yours?!" her booming voice broke through his trance.

Bandu, this time around, lost his bearing and effortlessly snapped his wrists free from her grasp and turned to Nand, who was looking at Miss Sakhi in bewilderment. Bandu's only thought was to get away as quickly as possible. He did not want to continue with the conversation. He pulled Nand to his feet and marched purposefully towards the door, but Miss Sakhi's hard labored voice stopped him in his track.

"Bandu! You have not answered my question," she bellowed, "Please Bandu, it is important..." those last words came in as a plea in a hoarse breathless tone.

"Yes, it is mine" with that reply, he opened the door and rushed out with Nand, closing the door behind him. Without breaking his stride, he walked out of the hospital until he was standing on the pavement. He paused as the warmth of the sun engulfed him. He glanced at Nand and met two troubled eyes looking back at him. Bandu had no answers for his confused thoughts-what could he say to the kid. He did not understand what happened back there.

He was trapped in sheer sand of turmoil inside and was slowly sinking in trepidation. A whirlwind of unanswered questions blogged his mind, steadily bringing on a throbbing headache. To think he needed to silence these thoughts temporarily. They headed back to the depot, keeping a steady pace. But an eerie feeling at the back of his neck troubled him. A feeling that someone followed him began to linger- he knew that ghost was his past. It had caught him unawares like Miss Sakhi's questions. Back then, he wanted to be in control but had failed and had run away like a coward. But he wasn't a coward, and he wanted to prove it to himself, but it wasn't happening. The whole incident had left his throat dry.

Nand had tugged at his hands to say that he was hungry. He slowed his pace for Nand's sake. He looked around him. Yes, it was indeed time for lunch, but he had no appetite. As they walked, he scanned the street for a place to eat. They were all fine and looked expensive. He remembered the stalls outside the bus depot and headed in that direction. Nand too agreed, and both walked ahead at a faster pace ignoring every other food stall.

Since it was lunchtime, the eateries around the depot welled with people. The food stall they had earlier marked was also busy, but Bandu anyway placed the order. They did not have to wait much, and when their plates arrived, they had to stand and eat. But they both did not mind. As for Nand, he was gobbling the food, but for Bandu, it was sheer hard work to even chew the food and gulp it down. His hands were not steady, and his head throbbed.

After eating, Bandu went to the depot to locate the bus for Guntak. For a moment, he contemplated whether he should take this trip. He had no idea what awaited him at Guntak. Sure enough, it would solve the mystery of the birthmark on Nand's feet was making him think twice. Miss Sakhi and her questions had already unnerved him. But there was no guarantee that he would get such an opportunity hereafter and the most important of all was that Nand would be back with his family. That decided his course of action, and no sooner had he located the bus than he boarded the empty bus and waited for it to leave for the destination. There was some time for the bus to move out, as the conductor nor driver were in their seats.

He had forgotten how important it was for Nand and his family, who must be in grief at not having any news about their missing child. Finding Nand's family meant loneliness-his heart would be left vacant again, but he would be happy for Nand.

Again, thoughts about Miss Sakhi barreled into his brain. Why was she so shocked at seeing his studs, and why did she want to know if it belonged to him. He was afraid of the answers and so did not wait to ask any questions. But she knew something for sure. The studs were his only living memory, and those who knew about it were long gone away from this world. He knew his days at Goriyon are numbered, and soon he would have to leave the place, but it was not that easy to leave everything behind this time around.

He loved Goriyon and the people there. The main hindrance being the case he was involved in as a witness. He was but getting more and more entwined in it. Police would smell something fishy if he disappeared without informing them and then dig deep to find him.

The bus jolted to a start. Distracted, Bandu looked around the half-occupied interior.

The bus moved out of the depot and began winding its way through the busy streets of Bali. The conductor, in the meantime, approached him to deliver the ticket after inquiring about the destination. Outside, the green fields appeared as they reached the outskirts of Bali. The coconut and palm trees spread along both sides of the road. Bandu took a glance at Nand and noticed his worried expression.

"What's worrying you, boy?" Bandu asked.

Again there were a lot of gestures indicating anger and beatings.

"Don't worry, no one will be angry with you. I will explain everything to your family. Ok. But promise me that you will not run away again," Bandu assured him.

That brought on a smile on the kid's face, and he hugged Bandu with a promise not to run away. They travel through the green countryside and reach the Guntak bus depot after about 40 minutes.

Guntak was like Goriyon, where basic amenities were available, and people did not have to travel to the city for minor needs. Bandu and Nand alighted from the bus. He looked around, trying to decide what to do next. He did not know where Nand lived.

"Do you know which way we should go, Nand?" Bandu asked the boy.

Nand pointed towards a stretch of muddy road to their right, which led into the fields and then disappeared into the dense coconut trees.

"Ok, lead the way," Bandu said and followed Nand. It was a narrow road surrounded by rice fields. The road was muddy, and soon Bandu's shoes had turned red. The walk below the cool shade of the coconut trees felt refreshing. They never came across houses even after walking for ten minutes, and Bandu began to wonder if Nand was mistaken but seeing him trot ahead with confidence removed any doubts he had.

After about another 10 minutes through the dense coconut trees, the land opened up into rice fields everywhere, and Bandu could now see settlements of houses here and there. Nand stopped and pointed out to one such colony. He could see only four homes there from where he stood. The road branched out a way to each settlement. Nand turned to the first left to go to where he pointed.