Dhampir of Kalika

২. doctor

Beauty is a curse.

****

"Maya, please eat and drink on time. Do not forget to take care of yourselves while solving this case."

Katie had been worrying endlessly in a loop since Maya had got the letter from Kalikacharan Das and decided to accept the case. Katie, even though she wished to see Maya soar high, was sceptical about such gory cases. "The rich are very fishy," she said.

"And it's my job to find out why."

Ritam helped Maya put the luggage inside the train. After wishing her a happy time ahead, the loving parents waited on the platform. The train whistled, and as smoke covered the way to the destination, Maya waved her Baba and Maa goodbye, embarking on a new adventure. Again she was going to solve a heinous crime, a sojourn in Khatra.

It was a silent train journey at night. Not many passengers were there. Maya didn't know if burglary or anything of that sort happened in train journeys, but she carried a little knife with her. Outside everything looked as black as ink brushed over a canvas, with twinkling stars pouring in inadequate light. The moon was nowhere to be seen. Skinny tall trees towered high, kissing the spooky sky a hundred times. The TT came and checked Maya's ticket, not leaving before casting back a curious glance.

"Are you a detective, as in the detective Maya?"

Maya bowed her head. "Yes, Sir."

The man took off his hat and returned the bow. "Nice to meet you. Have a safe journey. Any problems do not hesitate to come to me. I am in the next compartment."

The journey was too quiet. Maya spent the time looking at the eternal darkness outside. Soon some lights came into view and she saw the signs of civilization– little huts and heaps of straw. The ride came to a conclusion. She had reached Bankura.

Maya was a light traveller and didn't bring more than one luggage with her. Without a man it would get difficult to carry more luggage, so she just squeezed the necessary things into one big suitcase. Her face turned red with all the blood being pumped by her body. Maya had a brain but not bulky muscles. She got down the train, huffing and cursing under her breath. There were a few passengers only and all went in the same direction. She just followed the mass. In between she stopped to ask the owner of a tea stall the way towards the bus stand. The tension on her mind eased when she got to know the directions. Dragging her suitcase, she reached the bus stand.

Not everyone had yet boarded the bus. It was eleven o'clock at night, and upon inquiring she learnt the bus would start half an hour later. So she decided to stand there and keep a look around. And while her eyes roved over the silhouettes in the dark, a particular man attracted her attention.

He was literally standing out from the surroundings with his lofty height and pale colour. The man's skin appeared to be made of ivory that glowed under the faint starlight. He had a lean muscular build with broad shoulders. Maya couldn't ascertain the colour of his linen panjabi in the dark, but maybe it was sky-blue.

Maya kept staring at the man. He didn't have anything except a dirty-looking black sling bag. She wondered where he belonged. It was certain he was heading towards Khatra, just like her.

Just then, he turned his head towards her direction. With a snap Maya looked away, hurting her neck in the moment. Sweat made her hands slippery. It was such an embarrassing thing to be caught staring. After some time, she turned back to his direction, only to see him crane away his neck. Was he staring at her too, then?

A group of villagers had been sitting on a big block of stone behind. They were chatting away in the local dialect of Khatra. They all, together at once, got up and started boarding the bus. Maya followed the same. But the stairs of the bus were steep and high, and poor Maya wasn't able to pull up her heavy suitcase.