Finding Mitty.

Chapter 14: Stardust and Sandy Eyes

*******

The train pulled into the station at around 9 am. The sky gleamed with a golden tint, sponged with puffs of black smoke from the furnaces and factories nearby. The platform was paved with brown 2*2 tiles and all the creases were overflowing with sand. Although the sun was sharper here than I'd felt in Jaipur or Jodhpur, there was an eerie breeze that comforted me. And yes, it was dry. Arid.

Anna hopped out of the train like a little child, and straight up glared at the sun with her hands thrown in the air. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world today. That this day would somehow be not recorded in the history of days and it would be okay to do anything on this day. Realising the eyes on her, she turned her gaze to me, slid a zestful smirk and declared, "It's a beautiful day."

What was she so happy about? I didn't pay much attention to it because I had forgotten about what had happened last night. If I had, I would've known it was odd. The air was filling up with a crispy burning smell by the time Anna and I had left the station. Our destination was just a little outside the city of Jaisalmer, and it would take an hour to get there. We hailed a rickshaw and Anna asked him to drop us at the place from where the buses for Khuri departed. Khuri, a little village 50 Kms south-west of Jaisalmer, our supposed destination. Why would Dad go there, in the past or even now? Well, I'd have to ask him. At this point it felt like the whole thing was nothing but a futility. The whole way to the bus stop, nobody spoke. Both me and Anna were looking out at the city, the people, the buildings, and the fort which was so huge you could practically see it from anywhere from the city if your view wasn't obstructed. All of the houses were mustard coloured, the pavements were yellow, and there was sand everywhere. The city truly lived up to its title of the Golden City.

The bus, supposed to depart at 10, started moving at 10:45 am. It was waiting for more customers to literally fill the bus, and I mean literally fill the bus. There was barely any space to move, and we had to sit with our bags in our laps. As soon as we started moving, Anna slid her hand into mine, intertwining and locking, all the while looking out the window. All I could think about was the sweat.

The way to Khuri was unexpected. Instead of the usual dusty deserts, there were acres of plantations, of what I do not know, but they were bright yellow, and extremely fresh in the warmth of the sun. Every few minutes you could see a vulture perched atop a telephone pole, silently waiting. But, the inside of the bus was even more vibrant than the outside. All the women wore bright coloured saares with shiny beads sewed on then, and the men wore colourful turbans of every shade, albeit the rest of their clothes were all white. The bus I came to observe, had seen better days, because of it's suspension, or lack thereof.

I reckoned it was around noon when we reached the town of Khuri, because the sun was directly overhead, and I was sweating even more. The town looked like an Indian version of the town from the magnificent seven. There was only one main road, with houses on either sides, again coloured liberally.

There was a banyan tree to my right, and below this tree was a thin man, wearing a huge blue turban and dressed all in white. He walked towards us with his face and his big moustache both making a smile, and said in a soft and low voice, "Miss Green?"

Anna affirmed and seconds after that we were walking along the road of Khuri, following a Mr. Haldilal Singh who was carrying both our bags, somehow.

*******

The establishment, if it could be called that as it looked like a gush of wind could take it flying away, was a bunch of huts with mud walls colored white and roofs of hay. Inside there was just enough room for two small single beds and a dressing table between them. I settled down on the bed on the right, looking out the small round hole in the hut which acted as a source of light. Anna walked in after a few minutes and sat on the opposite bed.