The girl in the woods

Chapter 3

"Okay! Walk like this..." The girl showed him how to walk. What the hell! A girl was showing him how to walk?

"Okay!" Anupam agreed and followed her.

They walked together. For some time there was silence. Then the girl broke it, "So, your name?"

"Anupam Kalita, yours?" Anupam turned towards her. Yes, she was really beautiful. The mystery in her face and the blue eyes were really startling.

"Madhumita Roy. I'm also from Assam. My parents shifted long ago," she said, "You're on a trip?"

Anupam nodded.

"I think you know about this village," she said questioningly.

"Not much. Actually, I don't know even its name!"

Madhumita burst out in laughter. "You don't know about the place where you are staying?"

Anupam kept quiet. This girl is really a chatterbox! How do I know about this village? He thought.

"This is Chide Model Village, a population of 227, located 8 kilometres away from Kohima, the capital of Nagaland," she said as if she were the queen of this place.

The girl was really strange. Why is she giving me the geography of this village?

"You know Nagaland suffered a lot in the World Wars. Because when British came to rule Assam they made Nagaland a temporary camp. Also during Indo-China war the Chinese ruled over Nagaland after failing in the Arunachal area. And it was the gateway of the killer gangs from the Burma in pre-independence period," she said proudly as if she felt the pains of her motherland. But Anupam had no interest in history.

Anupam did not know where he was going: just going to wherever the girl took him.

"By the way where are you going?" Madhumita asked suddenly.

"I don't know," Anupam tried to smile, and then asked hesitatingly, "Can you show me your village?"

"Okay! I'll," she said after she stopped for a moment, "But why are you hesitating? Be friendly. I am not that kind of girl."

What type of girl? Anupam wanted to ask.

They walked around for an hour talking about the village, about themselves and lot more.

"Will you play cricket?" she asked looking at a small field where some children were playing. Anupam nodded.

Madhumita talked something with them in their native language and then called Anupam to play. At first, Anupam felt uncomfortable and hesitated to play but then it changed into fun.

Anupam hardly touched the ball in any of the balls. The bowlers were fast and he had not played it before. But in the last ball, he stroked. And it was hard. The ball went in the air and fell in the deep bushes nearby. Al of them went to search the ball but he did not.

Anupam saw Madhumita talking to them. They sounded angry. But he could not understand them. Then all of them went and Madhumita came to him.

"What happened?" Anupam asked.

"The ball went missing and I paid them the money of the ball," she said.

"Why did you do that? I have money."

"Don't mind. It was a small amount."

Anupam stared at her. He had not started at anybody like that before. It was the first time when he saw her completely.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Madhumita caught him. Then she arranged her hairs and swept off the sweat in her face.

"No, nothing..." he was startled, "I should go home."

Then he said again, "Will you take a photograph with me?"

"I'd love to."

Anupam took a photograph of both of them by his camera.

"By the way when you are going?" She asked.

"Tomorrow"

"Can you come tomorrow before you depart?" she said, "I've something to give you."

"I'll try."

"Okay...Bye!"

"Bye."

They turned and went in the opposite directions. Anupam turned to see her. She was gone. Might be he would meet her again tomorrow.