Nomads

Chapter 2, Pt 5- Eruption

When he reached there, he ran up the staircase to the third floor of the building complex where his coaching was located. He saw that the teachers had not arrived yet and the reception was empty. He ran upstairs to the fourth floor where the hostel of the coaching was located. He kicked his way into Biswa's small room and found him waking up startled.

"Wake up motherfucker!" Nasr screamed.

"Wha... What happened? Oh... you." Biswa said in a timid and sleepy voice as he slowly started to become aware of his surroundings.

"Shit man! How can y'all people sleep so much?"

"I was studying and I fell asleep." Biswa said, scratching his stomach as he stretched.

"Well, that's what happens when all you do mug up shit like cum swallowing cunts. Start studying for actual. Not just for your marks."

"I study for actual, man." Biswa groaned.

"Yeah, I can see that. I'm going upstairs to the terrace, tell Subash if he comes." Nasr said as he tossed his bag on Biswa's small bag and Biswa struggled hard to dodge it, but still got hit by it.

Nasr laughed and made his way upstairs. He reached the terrace and was suddenly peaceful, the sun had turned orangish yellow, and there he could see the hills, beyond in the horizon. They stood there majestic, in the beautiful evening sky. Just blurry, beautiful, huge, power commanding shadows in the distance.

He took out his earphones and untangled them. He played angsty rock and metal music. The peace he felt in those frustrated lyrics was something that he just could not explain to anyone.

As he sat on the terrace, viewing the hills and thinking about his Runaway Plan, it suddenly dawned on him that maybe he should do it sooner. He was suddenly uncertain if he could hold it in until the exams got over. The abuse that he had received from his family over the past years flashed in his mind. The beatings that he had received, the words that he had heard. It was all too toxic for him. And when it came to exams, the toxicity would always escalate. He was at the breaking point; he was absolutely uncertain of how long he would be able to bear the pressure of his house and family during the exams.

"What is the plan for today?" a voice from behind interrupted his thoughts. He hadn't noticed the Subash had snuck up behind him when he was thinking.

"Man, we gotta talk." Nasr said calmly, looking at Subash who had a straight expression on his face.

"About our Runaway Plan" Nasr said.

"What about it?" Subash said as he sat down with Nasr.

"I think that we'll have to do it quicker than we had planned."

"When exactly are you talking about?" Subash asked.

"Maybe before exams." Nasr said looking at Subash as his eyes turned from expressing calmness to concern.

"Do you even know what you're talking about?" Subash asked in a thin voice.

"I do, I do. Its just a thought, nothing else. I'm not sure if I can handle the atmosphere at my house during exams." Nasr said as he looked down.

"Well, our plan is going to change our lives. Don't rush things." Subash said, getting calm again.

"I understand. Do you want to go to the class?" Nasr asked.

"You say." Subash replied.

"We did classes yesterday, let's go somewhere."

"Won't the receptionist call our parents to ask why we didn't come for the class?"

"Nah, I don't think so. Let's sneak out quick before he arrives." Nasr said with a smirk.

"How much do you have?" Subash asked.

"100" Nasr said.

" I have 100 too. Where do we go?"

"Let's take Chaccha's Vada and go to the trainline bridge?" Nasr suggested.

"Okay." Subash said.

"Chaccha" was a term for uncle in their language. Nasr had made it a habit of calling every middle or old aged man and woman, "Chaccha", and, "Chacchi", respectively.

They picked up their bags and snuck out of the building. They decided that they would take Subash's bike, a red Apache 200.

They made their way along the Ring Road, as Nasr sat behind Subash and he played A Line in The Sand, by Linkin Park. They made their way through the setting sun behind the hills across the Mahanadi River. The sunset views of Cuttack had always been breathtaking for them. As they cruised their way across the Naraj Bridge, they were amazed by the pinkish hues of the setting winter sun. They could see the railway bridge sandwiched between a pinkish-orange sky and the river reflecting the same colour, and the dark hills of Mundali beyond.

They took a right turn at the roundabout at the end of the bridge to take a road beside the sandy shore of the river, to enter into the Naraj Village. They stopped at a small food stall where a middle aged man and his wife were frying snacks.

Nasr jumped out of the bike and greeted the man, "Namaste Chaccha!", he said with a smile.

The man looked up at him and smiled. Nasr went up to him and greeted his wife with a closed hand gesture.

"Chaccha, twenty rupees of hot, and crunchy Vada." Nasr said as the man packed his food. They then bought Thumbs Up cola from another store and made their way through the small village to a hilly clearing on the bank of the river where the railway bridge was located. It was in fact, a set of two identical bridges, one for trains going towards the North, one for the trains going towards the South. They always chose to walk on the North bridge because it gave a splendid view of the river and the Siddheswar hill located just beside it.

They parked their bike on the shore and walked up to the North Bridge. They walked across the bridge until they came to pillar no. 8, where they climbed down the metal stairs to sit on the round pillar. The pillar was directly above the deep water, away from the sandy shore. They felt the breeze caressing them. They unpacked the snacks and began to enjoy the view of the vast river beneath them, the Mundali bridge far away, with hills on either side, a fisherman's long-boat making its way back to the village, and a flock of migratory birds flying in V-formation in the purple sky. The sun had set, the stars showed up in the purple twilight sky, and the yellow factory lights from the other end of the bridge brilliantly glimmering over the river waters through the dark landscape.

"I don't want to go back" Nasr said after a few minutes of silence as he laid his head on his bag and looked up at the starry sky.

"But we have to, we are going to break away soon. All of this will be gone. Even these moments of pure bliss and peaceful beauty. Cuttack will be gone." Subash said.

"Forever..., I guess." Nasr said with a pause.

"Let's make the best of what we have now." Subash said, looking at the river.

"Mhm" Nasr said, as a passenger train honked and passed above them, lighting the dark river below with reflections of fast-moving lights from the windows. They both looked at the beautiful sight below, both drowned in their own thoughts of what they were about to do, and what they were leaving behind.