Kismet's Odyssey

-EIGHT-

Tuhin was not listening to the lecture. He was deep in thought and tried to muster enough courage to ask Miloni to be his official date for the school event. Just then, he saw Arko sitting alone. Bani was not there with him. Frowning, he wondered if they had broken up. He glanced at Karan who was sitting across him in another row. He was irked that Karan had flirted with Miloni at his party. If Tuhin had been present at the party, he would not have allowed anyone else to h****k Miloni from him. He was also annoyed with Arko for not inviting him to Karan’s birthday party. Sighing, he had a sneaking suspicion that Arko had a crush on Miloni but if Tuhin was wrong, he did not want to create any misunderstanding so kept the thought to himself.

The class ended and he waited inside the canteen for Miloni. They had planned to meet here. Miloni arrived but tagging behind her, was Karan. He was murmuring something to her. Reaching the table, Miloni greeted Tuhin while Karan moved away to another table.

“Why is he following you like a lapdog?” Tuhin asked with irritation.

“Lapdog? Tuhin, you are funny.”

“Yeah, I am but you didn’t answer my question.”

Shrugging, Miloni answered, “Chill! He was apologising for the party.”

“Why? Did he misbehave with you?”

“No, but he was so drunk that he doesn’t remember if he actually danced with me or misbehaved with me? Can you beat that? Apparently, his friends told him that he misbehaved with me and I walked out of the party.”

“Did he?”

“No, he was quite sombre when I was there. He asked me for the first dance.”

“So nice of him!” Tuhin responded with sarcasm, turning to glare at Karan.

Laughing, Miloni answered, “He is quite rattled with his friends’ account of the party. I am sure they are teasing him.”

“Hmm, anyway I wanted to ask you something.”

“You told me you wanted to show me something and you didn’t last evening,” Miloni recalled and asked him.

“Forget that. Miloni, I want to ask you to be my official date for the farewell event. Will you be my date Miloni?” Tuhin’s eyes almost pleaded with her and she agreed with a warm smile. She was liking Tuhin more and more. The more she knew him, the more she liked him. He was gentle but at the same time very romantic. He never forced his opinion on her and he always made it a point to ask her if she was free before he fixed a date.

Nodding, she said, “Yes, Tuhin, I will be your date but on one condition.”

Tuhin waited in tense anticipation. Miloni said, “You have to wear black suit.”

Laughing aloud and heaving a sigh of relief, he said, “Of course, I will be the perfect gentleman for my girl.”

Smiling, they left the canteen as Karan glared after them.

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The next Sunday afternoon, when Miloni had declined their date due to a family outing, Tuhin went riding to the quarry. He was curious to learn what lay behind the hole in the wall. The previous time, when he had gone looking, there was total darkness. He hadn't seen anything properly.

It was a sunny afternoon and he rode happily belting out popular songs, dreaming of a day when he would be able to spend the whole day with Miloni.

The park was deserted and he quickly reached the edge of the park. Leaving the cycle behind, he dropped down to the wide pit. Some men were working blasting the mines but that was far away. He tiptoed carefully to the muddy walls and searched for the opening he had seen the other day. There was no opening anywhere on the sandy slopes. Slipping on the ground due to the slithery sands, he trod close to the wall, circling the pit. He could not find any opening. Surprised, he decided to ask the men working near the mines. It was a long stretch and he marched towards them. They had safety helmets and wore overalls with rubber boots.

All around them, the rocky walls rose high. One of the men removed his helmet to speak to Tuhin, “What are you doing here boy? This place is prohibited for outsiders.”

“I am sorry but I lost my chain the other day when I had come visiting the park, so I wanted to find it.”

“If you lost the chain in the park, then you go looking for it there, not here,” the man replied, guzzling water from a bottle.

“Actually, I was standing on the edge of the park that day, it fell into that pit,” he pointed out the pit to the man.

“Then, look for it there. You won’t find it here.”

“I searched there but in vain. The other day I saw an opening in the wall. I thought maybe if I could cross the opening, I might find something.”

The man frowned, “Opening? There is no hole in the wall there. You must be mistaken,” the man turned back to work, dismissing Tuhin.

Tuhin sauntered back to the place he had searched and stood in the middle, viewing the wall with confusion. Had he been wrong in recalling the hole in the sandy mounds? He took out his phone and began to record a video. Commenting about the area, he held the phone in his hand and swivelled around, recording the area. Completing the task, he climbed up the slope and drew out his cycle. After dinner at home, he viewed the video he had recorded. The picture was dark due to dim sunlight. But at one point, Tuhin thought he saw something move. Rewinding the video, he watched it again. The mound around the pit was collected sand and at one frame, he thought he saw the sand moving. He paused the video and enlarged it. To his shock, he saw the gaping hole again and something faint moved behind the gaping hole. He tried to identify the picture but it was too blurred and he gave up after trying for some time.

He decided to visit the place next week so that he could verify it.

                                                                                      ***********

The annual fair was a celebration time for the residents of Kymore and they took great pleasure in visiting the fair with family and friends. Miloni accompanied her brothers, parents and some family friends to the fair. There were rides, food outlets, games, plays, vending stalls and many other thrills.

Leaving their parents in a food stall, a bunch of them visited the games stalls and enjoyed winning prizes. Miloni was standing with one of her brothers, who was trying a pistol to shoot a balloon to win teddy bear for Miloni.

“Hello Rishi!” the familiar voice caught Miloni’s attention and she turned around to see Arko.

“Hey bro, whaddup!” Rishi greeted happily. They all knew each other since Kymore was a small town and whoever grew up in the town knew one another.

Arko ignored Miloni so she turned back to her friend who was busy collecting prizes. She was aware of her brother and Arko moving away. They were chatting as if they were long lost friends. Some ten minutes later, her brother returned and apologised, “Mil, got to go. I am joining Arko for a party. Tell mom, dad, I will return home later.”

Rishi left with Arko and Miloni watched them as the two men, similar in height and built strolled swiftly towards another end of the carnival.

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