The Silver Anklet

by Mahtab Narsimhan

  “Thanks,” Tara managed to whisper.

  She criss-crossed the deserted stalls and closed rides, heading back toward the crowd. Every so often she stopped and called out, “SURAJ! ROHAN!”

  Her ears strained for an answer. Her heart pleaded for one. No answer came.

  When she returned, it looked like most of the fair had gathered at the site of the attack. People argued and expressed opinions at the tops of their voices. Kabir’s mother was surrounded by people bombarding her with questions;

  “How many hyenas did you see?”

  “Only one? How large was it?”

  “Was it really a hyena or a dog?”

  “Was your daughter alone?”

  And on and on and on.

  Ananth hadn’t returned yet. Kabir paced, stopped, peered into the gloom and paced yet again. They looked at each other and then back toward the forest. There was no sign of Raani.

  An announcement wafted over to them. As the crackly voice sped to every corner of the fairground, Tara said a little prayer.

  “Suraj and Rohan, please go to the north end of the fair right away. Your sister is looking for you.

  Repeating …”

  “Tara!”

  Tara whirled round. Ananth ran up to her, bathed in sweat. One look at his ashen face and she knew.

  “You didn’t find them, either,” she said. “How could I be so careless? I’ve not only lost Suraj, but Rohan, too!

  How will I face his mother?”

  Ananth put his hands on her shoulders. “Tara, we don’t know for sure if …”

  “Yes we do,” said Tara, pushing his hands away.

  “Vayu told me Layla led them off somewhere after the ride. I’m not an idiot. Something’s happened. Something bad. And it’s my fault!”

  “I should have let you look for them sooner,” said

  Ananth. “I’m to blame, too. We won’t go home till we’ve found them. All right?”

  The buzz from the gathering crowds grated on her nerves; everyone was just standing around. Why didn’t they do something? Tara stared into the forest. There lay the answer to the missing children. Even as they stood here arguing, Suraj, Rohan, and Sadia were in grave danger. She remembered the hyena from the afternoon, those gleaming, hungry eyes, those sharp teeth that could crunch through bones the way she crunched a stick of sugar cane. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she dug her nails into her palms. “Come on, come on,” she whispered softly to herself, scanning the darkness around her.

  Vayu hurried up to them. “Did the boys come to you yet?”

  Tara shook her head, close to tears.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Vayu. “I almost feel responsible myself. I should have insisted!”

  Just then Raani emerged from the forest. Her eyes searched for Kabir and she walked straight up to him, ignoring the others.

  “What was Sadia wearing today?” she asked.

  “A blue ghaghra-choli,” said Kabir. “Why?”

  Raani exhaled. “Then it’s all right. This can’t be hers.” She held a scrap of cloth in her hand. They all crowded round her, peering at it in the dim light.

  “This is from Rohan’s shirt,” Tara said. She snatched it from Raani’s hand and looked at it closely, a sickness rising in the pit of her stomach. “The yellow one he was wearing today. And it’s got some kind of stain on it.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Ananth. “I saw lots of yellow shirts at the fair.”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” snapped Tara. “His mother trusted me with him and I’ve … oh why wasn’t I more careful —”

  “Tara’s right,” said Vayu. “I remember this shirt. It was an exceptionally bright shade of yellow.”

  “Where did you find this, Raani?” asked Ananth.

  “It was caught on a bush some distance from here,” Her voice was low, her face grim. The fairgrounds spun and Tara squeezed her eyes shut. This was not going to be good. She knew it. said Raani. “There is something else you should know.”

  “There was some blood on the leaves near it,” said Raani. “And on the ground.”

  That explained the stain. Tara’s eyes snapped open.

  “We need to send someone in after them. NOW!” she said.

  “And Sadia?” asked Kabir. “Any sign of her?”

  Raani shook her head. “This scrap was all I found.”

  Tara ran toward Raka and Kabir’s mother. If he was making plans for a rescue, it had better include Suraj and Rohan. Ananth was close on her heels.

  “Don’t worry,” Raka was saying to Kabir’s mother.

  “We’ll send out a search party as soon as we organize one. We’ll find her.”

  “Rakaji,” said Tara. “Suraj and Rohan are missing. I’m sure the hyenas have taken them.”

  Raka’s narrowed eyes swept over them. “Are you sure they aren’t just wandering around?”

  Tara opened her mouth to tell him about Raani finding the scrap of cloth when she caught Ananth’s eye. He shook his head imperceptibly.

  “I’m sure,” said Tara. Panic rose within her like a tidal wave, almost drowning out the words. She took a deep breath before she spoke. “I haven’t seen the boys since midday. They were supposed to meet me after a ride, but they never showed up. We’ve looked all over and even made an announcement. They’re still missing!”

  “That’s three children!” said Raka. He shook his head, his face a gaunt mask. “But how could that be? There are no hyenas in this part —”

  Tara wanted to scream that there were, and that she and Kabir’s mother had both seen one! She controlled her temper and spoke as politely as she could. “There are Rakaji … and the sooner you send help for Suraj, Rohan, and Sadia, the better. Hurry, please!”

  “Let me get the search party organized here,” said Raka. “We’ll try our best to get volunteers quickly. Stay close in case I have any more questions for you.”

  He held up his hand and the buzz subsided. When there was complete silence, he spoke. “My good people, we have a very grave situation at hand. No one needs to panic, but there are two things I need all of you to do. First, I need you all to account for your family members. Next, I need to find three missing children:

  Suraj, Rohan, and Sadia. I need volunteers immediately.

  Please stay calm.”

  The crowd disintegrated into chaos. Parents counted their children or scattered to find missing family members. A couple of villagers came up to Raka and stood beside him.

  “I’d like to volunteer,” said a villager.

  “Good man,” said Raka, and began to discuss plans.

  Two more men came up and joined in the conversation, gesturing toward the forest.

  “This could take all night,” said Tara. Her heart sank as she watched the confusion around them. “By the time they get someone to look for the children it might be too late. We’ve got to do something now.”

  “Rakaji is a good man,” said Vayu. “He’s a bit slow, but he’s thorough. But I’m sure you know that already.”

  He nodded at Tara and Ananth. “We should trust him and wait.”

  Raani snorted. “Do you always do as you’re told?”

  She looked at Vayu as if he were something slimy that had crawled out of a hole in the ground.

  Tara stared at Raani as if seeing her for the first time.

  Long, black hair framed a pretty face with wide-set eyes and perfectly shaped lips. She was stunningly beautiful, but her arrogance marred it all. Tara glared at her. Raani caught her eye and looked away.

  “Wait for how long?” said Kabir. His face was still pale and his eyes had a dull, glazed look. “Sadia is terribly afraid of the dark as well as any animal bigger than a cat!”

  Then she must be living out her worst nightmare, thought Tara as they stood apart from the crowd. This waiting was killing her. On an impulse she ran up to Raka. A group of men surrounded him, listening intently. She decided to wait till he finished speaking, but she had to press her lips toget
her to stop the words from spilling out. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, praying that they would hurry up and notice her.

  “Let’s wait for a couple more men and then move into the forest. We have to plan this well. It’ll be best if you split up into two groups,” said Raka. “One group start from the right of the fairgrounds and the other can start from the left. Don’t take any chances and stay together. I’ll send everyone home except for a few of us who’ll be waiting here for you.”

  “Rakaji,” said Tara. “I’d like to go along with the men. I’m sure I can help. If I sit around and do nothing, I’ll … I’ll go mad.”

  Raka spun round, his eyes flashing. “Stay out of the way, Tara. Three children in danger are plenty. I will not have one more child stepping into the forest. Now go home — that’s an order!”

  The others had come up behind her. “But Rakaji, we really could be of help,” said Ananth. “Won’t you give us a chance? It’s my brother and Kabir’s sister out there.”

  “Silence!” said Raka. “One more word and I will make sure your parents are informed of your disobedience.

  Now get out of my way, you’re slowing down the rescue efforts. No one is to go into the forest and that is my final word. Go, GO!”

  He walked away. Tara stared at his rigid back, her insides churning. Had he forgotten that she had gotten rid of Zarku? She — a child?

  “I’m going to look for them whether he likes it or not,” said Tara. She faced the others. “Does anyone want to go with me?”

  “I will,” said Kabir promptly. “And Raani, you better come with us. Show us where you found that scrap.”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “I’m coming, too,” said Ananth. “We were both responsible for Suraj and Rohan.”

  “You don’t have to, Ananth,” said Tara. “In fact, it might be better if you don’t.”

  “Why do you insist on doing things on your own, Tara?” he asked. “The more of us looking for them, the better.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with that, Ananth,” said Tara. She tried to keep her voice as soft and neutral as possible. “I don’t think all of us need to go. It would be better if you went back home and informed my parents and Rohan’s, too. I’ve got Kabir with me.”

  “And me,” said Vayu.

  They all turned to stare at him.

  “We don’t need you,” said Raani.

  “Wait a minute, Raani,” snapped Tara. “What gives you the right to say that and who said we need you?” They exchanged scorching glances.

  “I’ve already told you, Raani can see perfectly well in the dark,” said Kabir. “We’ll need her for sure.”

  “I’m coming, too, and that’s final,” said Ananth. “I can’t let you go alone, Tara.”

  “I’m very capable of doing things by myself,” she replied.

  “I know you are,” said Ananth. His eyes were hard. “But this time you’re not going to. I’m coming whether you like it not.”

  Tara shrugged and turned to Vayu. “That’s very nice of you, Vayu, but really, this could be dangerous. You’ve done all you can.”

  “I know this part of the forest very well,” said Vayu. “Besides, I have no one here who will miss me. I’m an orphan.”

  She looked at him steadily at him for a moment. “Thank you. We could use your help.”

  “Enough talk,” said Kabir. He herded them toward a dark spot close to the forest’s edge. “Let’s go before anyone notices. We don’t want any questions or anyone trying to stop us.”

  “We should take lanterns,” said Vayu. “We might need them.”

  Within moments Ananth and Vayu returned with two lanterns.

  “Let’s go,” said Tara. Her eyes hurt from staring into the darkness. “I have a really, really bad feeling about this.”

  “About the hyenas?” said Kabir.

  Tara stepped into the copse of trees, into the deep shadows, the others close behind. “I’m certain,” she said, “that there’s something more than hyenas in the forest.”

  — three —

  Rohan

  The forest steamed in the still night. The path became leaner and dwindled away as they trudged deeper into the forest in single file.

  “Phew, it’s hot,” said Raani. “Did anyone bring water?”

  At the mention of water, Tara felt an insatiable thirst. Why couldn’t Raani have kept her mouth shut? She swallowed, cursing the girl under her breath.

  “No we didn’t and you know it,” said Kabir. “How long do you think we’re going to be in here?”

  “Not more than a few hours, I hope,” said Raani. “I’ll die of this heat.”

  The fair lights receded and went out. Towering sal trees crowded in on them and low-lying thorny bushes reached out to scratch their arms and legs. The air was laden with the stench of a rotting carcass, decaying leaves, and an occasional whiff of an overripe guava.

  Tara’s clothes clung to her like a second skin, burning her. She longed to peel them off.

  “Where’s that bush where you spotted the scrap of cloth?” asked Kabir. “Can’t be too far.”

  “Just a bit farther,” said Raani. She wiped her face for the umpteenth time and fanned it with her dupatta.

  Tara’s thirst intensified. A sudden panic gripped her. They had left with nothing but a lantern or two, and without telling anyone. If anything happened to them, no one would know. Rescue would be out of the question. Had she done the right thing, urging the others into danger?

  She shook her head, trying to shake off the images of everything that could befall them in the forest. She had to focus on the boys and Kabir’s sister. No time to worry about themselves.

  Her mind made up, she strode through the moonlit forest, its floor dappled with silver.

  Raani halted next to a prickly bush. “Here!” she said.

  They all crowded round it, straining to see what Raani had.

  “Give me some light,” said Ananth. They moved back a bit as he and Kabir examined the bush and the area around it. Even to Tara’s untrained eye, there seemed to have been quite a struggle here. The bushes were broken, leaves crushed at waist height. The ground underneath was churned up by footprints.

  Kabir stooped for a quick look. He wiped his wet face with his sleeve and Tara was sure it wasn’t all sweat.

  “They were definitely here. All three of them,” said Kabir in a wobbly voice. “Sadia!” he called out.

  “Shhhhh,” said Tara. “Don’t yell. They must have gone by now. Yelling will only warn them of our arrival, silly.”

  “Don’t call me silly,” said Kabir. “And don’t order me around. I don’t like it.”

  Tara opened her mouth, but decided not to say anything after all. She knew he was worried sick just as she was.

  Ananth knelt. “The footprints show that more than one animal was here,” he said. He examined the ground carefully. “Two, maybe even three.”

  “Looks like they went that way,” said Kabir. “If I get my hands on those hyenas, I’ll tear them limb from limb.” He stood up, breathing heavily.

  “Calm down, Kabir,” said Ananth. “Getting angry isn’t going to bring them back. We need to think this through.”

  “Not when my sister’s life is at stake,” said Kabir. “You be calm if you like. I’ll handle the hyenas my way. I’ve brought my knife and I’m not afraid to use it.”

  “We better get a move on,” said Ananth. “We’ll follow the footprints as long as we can and then hope something else can show us the way. Let’s go.”

  The trees squeezed them into single file once more.

  At times they grew so close to each other, it was difficult to walk through and the group had to take a detour.

  The light of the moon was almost obscured by the thick canopy overhead that trapped the heat. It gathered over their heads, getting hotter and heavier by the second.

  They sweated, swatted flies, and trudged on.

  “How long have w
e been walking?” asked Raani.

  “Must be hours already, no?”

  “Barely an hour,” said Ananth.

  “Oh.”

  Poor delicate flower, thought Tara. She’s tired already!

  Raani better not want to stop and rest. Three lives were at stake and Tara meant to press on. The shadows in the forest deepened. The mosquitoes buzzed and bit mercilessly. Very soon they’d have to rely on Miss Night Queen to show them the way. Around them, the forest seemed to awake in a new and sinister way.

  “Ananth,” said Tara.

  “Hmmm.”

  “I’m really worried!”

  “Of course you are, Tara. We all are. Three children in the forest, alone at night with the hyenas. I pray they’re all right.”

  “I don’t mean that,” said Tara. “I mean —”

  He stopped and turned to face her. “Don’t you dare start that again! We have enough to worry about already.”

  “Start what?” asked Kabir. “What’s she hiding?”

  “Tell us,” said Raani. “If there’s something odd or dangerous, Tara shouldn’t be keeping it to herself — we all have a right to know.”

  “It’s nothing,” said Ananth. “Just her imagination.”

  “No!” said Tara. “Listen to me. I know it sounds bizarre, but there’s more here than we understand. I pray that by the time we know what it is, it’s not too late.”

  “Tara, it’s hyenas,” said Ananth stubbornly, “plain and simple.”

  “Now you believe there is a hyena, do you?” said Tara. “You didn’t believe me when I told you that earlier.”

  Ananth shrugged. “All right, I was wrong. I’m sorry. Now what?”

  “There’s something more here. I feel it. I know it.”

  “Rubbish!” said Ananth.

  “Let’s move on,” said Kabir. “You and Tara can figure out whether you’d like the rest of us to understand what you’re saying, or look the other way while you both squabble. I’m getting tired of it already.”

  There was a distinct edge to his voice and Tara cringed. Ananth already thought she was a fool to worry so much. With his short fuse, Kabir was sure to react the same way. What about Vayu? What would he say if she told him what had been troubling her all this while. She stopped.