The Silver Anklet

by Mahtab Narsimhan

  “Do you think we’ll find a boat there?” asked Raani, suddenly.

  “Depends on which part of the river we come to,” said Ananth. “If it’s at one of the docking areas we’ll be really lucky, and if not, we’ll swim as far along the shore as we can until we find one. With the river navigable this year, there will be a lot more boats along the riverbank and the best part is, Zarku can’t track us easily if we’re in the water.”

  The thought of jumping into the cool water made Tara walk faster. Once again she bumped into Vayu, who had stopped.

  “Swim?” he said. “I can’t swim. I’ll walk along the shore.”

  They all stopped. The moment Ananth let go of Kabir he sank to the ground with a deep shudder.

  He coughed once or twice and then was silent. His eyes had sunk deep into their sockets and yet glittered brightly.

  “You can’t be serious, Vayu,” said Ananth. “It’s really easy. We’ll all help.”

  Vayu put Raani down gently and sat beside her, breathing hard, his face red and streaming. He shook his head. “I almost drowned in the village pond when I was a child. Since then, water has always scared me. But don’t worry, I won’t slow you down.”

  “Stop being stupid,” snapped Ananth. “That will defeat the whole purpose of trying to get away from Zarku. If you remain on land, he’ll track you and us. You’ll have to get into the water.”

  “NO!” said Vayu. “I won’t and no one can force me.”

  Ananth glared at him and Vayu stared back, his face expressionless. But it was clear that no one could force Vayu to do anything that he didn’t want to.

  Raani touched Vayu’s arm gently. “I’m a good swimmer,” she said. “I’ll help you. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Let’s get to the river first,” said Tara. “It may not even come to that.” She got to her feet wearily though every muscle in her body protested. And if we have to swim, thought Tara, then by God, I’ll push Vayu in myself.

  Ananth nodded and hoisted Kabir to his feet. Vayu lifted Raani up again. This time there wasn’t even a whimper from her. There had been a time when standing close to Vayu had made Raani wrinkle her nose and spew the most vitriolic words. But Raani was changed now, by circumstance and by things they had endured together. Enduring. That was it. They must endure, together. Somehow.

  “If we keep up this pace, we’ll be at the river by evening.” said Ananth. “Let’s not stop at all. We’re doing great — keep going.”

  Easier said than done. Tara focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to ignore her splitting head, the deep thirst that sapped her strength, and her screaming muscles.

  River, get to the river and then find a boat, she thought. Then Morni. Prabala would be there. He would take care of everything after that. But would it really be that simple?

  “I’m slipping, Vayu,” said Raani. “Maybe you should take a break.”

  “We can’t afford to,” panted Kabir. “If we stop now, I might not be able to get up again. So … tired.”

  “Can you manage, Vayu?” asked Tara.

  “I do need a break,” said Vayu.

  Tara ran up ahead to Ananth. “We have to stop.”

  They both looked at Kabir. “All right,” Kabir whispered. “Let’s stop.”

  Ananth sat him down. “I’m going to take a quick look to see how far we are,” he said. He shinnied up the nearest tree and was soon lost within it, the shaking branches marking his progress to the top.

  Tara leaned against a tree trunk, sucking in huge lungfuls of blistering air, gazing around her in an exhausted stupor. If Zarku had stood in front of her right now, she wouldn’t have been able to move a muscle.

  Vayu gently lowered Raani to the ground. His kurta was soaked, as if he had had a bath with all his clothes on. His face was so red it looked like the setting sun.

  The branches shook again and Ananth dropped out of the tree. “Not far now. I saw a glint of water. But this has to be our last break. Agreed?”

  “What if we tried hiding instead?” asked Tara. “Take our time and find a really good spot. I saw a cave or two as we were walking. We’ll have a much better chance than trying to run with one of us injured and the other ill.”

  “If we’re on land, he’ll find us,” said Ananth. “Do you seriously think he’ll let us win? And even if we do, he won’t spare us. You know that, Tara. He hates you for defeating him and he will have his revenge. Against you and against all of us.”

  The words stung like a volley of slaps. Her head reeled. Ananth was right. They were all in danger because of her.

  “Can Suraj swim?” asked Raani.

  Tara was lost in thought. How they must all hate her right now for leading them into this mess, when she could have, should have faced it alone.

  “Tara!” said Ananth. “This isn’t the time to daydream. Can Suraj swim?”

  Tara remembered her brother’s weak attempts at swimming back at the village pond. He had never liked the water. She shook her head.

  “Good,” said Ananth. “Then that’s our only hope.

  Zarku will not follow until he can find another boat. No more breaks till we reach the river. Come on!”

  They nodded solemnly. Kabir stood up without any help and leaned on Ananth, his eyes clear and full of purpose. Vayu scooped up Raani, squared his shoulders and started marching. Tara followed them, her insides churning with guilt and anger.

  The last leg of the race. They had to win!

  — fifteen —

  Kabir

  Tall trees, prickly bushes, and knots of tree roots slowly passed by Tara’s weary gaze as she plodded along. Clouds of mosquitoes enveloped her, but she ignored them. They swarmed around her, mercilessly biting every inch of exposed skin, but she had no strength to shoo them away. It was that or walk. She walked. They all did, silently.

  Evening was upon them and the sun had sunk below the treetops, sparkling through the leaves each time they stirred in a rare breeze.

  “Nearly there,” said Ananth. “Look.” His voice was jubilant as he pointed to the ground. The soil was moist and their feet sank in a little deeper as they walked. Tara smelled wet earth and she sniffed deeply, letting the fragrance fill her up.

  “We’ll make it,” panted Vayu. “We will.”

  “Can we move just a little bit faster?” said Ananth.

  “Almost there, come on.” He dragged Kabir with him.

  “Slow, Ananth … I can’t …” said Kabir. His voice was very faint.

  Vayu also tried to keep up, but couldn’t. The distance between him and Ananth widened.

  “Slow down, Ananth,” said Tara. “We’re too tired.”

  Ananth looked back and opened his mouth when Kabir groaned, fell to the ground and lay absolutely still.

  Startled, Vayu dropped Raani to the ground. She landed on her backside with a thump, crying out in pain.

  “Kabir!” said Ananth, kneeling beside him. “Kabir, what’s the matter.” He put his head to Kabir’s chest.

  “Still breathing. He’s just unconscious.”

  Tara rushed over to the still body and even before she reached out to touch his forehead she felt the heat emanating from him. The high fever and that last dash had taken its toll.

  “I told you to slow down,” she hissed at Ananth.

  “Now look at what you’ve done.”

  “What I’ve done?” said Ananth. His eyes darted between her and Kabir. “I supported him all the way here. All I want is to get us to safety and this is the thanks I get? What have you done except bring the wrath of Zarku down on all of us? Because of you we’re all suffering, so don’t blame me!”

  Tara felt the blood drain from her face. Ananth apologized immediately. “I’m sorry, Tara, I didn’t mean “The truth normally does,” said Tara. Her heart ached; what he had said was true. What a fool she had been to think they could do this as a team. But thanks to Ananth things were clear for the first time since they had entered the
forest. Things she had been too blind to see. that,” he said. “It just slipped out.”

  “Can you revive him?” said Ananth. “We’re so close. We have to get to the river.” He shook Kabir gently, but to no avail.

  “Not without the right herbs,” said Tara. “Even if I did have some, how would I boil them? We have no water, no vessel, nothing. Unfortunately these ones cannot be ground to a paste.” At the mention of water her parched throat throbbed.

  Raani crawled over to Kabir and slapped his face a couple of times. “Wake up, Kabir. You can’t do this to us. Wake up!”

  Kabir lay still. Raani buried her face in her hands and sobbed softly.

  Ananth stood up and walked a short distance, beckoning to Tara and Vayu. They followed.

  “It’s obvious he can’t continue,” said Ananth. “We can’t leave him here. He’ll die before we can get help. Think. Think of something.”

  Tara bit her lip hard. She was so tired and very close to bawling. But she couldn’t afford that luxury at the moment. She looked at Kabir. His breathing was shallow and his face resembled Rohan’s when they had found him in the forest — dead. Raani was also in much pain and trying hard not to show it. It wouldn’t be long before the infection worsened and she too succumbed like Kabir.

  “How far do you think we still have to go?” asked Tara.

  “Under an hour at the most,” said Ananth. “If we keep up the pace we were at when we stopped.”

  “And if we don’t make it in the next hour,” said Tara, “we all die.”

  For the first time since they had started this journey Tara felt a deep panic take hold of her. So deep that for a moment her mind was a complete blank. She had to make an effort to hold herself still and not let Ananth or Vayu see how rattled she was. She walked away on shaky legs, the forest tilting and dipping around her.

  She stopped a short distance away, willing the horizon to stay still.

  Help me Lord Ganesh, she prayed silently. You can’t do this to us; you can’t let my friends die. You can’t let evil win.

  And no one will die — if you make the right decision.

  You know what it is you have to do.

  Tara started. There was that voice again. Tara glanced at Raani who sat close to Kabir, her head resting on her knees. She’d thought it had been Raani that first time, but in her heart she’d known it couldn’t have been her. So then who was cruel enough to play games with her at a time like this?

  “Show yourself!” said Tara. She turned a full circle. “Stop hiding and show yourself to me, you coward.”

  “We’re right here, Tara,” said Ananth. He stared at her anxiously. “No one is hiding.”

  Tara shook her head. “Did you just hear something? A woman’s voice?”

  The look that Ananth exchanged with Vayu said it all.

  “Tara, you’re the only woman who’s spoken in the last few minutes,” said Ananth. “Er … why don’t you sit in the shade for a while? You look exhausted.”

  “I don’t want to sit in the shade and I’m not mad!” Tara’s voice rose in a scream, as out of control as the events of the day. “Stop looking at me like that. I heard someone talking to me, a woman. I did, I swear it. She’s still here and I’m going to find her.”

  Her voice startled a couple of parrots who flew off in a blur of orange and red.

  Kabir opened his eyes. “Sadia?” he croaked.

  — sixteen —

  The Fist Unfurls

  Kabir struggled to sit up with Raani hugging him and pulling him upright simultaneously.

  Tara ran to him. “How do you feel?”

  “What happened?” he asked, shivering. “I heard someone yelling.”

  “That was me,” mumbled Tara. “It’s not important.”

  “You fainted,” said Ananth. “But thank God you’re okay. Here, take my kurta. You’re cold.”

  Ananth stripped off his kurta and slipped it over Kabir. “Can you walk? We’re almost there.”

  “I have to,” said Kabir. “I heard you say we were close before I blacked out. Sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” said Ananth. “Let’s go. It’ll be dark be–fore we know it and we have to be on the water by then.”

  Tara gazed at the evening sky. A few stars twinkled within the deep blue expanse that was shot through with streaks of orange. The moon was a broken bangle in the sky.

  “I’m going to try and hop,” said Raani. “You’ve carried me long enough, Vayu.”

  “I’ll manage,” said Vayu. “It’s only a short distance anyway.”

  Raani shook her head. “Just hold my arm and stay beside me.”

  Kabir got to his feet and swayed for a moment before Ananth and Tara steadied him.

  “Listen,” said Ananth.

  They all did and it was the sweetest sound Tara had heard in a long time. It was the croaking of frogs.

  The song of the frogs beckoned to them. It tapped the last little pocket of energy Tara never knew she had, and it seemed to have the same effect on the others. They hurried along, the wetness of the air reviving them, urging them on. The trees thinned and in a very short while they saw it— a thick ribbon of blue on the horizon. The sun was already setting and a layer of shimmering gold rippled on the surface of the water. Tara’s spirits soared and she turned a beaming face to Kabir and Ananth.

  “He’ll never catch us now,” she said. “We’re there.”

  “Never,” echoed Raani, her voice catching in her throat. “Morni, here we come.”

  And then they heard it. A giggle. A laugh.

  “Didi, I’m here!”

  Tara whirled around. In the deepening shadows she thought she saw Suraj standing under a tree. The very next moment the wind swept the shadows away. Tara had no idea how close they were. There was a whoop to their left. A laugh near their right. The hyenas were spreading out.

  “Run,” yelled Tara. “RUN!”

  And they did.

  The ground sloped down to a sandy beach that hugged the river and was a lot easier and faster to cover.

  Ananth and Tara grabbed Kabir’s arms. They half-carried, half-dragged him to the water’s edge. Vayu picked up Raani again and raced alongside. They reached the water together and stopped for breath. Bits of wood and debris zipped past in the swiftly moving current.

  There was no boat in sight. Tara almost sobbed as she scanned the water’s edge from left to right. “There’s no boat,” she said. “We’re trapped!”

  “There has to be one,” said Ananth. “I’m going to swim upriver to take a look. Don’t let Zarku or the hyenas capture you. Throw rocks, throw sticks, mud … anything. Just hold them off as best as you can.”

  He jumped into the river. The current almost swept him away. His head disappeared underwater and Raani screamed. Vayu clenched his fists, staring at the spot where Ananth had disappeared.

  Come on, Ananth, swim, swim, Tara prayed. Ananth’s head bobbed up a few feet away from the spot where he’d disappeared. He was swimming against the current with strong strokes.

  “Behind you,” yelled Ananth as he swam past and Tara spun round.

  There at the edge of the trees stood Zarku, flanked by two hyenas.

  “Vayu, we might all have to jump in and take our chances,” whispered Tara. “Are you with us?”

  “No,” said Vayu. “Don’t ask me to do this, Tara. I’ll take the hyenas over drowning.”

  “Hello, Tara!” Zarku called out. “We meet once again. And this time there is no escape. None at all.”

  “Don’t come any closer, Zarku!” said Tara. She picked up a large stone. “I swear I’ll use this.”

  Vayu and Kabir both followed suit. Raani crawled around, gathering more rocks and piled them at their feet.

  “Didi,” said Zarku, using Suraj’s voice. “You’d throw a stone at me? You’d hurt your little brother?”

  He took a step closer. The hyenas moved away from him to the left and right. Tara hurled the stone with all the strength i
n her. It hit Zarku on the head. He sank to his knees sobbing. Vayu and Kabir pelted him and the hyenas with stones.

  Zarku cowered on the bank. “Please, Didi, stop, make them stop. Don’t hurt me.”

  It was all Tara could do to stop from running to him and gathering him up in her arms. Blood trickled down his face and he wiped it away with his small hands, whimpering.

  “Maybe we should stop,” said Tara. “We’ve hurt him enough.”

  “Close your eyes, Tara,” said Vayu. “You’ll see what he really is.”

  But there was no need for it. Vayu took aim and lobbed another stone at Zarku. It connected with his shin and he roared in pain, dropping all pretences. “I warned you, but you wouldn’t listen.” He turned to the hyenas. “Kill them all except for Tara.”

  At his command, the hyenas galloped toward them, whooping with joy. Zarku followed at a leisurely pace, a huge grin plastered on his face in spite of the cuts and bruises. The gap between them closed as Tara continued to throw stones at the snarling hyenas. Some hit the mark, eliciting a yelp while others went wide. She could see their teeth now, and flopping red tongues. They came closer. Still closer.

  “I found it … I FOUND IT.”

  She whipped around. There was Ananth in a small boat, straining with the oars to slow it down. Her heart floated within her chest. Soon they’d be far away, out of reach of this evil monster.

  “Vayu, I’ll throw the rope to you,” said Ananth. “You’ll have to hang on tight, the current is really strong.”

  Vayu went as close to the water as he dared. Tara turned her attention back to the hyenas. One of them was but a few feet away, only a dark shape in the fading light. Its eyes were fixed on her like lamplights. It moved toward her slowly, deliberately.

  The nearest stone was a few feet away. Tara picked up a handful of mud and threw it at the hyena. It yelped and fell back, pawing at its face. She glanced over her shoulder. Vayu had caught the rope and was holding the boat close to shore. The current was strong. He grunted and dug his heels into the soft mud on the river bank.