sas chp 5

 CHAPTER 5 - phargadh forest

I climbed in the bus, believing that the world will spin; I'll fall into some black hole and disappear for life. Thankfully, and to my surprise I reached our rappelling spot- safe, sound and alive. Aksha was uneasy the whole way too. She was concerned about me. Frankly, without her having constantly distract me, this journey would have been damn scary. The rappelling point was a few minutes’ walk from where our bus was parked. There was a small river, which we were first supposed to cross, midair, with the help of a rope, and guidance of course. Once we crossed it, the other activities followed, but we couldn't see the other end.

It was first John's chance for the river crossing and abseiling. He fastened his safety belts and started his adventure. It was chilling yet enthralling to see him up there. I could hardly wait for my turn!  "I'm so scared guys, I think I'll puke up there" Khushi whispered. Aksha immediately started telling her about all the enthusiastic details. They were supposed to get Khushi excited, instead it only made her nervous and she ran back into the bus. Aksha and I exchanged looks, and she followed her to convince her.

"Miss Khushi please come forward. It’s your turn" Kumar sir called. I went stiff for a minute. I couldn't tell him what just happened. It could mean trouble for both Khushi and Aksha. So I decided to lie. "Sir, actually Khushi forgot her purse in the bus so she has gone to get it." He looked more annoyed than I expected him to be. I suppose my group was slowing down the trip a lot of times.  "Sir, Khushi and I could exchange places, I'll go first." I suggested. I'd hoped I could make up for my earlier delay. But Kumar sir disapproved at the same instant. Instead, he sent Adhiraj. Couldn't He just send me? Anyways, thankfully in about five minutes, both my girls were back while Kumar sir was busy with the setup for the next student. "Mission accomplished!" Aksha said giving a radiant winner-smile. I quickly gave them an overview. Aksha was a little mad. She wanted to see Adhiraj doing his turn, but she was glad they weren't in any trouble.

"Sana, come forward." I was really excited to go, but the moment my name was announced, my anxiety kicked up. Sweat started dripping my forehead. My friends smiled at me, showing they were pretty confident I could make it. This gave me a boost. I moved forward.

The guides fastened the security belts around me. The descender was tied on the harness at my waist, which was a friction hitch device. "When you get to the other side of the lake, there will be another guide who will help you get down. There onwards you will climb down a small hill in a similar way." Kumar sir's instructions were clear, straight forward and so low that only I could hear his voice. I clutched the rope with my gloved hands and started moving forward. It was really exhilarating. I dared a peek downwards, knowing I was never afraid of heights. It looked beautiful! In an upside-down way, since I was upside down, but this was going to be a memorable experience. I could tell.

Just like sir had told me, the other guide was standing, ready to put me down. As my equipments moved back for the other students, I moved forward to spot the hill. Sir had asked me to make it downhill, so I started going in that direction. I was hoping Adhiraj will be there, but maybe he was fast and went down the hill already. Well, I was on my own then.

The Ground was a little moist. It made getting a grip difficult. My fears came true when I slipped over a pebble making the hill a bumpy slide. It hurt, real bad. But at least I cleared a big patch faster. There were supposed to be other students here but I was alone. Maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere. According to what sir said, to the right there was supposed to be a waterfall. My GPRS tracker said the same. Hoping that the others were there, I took off to the right. It was a relief seeing the waterfall. But alas, no students. However there was one face I knew, the face that I could identify anywhere, the face I’d seen on the night that still haunted me. It was Dravya.

"I told you Miss Sana. I told you not to come here. I told you about the dark forces. Don't you love yourself enough to stay alive?" Well, Dravya was wrong this time. "I'm not technically in the forest. Just it’s outskirts. Our group is hiking and trekking and stuff." To My surprise he gave me a bitter laugh. "You Are in the midst of the Phargadh forest Miss Sana."

His words sent a chill through me but I didn't believe him. But unfortunately my GPRS tracker agreed with him. It showed me a waterfall right in the center of the forest. No. This can’t be, I said to myself. Not again. I wish Aksha was here with me. She could wipe away all my tears without letting me know how bad I was crying. If John was here he'd change my mood within seconds. But I was alone, alone with Dravya. I realized I had to snap back to reality. He sensed my mood and offered me a gentleman smile. “I can’t change the fact that you’ve risked your life, but I can definitely help you with the way out. Follow me.” “Thanks Dravya” I said but didn’t move. “Can I ask you something?” I asked. He was in a tux similar to what I’d seen him wear last time. “How is it that you’re in the forest every time I’m here?” He chuckled. “Are you under the impression that I’m following you?” I didn’t have that in mind for sure. I replied, “No, I was just curious. I’m sure it was a co-incidence, but aren’t you afraid? You warn me not to come here, but you linger here all along. How come you’re not scared then?” He gave me another quick chuckle, like he was laughing on some inside joke. “Uhm” He hesitated for a minute and then replied with “I live here”.

“Here as in the forest? What are you, Mowgli?” I didn’t mean to make it rude. It was more like a snide comment. He didn’t seem to mind, so I didn’t bother apologizing. We started walking. “No, I’m definitely not Mowgli” he said, still laughing. “I’m not sure whether you’ll believe me.” He now had a serious tone. “Please tell me Dravya.” He was making me really curious. He peeked at me analyzing if I was serious and finally gave in.

“We’re the guardians of the forest. We’re humans that nobody outside our little world even recognizes. We stay here to save any humans that wander off in the jungle. We want them safe and happy in their own lives.” His voice was so heavy with emotions. He spoke every word distinctly. He looked at me trying to judge whether I was buying it. Somehow I did trust him. Every word that he said, every sentence. His voice and expression said it all. He continued, “The humans need to be safe and away from even the knowledge of what exists here. Ignorance is bliss. These dark forces are bad enough. With science and technology, it can go up to heights you cannot even imagine. Some things are better unknown.”

“What is it? What’s the secret of this forest?” He looked at me sternly and said, “Like I said, it’s better unknown. It’s a secret hidden for the best.” Somehow his denial was only half-hearted. It was like he wanted to tell me. I pushed him on the topic a little. “Come on please? I promise I won’t tell anyone.” I tried making a puppy face, and I suppose it worked. “Fine I’ll tell you. But you have to keep that promise.” I agreed. I only stopped when I saw where we were going. “Are you crazy Dravya?” I screamt out loud. He was walking right towards the waterfall. I was in no picnic mood. He gave me a look that said ‘Can you handle it girl??’. I crossed my hands and looked at him a little angrily. He replied, doubtful if I would listen and said “Behind the waterfall is a cave that links the jungle to your highway.”

sas chp 4

 CHAPTER 4 - the misunderstanding

It was a guy dragging her. Tiara did not look aghast, only annoyed. Like she knew him, but didn’t want him to take her away. I kept track of how far I was from my bus, but eventually I couldn’t tell. I ran until I finally reached him and yanked him away from Tiara. “What the hell are you doing? Forcing this kid to come with you? You can’t kidnap her. I’m reporting to the police.” I said, very sternly. All I got from him was a confident smirk. He had a good build, fit for a gangster. “What? You think I’m gonna let this go? This isn’t an empty threat.” I took out my cell phone to prove my point. Urgh! That smirk again. What was wrong with this guy? Wasn’t he scared? That was it, I couldn’t take any more of his super annoying expressions.

I started dialling when Tiara spoke. “Stop. He isn’t kidnapping me. This is Armaan. He’s my neighbour, and my friend." Friend? He looked my age. “Why are you forcing her to go then?” I asked, unable to interpret anything. All he said was “I’m not letting Tiara close to any impure souls”. And he left. Just like that. Did he just call me an impure soul? There was something in the way he confidently said it, and in his expression that was fierce. Whatever arguments I had in mind, I kept them to myself. He didn’t know me at all and the hypocrite had already decided that I have an impure soul. Whatever the case, I could see he cared for Tiara and wasn’t as harsh to her as it seemed from the distance. She wasn’t hurt. But I had a strangely strong anger build in inside me. I had the urge to twist his neck hard enough for him to die, or strangle him some broad yet pointy object. I wanted to see him down on his knees, begging for life. No! I said to myself. I was becoming a devil. What the hell? One line. One line of his made my worst side come out. I wasn’t that monstrous. First the drama in the morning with Aksha and now this. I felt ashamed. I turned back to leave and bam! I was lost.

            My heartbeat sure picked pace, but it wasn’t all that scary as it would have been, if it was dark out here. There weren’t many people on the road, but there was a small mart. Hopefully they’d give me directions. “Excuse me? Can you tell me the way to the cotton factory?” I enquired at the counter. I was pretty sure that was a big landmark. I followed his directions and my gut told me I was on the right track. Things slowly started seeming familiar and I spotted my bus.

“Where were you Sana?” Kumar sir’s voice sounded heavy and angry. I realized I’d slowed down the trip. My JHAKAS group looked really relieved on seeing me, but also worried at the same time. I gave everyone a recap of what happened, except for the part where I’d been called an impure soul. John was the only one who burst out into laughter, while others had an angry glare fixed on me. The misunderstanding was clearly amusing to him, but eventually everyone started laughing, including me, easing the tension a little. Kumar sir strictly forbade me from wandering off again, and I was happy he didn’t know anything about my night trip to the forest.

Once I got into the bus, I noticed Khushi glaring at me. The glare had nothing to do with my detour of course. I went to sit beside her. “Hey”, I said. No acknowledgement from her side. This was going to be tough. “What is it Khushi? Just say it.” “You know what this is about Sana, no need to act all innocent.” I knew what she meant. I clarified immediately, “Look I’m not dating John. And neither is Aksha with Adhiraj.” “Reeeeally?” she finally said with a friendly teasing smile, emphasizing on the ‘e’s. Anyways, it wasn’t official. I was glad she finally accepted my say. I didn’t want her to feel left out. We didn’t want to hide anything from her.

 We had our activities lined up after lunch. Aksha asked me once we were alone, “You look upset about something. Everything okay?” She was still careful while talking to me after my outburst this morning. She was my bestie and I couldn’t hide this from her. I told her about me being called the “impure soul” and my reactions to it. She was definitely mad at Armaan, though she didn’t even know him. Obviously, I would feel the same way if we exchanged our places, but she was concerned about something else. “I didn’t know you have a violent streak miss softie” She was trying to joke about it, but I could see her unease. I shrugged it off.

Our next stop was a scientific research centre tour. It was very interesting. Or maybe it was just me, because everyone else seemed quite bored. I guess I was very satisfied because it was something normal. Given the past few hours of my life, normality was something I was really looking forward to. We left from the science centre and headed back to our hotel. I needed sleep so bad I actually fell asleep in the bus. It wasn’t even night time, just about early evening. Aksha’s voice woke me up. She seemed uncomfortable and confused. What was the matter?

            “I’m not sure whether I should tell you this…” now she was making me extremely curious. “Just say it already Aksha”. “No I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought this up” she said while slipping her cell into her pocket. “Go to sleep. Want me to tell you a bed time story?” I was in no mood for her jokes. She was hiding her cell from me? Why? “Just tell me Aksha please?” I supposed a request and a little emotional blackmail would suffice. And it did. “Please Sana, don’t get very angry.” She seemed like she was bracing herself for something.

“I searched for it online. For the Phargadh forest. About its stories.” I was afraid I’ll snap at her, like I had in the morning. However I managed to control my temper which seemed to be rising every second. This is what she was afraid of. When she noticed me taking this cool, she continued. “And the stories are not good. They say it is… abnormal? I don’t know. Something like that. Like its bewitched or something. People who go there don’t come back and stuff like that. Similar to Bermuda Triangle. They just disappear. And some stories say that…” “Stop Aksha stop it!” I couldn’t control my anger now. I was curious. I wanted to know about the forest but I was yelling at Aksha to stop. Why? It just happened. Aksha was taken aback too, but she understood. “I’m sorry” I whispered. She was my best friend. Why was I acting like that with her? Urgh. I hated myself for this. We quickly changed the topic and moved on to something…. Normal.

            We reached our room and I loved seeing my bed empty. It was so tempting that I climbed on without even removing my footwear. Within seconds I was fast asleep. I must have slept really well because when I opened my eyes, I felt sunrays touching me softly. I was glad for that. Aksha and Martika were still asleep. I smiled, happy that I slept carefree. Here I was, awake, alive and smiling. I liked it.

            A knock on the door, woke the others up. The volunteers were asking us to get ready for breakfast. Sounded good to me. We were supposed to have an adventure today, starting with rappelling. “Where are we going?” I asked Kumar sir. He seemed excited about this. “On the Firuki mountains” he said. I used my GPRS tracking to know its location. It told me that the Firuki mountains were right there, right where I dreaded to go. It was beyond the Phargadh forest. And the only way to reach there was through the forest…