I’m Koyna.
I lost my parents last year, along with half of my village, in a tragic earthquake
incident. Without my parents, I was shattered- not just emotionally but also
financially. Some of us who were attending college outside the village, and
some of us who were out for work were the only survivors.
I am
21 as of today. I’ve been hunting for a real job for quite some time now. After
all, teaching kindergarten in a small town doesn’t promise a comfortable
salary. But I still liked it there. I had the qualifications of teaching
college students, but I enjoyed teaching my kindergarteners too much. Until,
the salary really started giving me goose bumps. I could barely pay the bills
and make a living. I had to grow out of my safe cocoon.
Before
leaving my house for the interview, I was so filled with doubt, fear and
frustration, I decided go visit the land that took my parents away from me. It
was sealed after the earthquake, or earth-blast, as the news people called it. I’d
gone there to curse it. It was silly, but I needed to do it. Just to get a
little peace of mind.
My
parents were traders, and often alternately left home and travelled far and
wide to trade. Unluckily, they were both home when the ‘earth-blast’ happened. They
often told me stories of my village’s history. I never told them how boring it
was, simply because it was just so good to hear their voice after so long. Last
year, after the incident, it took me a while to realize that I wasn’t going
hear their voice ever again.
I
reached my old village. The site was sealed, and the rest was abandoned. The
piece of land was completely isolated. Just land everywhere, concrete as well
as shattered. Some called the accident “rage of the earth”, some called it
“haunted land”, or “a natural calamity” or “comeback of nature” or “deadly
damned land”. The accident was so lethal that none of the residents had
survived it. Many of us had lost our parents, siblings and children. The place
reeked. I almost assumed the land laughing at its victory of taking my parents
away from me. I banged my leg on the ground, instead it hit a pointy rock and
started to bleed. I didn’t even care. I wanted to cry and fight at the same
time.
But
who would I fight? Earth? That was not humanly possible. So I was left with the
second option. Cry. A flood of memories rushed to me. The warmth and comfort of
sleeping on dad’s lap, mom’s lullabies, the bedtime stories, their so called
“quotes for life”, his wit and gut and patience. I was never gonna see them
again. I screamed so loud in agony, I think the earth below me trembled a
little. For a second, I even felt something sliding over my foot. But I didn’t
even feel like seeing what it was. I gathered myself somehow and whispered “I
miss you” hoping they’d hear it wherever they were.
Reality rushed in then. I’d completely lost
track of time. I was already late. I rushed to my tempo-truck that I’d received
as a family hand-down. I had to drive fast for my walk in interview as a
geology teacher in college. It was a job I didn’t fancy much, but really wanted
now. As I pushed my foot on the accelerator, I felt something slimy slide up. I
immediately pushed the break and the truck stopped with a loud screech.
I
bent down to see a disgusting yellow-orange amoeba like creature. It must have
climbed up my leg when I was screaming. I could actually feel its heart beat at
the exact center of its body. Eww. I took a paper from my bag, grabbed it in
the paper and threw it as far away from me as possible. Just as I was about to
turn away, I saw it changing course and coming right back at me like a
boomerang. Clearly, it didn’t have any wings. How the hell did it come back
then?
I
took the truck in reverse, held it in the paper and this time, placed it
carefully on the ground. Then returned. I opened the door to my truck, and it
slid right before me into the driving seat. It was creepy. It wouldn’t leave
me. Why?! Scared and baffled, I got down the truck and closed the door shut. I
saw it struggling to get out of the shut window. Somewhere inside I silently
thanked God for not letting it pass through the glass like a ghost. It was
sealed within and I was wondering what to do with it. It was really petite. It
seemed more like skin color now, but I could swear it was orange-ish a few
minutes before. A color changing amoeba-like creature. Hmm. Maybe I didn’t need
to be afraid of it at all. It was way smaller than me anyways. I got in the
truck from the other side, and slowly slid it into the empty wafer wrapper and
then stapled it on the top. I was sure it wouldn’t follow me now. I threw the
wrapper out and drove right to my interview without giving it a second glance.
I was
a full 10 minutes late. I ran up to the principal’s office and he sure didn’t
seem happy. I’d lost my first impression already. That got me all worked up and
nervous. “Please have a seat” the principal said. I was glad I didn’t tumble on
that floor given all those nerves I had. “I’m so sorry for being late sir. My
car broke down.” I had to give that excuse. I couldn’t just say “oh I was
trying to get rid of a tiny creature that wouldn’t leave me”! The rest of the
interview continued formally, without any lies.
“Ms.
Koyna, we will be short listing three teachers, who will have to take a lecture
in class, in our presence. We’ll let you know in two days, which ones of you
are selected. Thank you.” Okay, that was
my cue to leave. That was smooth. I was relieved that I finally had one good
interview. I was feeling a little confident.
I was
finding my truck keys in my purse, when I heard the most soothing familiar
voice. “I haven’t seen that smile in a while!” “Roran!!” I was so glad to see
him again! Roran was my neighbour who’d moved recently to town for some biological
research work. He was twenty-eight, fine heighted, dark haired and had a huge
smile. “It’s been so long! What are you doing here?” we said in harmony, and
then laughed for saying the same things. There was nothing funny about it, but
I guess it’s ok to laugh for no apparent reason when you’re with friends!
“Well,
the principal of this college is my part-time colleague in the research. But
what are you doing here?” “I was here for an interview”. “Do you want me to put
in a word for you?” Hm. Did I want the job? Yes. Did I want it solely on
recommendation? No. It was best to just talk about it later. “How long are you
home?” I asked him, really hoping his answer would be ‘forever’. “A few months,
a year maybe” he said, biting his lip. “Come on, I’ll show you where I live”,
he said. I smiled and he nodded. I opened the door of my truck when I
accidentally stepped on plastic. I looked down, it wasn’t just some plastic. It
was a wrapper. The wafer wrapper with the creature in it…
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