Memories At The Hills

by Ragini Barman (India)

I didn't expect to find India

I looked up at the sun glaring above my head and felt like it was an accomplishment when the cool breeze welcomed me as I took the last step to reach the top. My palms were sweaty and my eyes were drained with no sleep since the last 24 hours. But it was worth it. The view of the dense green forest filled with the chirping of the birds from Devarayana Durga Hills was worth every sweat of mine. I took a deep breath and sat on a rock looking at all the directions to feed my nature thirsty eyes. My mom sat next to me and smiled. We didn't speak anything but our silence spoke the same words. As soon as I closed my eyes, the sounds of the temple bells filled my mind with a sense of tranquility. It was the kind of solitude I always searched for. We stayed for a few minutes and bid farewell to the place. It took us sometime to reach down. Our legs were paining badly so we decided to get back quickly to the tuk-tuk through which we came here. Our eyes searched and searched for the tuk-tuk but to no avail. My brother asked the people around if they saw the tuk-tuk which had our luggage. They were confused but sorry for our situation. I ran down the street without even thinking for a second in a vain hope that maybe he is still there with our luggage intact in his tuk-tuk. I was asking every stranger that came in front of my eyes if they saw the tuk-tuk. The response was the same head bobbling in a no. I glanced at my mother who was standing there still. I looked at my brother who had his head palmed in his hands. " But we had given him money. It wasn't that we asked him to guard our belongings for free. Why ? How ? How can someone be so deceiving even after talking with us in such a humble manner throughout the entire journey ? I was the fool to believe he's a good man. ", my brother said in a dejected tone. I didn't know what to say. I was lost wondering how can something go so wrong in a fraction of second. We were happy enjoying the beauty of the view and then the next moment this happened. The locals tried to cheer us sensing the gloominess filling in the surrounding. But we were too downhearted to pay any attention. My mom being the eldest tried her best to lighten up the situation, regaining her hold after the dismay. A small girl came running towards me and looked at my face. " Didi don't be so upset. God is watching. Have faith in him ", she said with a bright smile on her little face that showed her dimples. I looked at her and gave her a slow smile. Just then the tuk-tuk driver came back shocking everyone. We were surprised to see him smiling and coming towards us as if he had no clue about what's going on. He stopped his tuk-tuk and stepped towards my brother who was looking at his him with a question mark on his face. " What happened, Sir ? Wasn't the top view good? And Madam why are you looking at me like this ? ", he asked my brother and mother who was having a hard time to digest that he came back with all our luggage untouched. " Where did you go ? You left us here with all our luggage without any information. Why ? ", I asked. " Madam it's common sense to know that going to the top of the mountain would take a lot of time so I drove some passengers here and there. That way even my time was consumed. Now come it's getting late here. I would drop you to the bus station so that you reach Bengaluru on time. " His reply made us astound. We were confused but still we went inside the tuk-tuk wasting no time. As he started to drive, I peeked out my head and waved my hand to the little girl who waved back, flashing her dimples as she smiled...