part 1 The Escape part 2 The main street was dotted with shops selling everything from clothes, electronics to food. The vendors seemed to know most of their customers as Bani found out. The friendly greetings cast Esme's way and the curious looks given to her and then Esme introducing her to the vendors. The laid back atmosphere was in contrast to the hustle and bustle of city that she was used. Forever all she could think about was how she her day used to be a rush to get one hundred and one things done before night fell.
While Esme went did her shopping Bani glanced looked curiously at what looked like a small cafe. The sign on the top of the window said, Rose Cafe but it looked as if it was closed. The windows had pretty flower boxes and the chintzy curtains in the window. The small tables and chairs were pushed closed to the wall instead of being laid out. Esme came out of the shop and saw Bani looking at the cafe. "That's Rose cafe. It's very popular when it's open, her pastries are the best in the town. She's closed for few weeks to get some work done inside, should open soon. I will introduce to her when she opens."
"Rose, is that the name of the owner?" Bani asked.
"No, her name is Rano. The name is from the old days, says it was owned by an English lady originally. Rano's mother used to run the cafe, until she took ill. Rano took over. Poor girl, her husband ran away after only two months of marriage."
Esme passing her a bag to hold, "Now let's go home and have some tea. Then we will make something for lunch."
The next few days followed the same pattern. Esme liked to take walk and buy few items, come home have tea, make light lunch, nap in the afternoon and then make dinner. Bani offered to help but most of the time Esme refused and Bani left it alone understanding that since Esme lived alone was used to doing her work alone. Bani would stray outside taking small walks or just sitting and watch the world pass by. She never ventured far from the house, scared of straying too far and getting lost. The looming hills and the forests of eucalyptus, jacaranda and gulmahor beckoned to be explored. Esme had told her to visit the local library to see if there reference books on the area, maps of the area. In the holiday season she said there was influx of city people coming to explore the hills. Somehow Bani did not feel brave enough to venture into the forest on her own. Her night sleeps were not so disturbed anymore and the tightness she felt at times seemed to be going away but still she was wary of her surroundings all the time and any unexpected sounds would wind her up like a tight spring.
It was on one of their morning shopping trip that Esme said excitedly, "Oh the cafe is open Bani. Why don't we go and treat ourselves. I can introduce to Rano, you will like her. Lovely girl." They crossed over and made their way towards the cafe. The small table and chairs had been pulled away from the walls and were occupied by people enjoying coffee and pastries. Inside the cafe also had tables and chairs for patron to sit and one end held display counter holding trays of various delicacies. Bani looked at the mouth-watering pastries and cakes. There were couple of girls serving customers. Esme ordered coffee and pastries for them and they sat at one of table. Bani breathed in the aroma of coffee, it was long time since she had indulged in coffee. A bite of the pastry confirmed they tasted just as good as they looked. Just as they finished their coffee, a woman in approached them, slim and dressed in long skirt and top with her hair tied back in a knot, she smiled as she came to their table. "Hello aunty, how have you been? It's been a while since you came in here."
Esme took hold of Rano's hand, "I am fine dear. How is your mother?"
"Ma is fine. She is making good progress. Will come and visit when the doctor gives her permission to travel." Rano looked at Bani and then to Esme, "You have a relative staying with you?"
Esme smiled, "Oh this is Bani. She is actually a niece of my friend Neetu and is visiting me for a while."
Rano held her hand out to Bani and said cheerfully, "Welcome Bani. I hope you enjoyed the pastries."
Bani feeling a little shy, "Thank you, the pastries are delicious. Even in Mumbai it's hard to find such food pastries."
Rano pulled out a chair and sat down. "So you are from Mumbai."
Bani said a little hesistantly, "Yes, I live in Mumbai."
"I went to culinary school there for two years, it was great I enjoyed the city and learned a lot about of cooking various cuisines, baking and learnt how to make these wonderful pastries. It was great to meet people from all over India having the same passion about cooking and baking. Did you work there Bani?"
"I did a hospitality course and then worked as a waitress in one of the large hotels." Rano studied Bani's face and took in the pale skin and her rather thin frame. She sensed Bani must have been seriously ill or gone through some life altering turmoil. "If you feel like working, I could do with some part time help. We are getting busy."
Bani sat looking thoughtful, "Well I do get bored, maybe I could work few hours. It would be good to work again. Can I think about it and let you know." Rano gave her an assuring smile, "I am not looking for a yes now, you can let me know whenever you are ready. You will be here for the summer, right?"
Bani nodded her head, "I am planning to go yet. I want to stay and explore the place. I don't have anyone to go back to." Rano stood up, "Well enjoy your stay," and walked back to her kitchen.
Outside Esme said, "That was nice of her to offer you work. I know she needs extra hands when the summer comes." Bani turned to Esme, "You wouldn't mind if I worked would you aunty?"
"No dear. It would be nice for you have the company of people your age Bani. Plus you will get to know others. There are a lot of regular customers at the cafe."
Bani started working few hours at the cafe, usually at its busy time from noon till dusk. It was difficult and she got into the swing of it. She got to know Maya and Vinita the other two girls who worked at the front and in thekitchen their was Manju who helped with the baking and the cooking and Brij who washed and cleaned up. Brij had polio as child and was left weakness in his left leg and walked about with limp. He had never gone to school and worked to help his family out. The boy was shy and did not talk much.
When it was quiet Bani could watch Rano and Manju at work, creating variety of pastries. Rano's hand worked magic with the dough, kneading, rolling and shaping into soft flaky treats that were lapped up by the customers. When she had spare time Rano would tell her history about the region and talk about walking the trails in the forest, about hidden waterfalls and streams, the birds and the animals that lived the hills. When she was young, Rano's father would regularly take her on hikes, her father liked to study plants and they would spend hours in the hills. Bani asked if the trails were marked and easy to follow. Rano told her some of the trails were marked for tourists but there were others which you could follow as long as you kept to visible path. Bani decided on one of the day she had free she would try out a short hike. Rano suggested she take Brij with her as the boy was familiar with the terrain.
Bani went to bed as usual, double checking her windows and doors were locked. Even though she felt more relaxed, the nights still brought on the panic about unnamed danger. She still had hard time falling asleep, the noises of the night made her imagination run wild. Sleep came quicker than realized and when she woke, the pale glow of the morning sun filered in through the parted curtain. The billowing of the curtain made her sit up, why was her window open, she had double checked it was locked before she fell asleep. Pushing the blanket off she treaded nervously towards the door and turned the handle. The door opened easily, she closed it shut and stared at the lock. She couldn't have, she wouldn't have fallen asleep without locking up...no...no she wouldn't forget to lock the door when she got in. Nothing in her room looked unusual, nothing was missing. She convinced herself that she must have fallen asleep and forgotten to lock the doors and window. Bani quickly got ready, it was her day off and she and Brij were going to hike one the trail. The excitement actually made her forget her apprehension of unlocked door.
Just as the sun had banished the chill in the air, Bani set off with her backpack filled with water and some snacks, her camera around her neck towards the spot where she had agreed to meet Brij. There were an odd people walking about, who now recognized Bani as the girl staying with Aunt Esme and gave her smile as she walked by. She found Brij stood with his back resting against a tree. He flashed his brilliant smile at her and tugged at her backpack, "Di let me carry this."
Bani handed him the pack, "Ok, but we will take turns. It's little heavy with the bottled water." Brij nodded and set off, "Come on di before the sun gets too hot." Bani matched her stride with Brij and soon they were traipsing through the rough trail under the canopy of the trees. The hot sun filtered its rays through the leaves, creating shimmering patterns on the ground. They chatted quietly as they walked carefully over rocks and rotting leaves and twigs. Bani was intrigued by the unusual sounds made by birds, insects and even odd animals. Brij seemed to recognize some of the sounds and would answer her question. After an hour of steady walking they stopped to drink some water. The air felt humid and sticky even though the elevation must be few hundreds feet from sea level. After a while Bani could hear the faint roar of the water tumbling on the rocks. Brij stopped and grinned at Bani, "Di, can you hear? We are getting closer to the waterfall."
It took another hour before they reached the waterfall. Dropping the pack, Brij dropped to his knees as close to edge peered down the rocky terrain, the white water tumbling over rocks down into the muddy pool. Bani took her camera out and took several snaps of the fantastic scenery of green forest and snowy white waters. Once satisfied with the pictures taken, she sat down next to Brij and they ate the snacks she had brought along while trying to talk over the sound of the water. After Bani and Brij just sat quietly watching the falls until Bani felt her eyelid droop. Closing up her pack, she tapped Brij, "Let's go before we fall asleep here. We have a long way to go down."
The two of them followed the trail down, going carefully as a slip would send them rolling down. It was while they were almost halfway down when a sudden rustle in the dense shrubbery made Bani turn her head. Peering from the shrub, almost hidden she saw a pair of black glinting eyes staring back. She gripped Brij and pointed and suddenly the shaking of shrub sent both them running down the trail. In her panic Bani dropped the pack, tripped over it and went hurtling down. All Brij could do was stop and stare at Bani rolling down. Few yards down she came to rest against a tree and Brij picked up the pack and made his way down followed by a large black dog which had leapt out of the shrubs.
Brij flung the pack off and bent over Bani lying still on the ground, "Didi...Didi!" Brij screamed loudly, shaking her hard. But Bani did not stir or move. Brij looked around helplessly and agitated at not knowing what to do, began to shout loudly. The dog licked at Bani's face and barked loudly. A few minutes later a man walked up to them and patted the dog, "Sheba, bad dog. Don't listen do you about not running away?" He looked from Brij to Bani lying face down, "What happened?" he asked Brij. Brij gulping air, pointed at the dog, "Him! He scared us up there when he leapt out of the bush. Didi fell down." And shaking Bani said tearfully, "She won't get up. Is she dead?"
Jai Walia gazed into the eyes of his dog, "Sit Sheba. No noise." The dog wagged his tail and sat down, his warm brown eyes looking interestingly at what her master was doing. Jai crouched down and turned Bani face over, cut and grazes covered her face and a lump was forming where she must have banged her head. He felt her pulse, it was steady. Pointing at the pack, "Is there water in there?" he asked. Brij nodded and quickly took a bottle out and gave it to him.
Jai opened the bottle and sprinkled some water on her face. After several seconds, Bani stirred and groaned. She carefully opened her eyes and seeing the dog sat next to her, screamed. Jai quickly slapped his hand over her mouth, "Shhhhhhhh. She won't hurt you." Bani looked from the dog to Jai. A look of fear crossed her face and she shifted her gaze to Brij's pale face. "Didi, are you ok? You fell."
Bani gritted her teeth and sat up. She hurt all over, but her head was worst, it throbbed. She put her hand over the spot and winced at the pain as it pressed over the lump. Jai removed her hand, "There is a lump there, you must have banged it hard. Do you think you can stand up and try walking?"
Holding her arm he helped Bani stand up. She grabbed hard on to his arm as she felt her head going around and around. Jai picked up her pack and gave it to Brij and then swinging Bani up in his arm said, "Let's go. Come on Sheba." Bani pushed at him and said hastily, "Put me down, I can walk." Jai gave her glare, "No you can't. You need to get to the doctor and get checked out. I am not leaving you to walk down by yourself with this young kid."
He effortlessly carried her down and near the road he set her down and made her sit down. "Now stay her, I will go and get my car. Sheba stay, I will be back." Sheba barked once, her tail swishing happily. Bani looked at Brij and gave him a watery smile. "Scared you did i?"
Brij close to tears, nodded, "Yes didi, thought you were dead." Bani held out her hand to him and squeezed it when he put it in hers, "See I didn't die. Now cheer up. Do you know the man?" Bani asked looking in the direction Jai had walked off.
"I don't know his name, but he comes to the cafe sometimes. I think Ranodidi knows him."
Several minutes later, a jeep pulled up to them. Jai stepped out and opened the car door and lifted Bani up again and sat her down on the seat. Flinging the pack in, he helped his dog get in. Getting in on the driver's seat, he turned and asked, "Do you have a doctor?" Bani shook her head, "I am only here for a short time." Jai turned back, "Well then, I will take you to Doctor Sastry," and stepped on the accelerator.
To be continued....
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
