Nupur was seated before the dressing table mirror slowly brushing her hair. physically she was in the Oakwood estate but in her mind she was back in the woods with Mayank. his name brought a shy smile on her lips & she could feel her face going pink, she was far from a giddy teenager yet she was behaving like one & was loving it.
The day flashed thru her mind like a film. The way Mayank looked at her,smiled at her told her ,he too was attracted towards her ,just as she was to him. she remembered how he had helped her down the steep ledge holding her hand ,he had kept holding it while on the trail & even she had not pulled it back.they had walked quite long with their fingers entwined together.
They came across a beautiful flower in one place & Mayank had plucked it & without hesitating put it in her hair. Nupur looked towards her bedside table where she had pressed the flower between layers of tissue ,in a book to dry & preserve it. it was going to be a prized possession.
On their way back they had stopped at the supervisor's place. Mayank introduced the couple to Nupur as Deviprasad kaka & Vimla kaki , saying
they were important members of the plantation. Mayank & Deviprasad kaka discussed some plantation business, by that time Vimla kaki had brought out piping hot food for all of them. The aroma of food was very tempting.
All of them shared the food chatting about general things.
" Mayank beta , there is some thing more i have to tell you..." Deviprasad kaka hesitated a bit looking at Nupur.
" Kaka ,what is it ?? you can talk freely."said Mayank.
" Beta , chhotu had come to see me this morning , he said ,lakhan & his good for nothing friends are back in village." said kaka a bit worried .
Mayank too turned grim after hearing this news.
" Don't worry Kaka , i will talk to the forest officer about it & we will increase the number of men patrolling the area. this time lets try to catch
them & put them away for good." said Mayank with determination.
Then they thanked Vimla kaki for the food & started back towards Oakwood. on the way Mayank was lost in his thoughts.
Nupur kept quiet for some time ,then she could not stop herself & asked,
"Mayank!!! whats the matter?? who is this lakhan & why are both you & kaka worried about his return.''
Mayank came out of his thoughts & replied ," lakhan is a trouble maker & a thief. he and his men illegally & indiscriminately cut trees & smuggle the timber. they are very dangerous & last year one guard was beaten up very badly ,we suspect by lakhan & his gang.There was no proof of that so police
could not do anything. that poor guard had been hospitalised for nearly a month."
Nupur snuggled under the covers. * Mayank is such a conscious man. he takes his responsibility very seriously. * thinking about Mayank , Nupur
drifted away in sleep.
**************************************************
In another part of the house Mayank was tossing & turning on his bed. when he finally slept it was not peacefully . his sleep was invaded with some long ago memories which turned into dreams .
" i don't think ,we can be together ." she said angryly ," you did not tell me these things , i heard them from a third party.you hurt me immensely."
He just stood there silently hearing her ranting but did not utter a single word,grief & despair was evident on his face ,in his eyes , but she was busy
berating him to pay attention.
comment:
p_commentcount