Part 32

Part 32

“Rini Didi...!” Dhatri held her breath. “I think... I... I... blundered....!” she said looking at her Rini Didi with fear. Dhatri was giving the full account of her expedition.

“What?” Rini too held her breath. “You gave away his identity?” she asked her with bated breath.

“I don't know. The guards seemed to know nothing....” she said and Rini sighed. “But that boy...” Dhatri looked lost, Dharini shook her head. She looked at the room door locked from inside.

“Do you think....they will report?” asked Dhatri. Rini looked at her.

“Dhaa... Ten years...I don't think they know...” Rini gave her hope. Dhaa looked relieved. She was with her Rini Didi after the expedition sharing her secret, telling her everything from the beginning of the expedition.

“You know that Shiv ji Cavern …. I knew the secret route and I took them to the other side of the Mountain..” she said.

“Look Dhaa... the same thing you should follow. Don't let out anything...” Dharini told her closing her eyes.

Dhatri was discharged from the hospital and had come home still very weak and fable. Dharini had taken charge of her care. A five year old Dhaa was very weak to talk to anyone. “Rini Didi...” she used to hold Rini's hand tightly still traumatized. Rini never left her alone, not even for school. Eight days after her discharge from the hospital, Police was at the door.

“We need to take her ….” Inspector opened the topic.

“But... she hasn't recovered yet...” Dr. Salil protested. “Can't help Sir, we have a doctor with us... We need her for identification... We have detained some suspects....” The inspector said and Rini ran towards Dhatri.

“Dhaa... listen... that inspector demon has come again to take you.... You are not telling him anything...” Rini had struck the solution. If Dhaa didn't give away any information to anyone, she would be left alone....! This was the best solution and Rini had brainwashed Dhaa …!

“Ok. Didi...” Dhaa smiled faintly. Rini got her ready and carried her outside. Dr. Salil picked her up gravely.

“Baby.... do you remember anything?” the inspector asked kindly and Dhatri held her father tightly shaking her head. “Don't call me baby...!” she retorted holding on to her father. Only her good boy had the right to call her baby. She glanced at her Rini Didi.

“If you see those bad guys... will you recognize them?” the inspector asked and Dhatri hid her face on her father's shoulder.

“Ok. Let us go!” Inspector took it positively. When they came back next day visiting various places and the police station in Chandrapur, the police had nothing. Dhatri failed to identify the persons and the places.

She was taken to several places in the jungles from Maharashtra Chandrapur up to Chaibasa in Jharkhand... where she was found, all strong holds of Naxals...! She failed to identify any of the places. She didn't identify any person. She was taken to the raided naxal camps every time the raid took place but she didn't recognise anything. She did not cooperate with the police. When she was asked to describe the persons who had taken her, she would only say... “They were black...with red eyes...” the description would fit to any tribal person from that area, even the photos, she didn't recognize any one of them...”

She was found almost dead with injuries and unconsciousness with other dead bodies in the encounter, Police or BSF had no clue what they did with her during those several months of her captivity. The tests didn't prove molestation but there was physical abuse with injuries all over her body. After her recovery, her Rini Didi had told her not to give away any information or to identify anyone. She had obeyed and not given away anything, refusing to identify any place or person. She would cry her heart out and scream for her Rini Didi. The child psychologists had also failed to probe deeper into her closed mind. Five years after the recovery, police had given up on her and had stopped taking her to the raided camps and tribal settlements into the jungles.

But this expedition was different. It had brought back all her memories and she had met him.... ! Dhaa smiled at the thought. She looked up at her Didi with bright face.

“Dhaa...!” Rini hugged her tightly. “It was awesome, Di... !” Dhatri whispered.

“Dharini...” Nilima was knocking the door.

“Dhaa, go to sleep. I will just finish the chores and come back ok?” Rini said getting up from the bed.

Dhatri pulled the duvet and went back to the expedition. They were in the last lap of their expedition. The team had collected over two thousand samples of leave, roots, stems, seeds, dried fruits and flowers neatly documented, packed and dispatched. Dhatri had her treasure, though she gave away some of her finds.  She had numerous deer horns, a piece of spotted deer skin, an intact-complete snake shed skin, peacock feathers, colorful feathers of birds, beak of horn-bill killed in a hunt, a bone she couldn't identify the animal, a broken tooth of some feline animal, dried red leaves, hoof of bison, and numerous stones of different shapes and sizes.  She even had picked up a natural wood sculpture, but had to give it away for its sheer size.  She had a bag full of her finds.  Smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes to go to sleep per the orders of her Rini Didi.  Her thoughts still lingered in the Jungle with the group.

Dhatri blinked open her eyes. There was a strange distant drumming in the wee hours of night. She sat up and looked around. She still heard the percussion. “Huh...!” she held her breath, picked up her bag, took out the torch, pulled up her socks, wore the shoes, tied her torch to the shoe lace, held her thick long stick tightly and came out in the open. She could see dim lights down in the valley. Mesmerized, she started descending amidst long spooky whining of the crickets hidden somewhere.

“Shit...Man..! “ Ravi gaped at her vanishing figure and dashed in to collect his bag and shoes.

Maria heard rustle and opened her eyes to find flattened sleeping bag. She looked at the open bathroom door and sat up in the bed.

“Where is she?” Maria came out to see Ravi hurriedly going somewhere.

“Ray...?!” she called out. He stopped and turned, startled. “Dhatri...!” he pointed in some direction. She came out too and saw a faint torch light descending into the valley.

“Wait!” she ordered and dashed in. Soon they both followed the descending torch light, without a word. Ravi looked at his watch. It was four in the morning.

“I am sure she is up to something dangerous, this time...!” he muttered. “Hope she is not doing anything dangerous..!” Murmured  Maria at the same time! They both looked at each other and moved to catch up with the moving torch light.