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Dhatri opened her eyes with a start.  The chaos outside was getting louder.  She looked around ... The wail too was getting louder.... Someone was calling out for help... She jumped to her feet taking a look around.... The groan and the painful growl had intensified... She turned and came out of the sanctum...!

“Where are you?” she looked around at the gala gathering... the pain, the cry for help was muffled in that noise... she walked past everyone like a sleep walker...

“Hey.. big sis... where are you going?” Afroz ran behind her but Dhatri was out of earshot...!

“I must reach there... before he catches up....!” Dhatri’s insides stirred painfully, her body temperature shooting up...! She had seen him lurking... anytime he would strike and snatch away the breath... "No..!" she broke into a sprint lifting her over sized wedding lehenga.  A huge orange ball was rising from behind the mountains...! 

“Where is she going?” Afroz had no time to think... she ran after her big sister...!

“Hey... Where are you?” Dhatri had vanished in thin air...!  Afroz, thinking quick turned back and ...

“Hey... Big sister...” She huffed ... “What?” Poorva asked suspiciously.  Afroz just waved at the direction.  

“Where is she?” Poorva asked again... “Went that way....” Afroz said and the cluster moved out or the Mandir in the direction where Dhatri had vanished....!

“Oh... Mari mai... Mari mai....” Dhatri knelt down touching the abscess... The pains grew... the swollen udder, swell to the limit.... Dhatri’s hands moved over the floundering body.... The udder burst out, oozing dirt and blood.... Dhatri’s hands moved on the belly... 

“Come... come out....” her hands moved faster pushing the belly downwards.... The cow mooed an unbearable pain... Dhatri had gone beyond hearing....! Her hands moved faster... the bleeding of the udder had stopped... the fluids gushed out, with reddish tinge... The cow gave the last push with a loud wail.... and the calf dropped on the ground in a heap....

“What...? Hey Mayya....” The man with a bucket of hot water came rushing in...!  Dhatri had passed out... the calf was floundering... the cow was licking Dhatri’s face... The man darted to take care of the calf... He removed the afterbirth, the placenta and fetal membranes from the calf... and within no time the calf was on its legs jumping uncontrollably... The cow still in pain and bleeding, was trying to reach up to unconscious Dhatri.  The man dashed to her help.  He sprinkled water on Dhatri’s face...!

“Who are you...?” He kept looking at her like he was seeing some goddess in the Red wedding lehenga...! Dhatri refused to look at him patting gently the cow and the calf...! He once looked at the, now normal looking udder of the cow with a deep wound mark...! 

“How did you do it? She was struggling for days... We had given up hopes... The calf was drying inside with the fluids gushing out and the septic on her udder... ! “ Dhatri tried to get up...

“No wait... who are you?” he asked getting up.  Dhatri tried to avoid him...

“I should go...” she finally uttered ... The cow mooed loudly... She fondly gripped her horns and kissed her nose...! The calf jumped trying to synchronize its hind and front legs and losing its balance and slipping on the floor, nose down...! Dhatri giggled and lifted the calf ... The man smiled happily.  

“Who are you?” He asked her again... She shook her head and moved out of the byre. 

“Wait... please...” the man tied the calf hurriedly and ran behind her pleading... but she was not to be stopped... she was already feeling dizzy and uneasy...!

 ......  ..

“Big sis...?” Afroz yelled from the other side of the pathway and the man stopped.  Dhatri went ahead and her gang joined soon asking her numerous questions.  The man followed from a distance...!

“What did you do to her...” Afroz had gripped his throat and had lifted his lean body.  He chocked.

“Drop him..” Suresh yelled and Afroz let go of him....

“She saved my cow... and the calf...” he said stuttering and joining his hands kneeling down on the ground.  Suresh glanced at Dhatri’s condition and Poorva took over.

“Chal.. Dhaa...!” she and Afroz supported Dhatri.  

“Wait... please... “The man ran behind them.  “Please ... have some milk atleast... My house ...” He gestured at a small hut...! 

“No thank you..!” Poorva raised her hand.  She must take Dhatri back, before anyone noticed Dhaa’s disappearance.  Dhatri was in no condition to talk.  She just walked with her friends...!

“Don’t tell this to anyone, ok!” Dhatri said and everyone nodded.

“How did you know, the cow was sick?” Suresh asked the pertinent question and Dhatri shook her head hopelessly...!

“I don’t know.. I felt the pull....Someone needed help...” she said and suresh’s face turned ghostly...! 

“She can sense Animal illness too?” he thought gravely.  She had never mentioned that... and looking at the distance between the temple and the byre... he was astonished...! 

“She can tele-sense!!” his mouth went dry.  He had seen Dhatri curing Swarnima, and Vinit ... but that was when she was in vicinity... This time, she had sensed the illness of an animal...!

“Oh God...!” He prayed hard....! “Save her..give her strength..!” he looked at his friends and realized Poorva had the same thoughts...! 

“If she can sense the illness from such a distance, how can one keep her away from illness?” He thought gravely, resolving to give the hint to Ravi.

“Dhatri...! Where were you?” Ravi was out of the Temple and was searching ....!

“What happened ?” he asked and looking at Dhatri’s pale face, her swollen fingers, her sweating forehead, he understood.

“You ok?” he asked her concerned.  She just nodded and then holding his hand said..

“That cow was in pain....” he looked surprised.  “Cow?” he knew she healed humans... but animals? This was the first time ...!

“That was the first time, even for her....!” she had not sensed animal pains before..! A plethora of possibilities had opened up....! Her pains and suffering would increase...! Ravi had a knot in his stomach.  He gripped her arm...

“Dhaa...” he swallowed hard.  She just looked up at him blankly.  He felt the burden on his shoulders... He must protect her all the more... keep her away from the malady...!

“I am fine... “ she murmured breaking away from him.  The poor man had followed them to the temple and as she entered the temple, he ran towards his hut... crying and slapping himself....!  For him, goddess Vyaghreshwari herself had appeared in the byre to save his cattle...! And he had sent her empty handed without any offerings....! 

...............  ......

They all had gathered in two groups... men and women...! It was time for the namaz...prayer and a Moulavi appeared from a vehicle.  

“Sermon time...” Rini thought gravely.  “Anytime the hate speech would start and she had to nod against her wishes to the venom spat against her motherland...! Rini clenched her fists touching the ground  with her forehead....! The nagging speech lasted for an hour finally appealing the crowd to lift the weapons against the enemies and a challenge was thrown to join the group to be trained in combat and infiltration ....! This time Rini was ready.  She raised her hand too with quite a few other women.  

“No...!” the team lead tried to pull her hand down.  Rini ignored.  She was enrolled in a different list soon and the team-lead dropped her shoulders hopelessly.  

“What have you done...! Are you going to fight against them? They were once a part of us.. We were a part of them...!.” the team lead said gravely and Rini looked up surprised.

“What the politicians, the government and the military had done to these people...!” she wondered gravely.  “The brethren still exist...” She remembered Vinit saying when a Paki had helped them in the rescue operation for Dhaa. 

“ These authorities have nothing to do with people... They just want to keep the issues burning for their ulterior motives, for power, for control...! “ Rini thought gravely.  She had never sensed hatred towards India, among people of Pakistan but the clergy men, and the officials were doing their best to brainwash them against India.  Rini’s heart sank with the possibilities.  But she had to take it up.  This was her last chance to get into the league  of militants...! A all new women battalion was coming up...! She was enrolled...! 

“You know what? The factory was burnt down, yesterday night, it seems...!” the Team-lead whispered and Rini looked shocked and surprised.  

“What?” she exclaimed and the Team lead pressed her hand on Rini’s mouth.  

“That animal... that supervisor was burnt alive... They found a few bodies under the debris, it seems...!” she said loathing.  Rini turned her face smiling inwardly.

“Humm... “ she sighed.  

“See if you can withdraw your name and come with us on construction site...” Team lead urged.  Rini shook her head... then apologizing to her motherland inwardly, she started off her hate speech...

“I want to free Kashmir... our Kashmir.. now under their control... I want to help my people in Kashmir, oppressed under their regime...” Every time feeling stabbed with every word against her motherland, India...!

“Shuu... stop it..!” the team lead tried to stop her.  But Rini was pulled apart and was placed in another group.  She was to be transported elsewhere for training under the watchful eye of militant groups...!

................  ....

“See these....” a bunch of photos were thrown on the table.  Vinit looked up.  CHO-den was furious.  “Can’t you see? This ... Wakhan corridor... the so called nature refuge...? they are transporting unnoticed...! Do you know the magnitude of road construction taking place there?” Cho was out in rage.  Vinit gaped at the photographs for the first time realizing the grave danger caused by keeping the corridor unfenced.  Faith and reliance on Afghanistan would create problems if measures were not taken.  He collected the photographs...!

“I want the transport record... not these beautiful landscapes...” he said looking at Cho-deng. 

“You will get them too...!” he said grimacing...! Vinit had a faint smile on his face. 

“Time for lunch... “ he said getting up and thumping on Cho-deng’s shoulder, sending him off balance....! 

“I am helping you, only because we are friends...” Cho muttered and Vinit wrapped the arm around his shoulder...!

“We should visit... Wakhan Corridor, these days...!” he said winking.

“Are you crazy?” Chodeng broke apart shocked.  But Vinit was serious, planning ahead to rope in some of his other resources...! 

“The MI comes in handy in this...” he said smiling and Chodeng dashed into the lunch room.