The Brave One

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It was the worst rainfall I had ever seen.

The torrential rains had turned the rivers into Life-Takers. They were no more the Life givers that they once were. It sent everyone into frenzies of panic and disdain. Everyone was looking out only for means to run out of this place into safety and into the comfort of their loved ones.

I had to find an escape route too, and luckily I was spared the agony of having to worry and care about my loved ones since I was travelling alone. But the thought of leaving so many people in misery and running away from my duty to help them weighed heavily on my mind. So I decided to stay back. As long as the rain continued lashing, there was very little we could do. So we waited... waited for the rain to stop… waited for the morning to come.

**************

The morning brought with it an ugly picture of devastation and destruction caused by the fury of nature, by the torrential rains and the flash flood last night. We were dumbfounded witnessing this cruel act of nature. Being on a higher ground, we had been considerably safer, but there had been so many thousands of them who had not been as lucky. The rivers had breached their banks and showed no signs of receding. So many had been washed away, others trapped beneath debris of buildings razed to the ground and thousands of them stranded without food, water and roof over their heads. 

The large scale of devastation was shocking. We jumped headlong into the rescue operations joining hoards of other rescue workers.

That’s when I saw that angel.

**************

She must have been only 8 or 9 years old but she was one of the most active members of our little group. She was a virtual bundle of energy and it must have been her infectious energy that kept us all going. We saw her little feet scampering around looking for people in need and running to us with the little details.

“Uncle look over here, someone’s trapped under this debris.”

“Didi, please come here, there’s a small child crying for her mother.”

“Bhaiya, help me carry this sheep to the other side.”

She kept up her search for the entire day, scouting for people needing help and bringing it to our attention.

“Beta, what is your name?” I asked her.

“Nimmi” she replied even as she ran carrying a bottle of water for an old man who had just been rescued.

Her ‘never-say-die-spirit’ was the stuff heroes are made of, I thought as I saw her help the old man sip a little water.

We erected tents so that they could act as temporary shelters for people who had been rendered homeless. Go back to the buildings was ruled out, because they could come crashing anytime if it rained again.

The sun had begun to make his descent over the horizon signaling the end of the day. We were terribly tired after a long day’s work, and as we retired to our tents, we saw Nimmi still running around. 

“What are you doing sweetheart,” I asked her running my hand over her head. 

“I’m going to fetch wood Uncle,” she said, “The nights are very cold here, and we will need to get a fire burning to keep us all warm.” 

Why didn’t we think of that!

She led me to a clearing and a couple of us helped with chopping the wood, while she bundled wood neatly into stacks. 

“Why don’t you rest sweetie, we’ll take care of the rest” I told her, looking at her tired face. 

“After carrying this stack to the tents” she insisted.

I took out my mobile and clicked a picture of hers with the pile of wood stacked between her tiny frame and her worn out hands. 

Our own little squirrel helping us to rebuild lives, just like the squirrel in Ramayana helped build the bridge! I thought and smiled.

**************

“You worked very hard; you must be tired, aren't you? You did a great job!” I said.

She smiled.

“You are a courageous little girl.”

More smiles

“Are you here all alone? Where are your parents? They must be worried to not have you around. Did you tell them you are here?” I asked suddenly realizing that I hadn’t seen her family since morning.

“We live down a hillock in a little shanty. As soon as the rain got heavier, our house collapsed and we all had to run to higher grounds” she said, visibly tearful now.

I was shocked. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that before? We must look for your family members” I said comforting her.

“My father taught me everything I know, so if I am all right my family would be fine too. I am sure they are. We have to take care of the people who need our immediate attention.” She replied.

What an angel of compassion and bravery! She was a soldier in her own right!

I had joined the rescue operations because I was alone, because my family was safe, and because I was quite capable of taking care of myself. But this girl had joined in to help, knowing pretty well that she was young, alone, separated from her family and unsure of their safety and whereabouts. 

**************

The resonating sound of thunderclouds woke me up. Nimmi was sleeping next to me with all the other homeless children. She woke up too. Soon it began raining again and the river seemed to be overflowing again. By morning the river had swollen! 

Several people had gathered around to look at the raging waters knowing how dangerous it could be. Suddenly we heard people screaming for help. Apparently someone had slipped into the marsh while looking at the waters. We rushed to see what had happened. While we ran towards the river, I saw Nimmi run back into the camp tent. 

Poor child, she must be scared, I thought. 

How wrong I was! Our “little hero” came running to the banks within a minute of us reaching there, holding a rope in her hands, and throwing it in to the boy who was just about to slip into the river below! 
What presence of mind!! Her parents had really taught her well. 

We threw the rope but the kid was too scared to catch the rope with one hand.

“Please hold the rope while I go down to bring him up.” I told my team.

“No, let me go down and catch him as I am lighter and it would be easier for you to pull me up” said Nimmi.

“She is right” said someone.

We lowered her with the rope tightly secured around her waist. Slowly and expertly Nimmi made her way to the frightened kid and grabbed him with both her hands. We started pulling them but somewhere around the marshes the rope got stuck and no matter how much we tried it remained stuck. But Nimmi loosened her waist support and urged the little kid to grab the rope over her head and helped him reach to the ground safely, letting him use her hands for support. 

Everyone cheered!

But she was still not safe as the rope was still stuck, and she could not climb up without support. We saw her leg slip and I almost missed a heartbeat. She was hanging precariously over the river. Nimmi’s face was as calm as ever. 

Hold on my little angel, I prayed.

I kept trying too, tugging at the rope, jerking it so that it would come loose. Suddenly, the rope felt loose and excitedly I yanked it up. But my heart sank when I saw that Nimmi wasn’t at the other end. Where was she? I frantically looked down, my heart beating wildly, my eyes searching every corner of the marsh. Maybe she was stuck somewhere. 

Then my eyes fell on the rope. The end of the rope was broken. I couldn’t believe I had lost my little angel. For a very long time I sat there with my face buried in my palms, weeping like a child. 

**************

After a few days, Army helicopters flew us back to safety. I sat glued to the television watching the updates, identifying familiar locations and recounting those difficult days. I thought of the brave heart Nimmi, wondering if her family was safe and if they had ever found out about their little girl. I took out my mobile and looked at her picture. Her deep black eyes, so full of determination. Carrying that pile of wood in her worn out hands. 
The news reader announced that the count of bodies had been rising and as the river subsided, more bodies were being washed ashore. Among them was the body of a 9 year old girl with a cut rope secured to her waist. 

Party Down

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“Sir these letters were in the mailbox for you?” said Suraj our house servant

“Okay” I said taking the bundle from his hands.

There were around 14 envelops in total, few were spam “Do people still send physical mails in this age of spam emails?” I thought

Few others were different bills but one of the envelops was bright golden in color and caught my attention,

It was an invitation to a party at one of the wealthiest family in town; I was surprised to see the invitation as I had no contact with Singh family being from a small business family.

None the less I was intrigued by the invitation and was eager to attend the party and since it was a Sunday and party was today and my schedule was free too.

“Tanu are you free tonight? We got an invitation from the Singh’s and I would love to go there.” I said to my wife

“That would be lovely.” Came the quick reply

So there we were, in our car driving on Singh’s drive way, the path was beautiful all the way to their enormous mansion.



There was a legion of cars in front of the gate and the valets were taking guests cars to move them to the parking. We also handed our cars key when we reached in front of the beautiful gate of the mansion.

After a wait of almost half an hour we were finally walking inside that grand mansion, I just couldn’t stop admiring the décor and structure of the mansion.

The atrium was quite huge and there were people as far as I could see but still the place didn’t seem crowded, it was amazing.

Although there were so many people, I couldn’t find anyone I knew. This made me feel a little awkward and out of place and I thought maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Ah, there you are Mr. Rathi. How are you doing?” Said a voice

“Oh! Hello Mr. Singh, Beautiful home you have here.” I replied slightly surprised, how did he know my name? He did he was so rich and powerful.

“I am glad that you liked it. Please feel free and enjoy the party. Don’t hesitate if you want to check any room.” Said Mr. Singh smiling

“Thanks, we would Mr. Singh” We replied

“Please do and see you around.” Came the reply

We were finally feeling a little at ease after talking to the host and seeing exactly how friendly he sounded despite being the richest man in the city.

Still it made us feel strange and alienated among so many strange people.

We started moving through the people to check different artwork placed throughout the main hall and throughout the entire mansion. It seemed like there were more paintings and statues here than a museum. It looked like that we would be stuck here for weeks checking all the artwork.

It was truly magnificent, seeing all the works of art under this beautiful mansion or should I say Palace, it seemed apt I thought.

The house was glowing under perfect lighting which was high lighting all the intricate details of the house increasing its beauty.

That is why it felt very strange when we came across a dimly lit room while walking through the house. Curiosity got the better of us we walked as if hypnotized by the half dark room, and we walked inside.

The walls of the room were lined with different cages and glass boxes filled with all kinds of snakes and reptilian creatures. We were shocked beyond belief were we still in the same house or did we walk up to a zoo unconsciously but we were still in the house as apparent by the background noise.

And sure enough just like the entire house the creatures in the room were again exotic and breathtaking to look at. Suddenly I noticed someone at the end of the room, finally someone whom I knew. I walked towards my friend Ravi.

“Hi Ravi, how are you?” I asked

“You? What are you doing here all alone?” asked Ravi like he was startled to see me.

Now it was my time to freak out, as I wondered where my wife went. I instinctively looked back but saw on one. Where did Tanu go? I thought. I was more perplexed than afraid. After all, she couldn’t be in any danger in this big house with so many people. May be she just went to get a drink or something. I turned again towards Ravi but I almost jumped as Ravi was no longer there and he didn’t walk by me. It was like the room swallowed him. This was pretty strange to tell you the truth.

Since there was no one else in the room besides me it seemed very creepy to me all of a sudden. I started to exit the room but now the door was closed. It was like somebody was trying to play some game with me. I was annoyed at this attempt of unwanted games.

I banged the door few times but got no response, I tried to hear the noises from outside but strangely I couldn’t hear anything, it was like I was the only person in the entire house. There was sound of the music or the sound of people talking. There was a faint light visible from below the gate but it didn’t look like the kind of lights we saw in the main hall.

“Where am I?” I wondered loudly again smacking the door but to no avail. I felt like crying after banging the door like a madman for around half an hour.

Finally I slumped against the door tired and the room appeared darker now and scary too I wasn’t able to see all the way through to the end and as everybody knows that everybody is scared of the dark.

“If I am going to be stuck here for some time more, let me at least see the wonderful creatures.” I thought and walked towards the assortment of the cages and boxes but there were no longer those colorful creatures and its place were black poisonous snakes and other ugly creatures.

Now I was positively struck by the all situation and how it made no sense at all.

I again checked the cages but they were empty now, what the hell was happening. Was I dreaming or someone was still playing some sick game with me. But no one woke me up from the dream or no one came forward smiling and telling me that it was all fun and games.

“What is happening? Where is everybody? Where am I? Why am I locked here?” I shouted at the top of my voice

Suddenly I heard a sweeping noise and I turned and saw that the door was no longer there. There was something spooky going on. I walked outside the room glad to be free of the reptile room but when I took a last look at the room it was empty of all the boxes and cages and it was just a dark room nothing else.

I walked out of the room but instead of reaching that grand hall I left behind I reached a very big dark room. Everything was charcoal black as if burned and there was nobody to be seen. I stumbled out of that hall to escape the gloominess of the entire scene.

But I again reached another charred remains of a garden it looked that everything was burned to the ground. I was standing in front of the mansion but although it was big it wasn’t grand as burned things are not grand and it certainly was burned all right.

Was I hallucinating or something I remembered correctly that I did come to the party but how can things change so drastically.

I walked as half drunk towards the back of the mansion I saw few people and lot of vehicles,

“So IT WAS A JOKE.” I thought with relief.

“Hey where did everybody from the party go and what happened to the mansion and is this an illusion.” I asked the crowd.

They look startled for a moment, and then they surrounded me.

“Hey what do you think you are doing? You can take my wallet and watch.” I said but I wasn’t wearing a watch when I checked and I had no wallet just a dirty Kurta Pajama.

I struggled but I couldn’t do anything as five of the guys grabbed me dragged me towards a vehicle

“Are they trying to kidnap me?” I thought.

“Poor Mr. Singh lost his family and everything in the fire which consumed his mind and his whole personality. He has been hallucinating like this ever since.” I heard someone say before I drifted into sleep following an injection.

Sweet dreams! What a party!