Chapter 3:
As the days rolled by, Tamra became the primary focus in Kamal's life. The day he returned from Khuldara; he considered that chapter closed. But from the next day on wards, everything made him remember Tamra even more. As a result, Kamal Singh who avoided Khuldara as much as possible, asked his agent for more Khuldara visits.
With one tourist group from Europe, he went again to Khuldara with the hope of seeing Tamra and her mother. Nothing ever changed in the haunted village of Khuldara. The empty houses, abandoned temple, the unkept barns everything remained the same. Kamal looked for Tamra, but he could not find her anywhere. His heart sank at the thought of not seeing her.
After giving the usual 45 minutes break, he hurriedly climbed the stairs of the temple in hope. No! A small oil lamp was lit, but other than that, no one. "That is odd! I have visited this place like, 60 times. Never have I seen a lit lamp. Tamra must have lit it to pray. But where is she?" thought Kamal to himself. Not able to console himself, he went to the security cabin.
"Want an ice cream?" asked the shop owner. "No! Thanks. But where is the cleaning girl and her mother?" asked Kamal directly to the security standing near the shop. He gave an odd look and turned his face towards the parking. "Hey! I asked you! I sense some foul play! What happened to the girl? If you don't tell me, I am going to the authorities!" cried Kamal. All sorts of bad thinks that might have happened to Tamra came to his mind and made him tensed up.
"Call whoever you want! If you buy me an ice cream, I can tell you something you would like to know. What the authorities could not make me say, an ice cream might!" said the security showing his ugly teeth. Muttering something, Kamal gave some rupees to the shop owner and the he handed over a huge bar of ice cream to the Security. He started ravishing the ice cream.
"Now tell me! Where is Tamra?" asked Kamal with concern. "Who is Tamra?" the question irritated Kamal beyond words. "The cleaning girl. Don't pretend as if you don't know her name. She is working here for at least 3 months."
The security blinked and recollected something. "Oh! That crazy girl? She had left the job 2 months ago." Said without even looking at Kamal. "Don't bluff, I saw her here 15 days ago. No use asking you. I will make these foreigners lodge a complaint against you. Then the truth will come out!" said Kamal getting up from the bench. "No bro! He is telling the truth. There was a girl who was working here a couple of months ago. She always complained of something sinister lurking here. One day, she came running from one of the houses and told me, there was a girl in there." The shop owner stopped abruptly and looked at Kamal.
He had no interest in the fellow's tale. All sounded such nonsense. He had seen Tamra and spoken to her 15 days back. "Shit! I forgot to note down her phone number. How careless of me." Said Kamal to himself. "I told you not to tell anyone our story. No one will believe. See, this kid thinks, he knows all. But Beta, you don't know anything. I am not going to tell you anything. But one free advice for ice cream. As a guide, you come here and show the tourists around. Don't get involved with any one you see here. Especially if they are girls. That may land you in trouble." Said, the security swallowing the ice cream in one gulp.
"Trying to scare me away? Eh? I have a strong suspicion, you two know something about her, or probably responsible, but not disclosing anything." Said Kamal anger swelling inside him. Half an hour had gone, and nothing about Tamra. "Oh yeah? Explain one thing to me Mr. Brain, this place is abandoned centuries ago. But for the past 15 days, the oil lamp in the temple is lit. Do you hear? Everyday its lit! Care to explain?" Said the security full of anger.
A chill went down the spine. "What do you mean by that? Of course, Tamra lights it every day!" It sounded lame even to Kamal. "You fool! I told you; the girl left the job 2 months ago! And her name was not Tamra." yelled the security. But Kamal had no time or intention of arguing with him. He simply left the place and joined the group of his tourists. His eyes automatically went higher at the threshold of the temple. For a second his heart stopped beating. He saw Tamra was watching him from there. His heart started pounding. As an involuntary reaction he blinked and Lo! She was not there.
"Shh…what a hallucination? May be because of the desert heat. How could Tamra be there? I need to concentrate on my work! No Tamra or any one till I reach a height!" deciding that, Kamal boarded the bus with other tourists. From the parking, the bus turned towards the highway, crossing the entrance arch. Suddenly Kamal realized that, Tamra was looking at him, behind the arch and smiling at him. This time he did not panic or feared. This is 100% due to desert heat. He concluded.
That evening, Kamal and his friend Pravin were sitting on a chai shop sipping piping hot tea from the earthen cup. After listening to everything, Kamal had to offer, Pravin looked queerly at him. "Do you really think, that was a hallucination?" asked Pravin. "What else it could be Pravin? The security said, she had left the job 2 months back. I searched everywhere for her. Maybe I am thinking about her too much. That's why I got this hallucination." Replied Kamal ruefully.
For some time, Pravin was looking at the horizon. "Listen Bro! I have a doubt. The story does not fit at all. They say, the girl left 2 months ago, but you say, you saw her 15 days back. Are you sure, that was also not hallucination?" asked Pravin holding back something. "That's what makes me worry about! Is it possible she came back, for the salary or something?" asked Kamal with hope. "Possible! But if you think in the back order, she never said she had left the job, right?"
This made Kamal think again. Yes! Pravin was correct. She said, she was still working in the place. With the toss of the head, Kamal got up. "I got it Pravin. She is kept as a prisoner and given sex torture by both shop owner and the security. Now a days these things happen. That's why, they refuse to answer, and told me a spooky story to scare me away. What do you think Pravin?" asked Kamal in a high pitch.
Pravin patted his shoulder and asked him to relax. "Just don't jump to conclusions Kamal. Without proof we cannot accuse anyone with such serious charges. Do you have any proof?" asked the level headed Pravin. "What me? No! I…I never imagined such a situation might come. So…I don't even have her number, Yaar! " Kamal threw the earthen cup with force on to the pavement. Some small pieces scattered and hit the passers. They glared at the two friends and went along. "What are you doing Kamal! Please control yaar! Think of something positive. " saying these Pravin was collecting the pieces. "Sorry yaar! I cannot think anything clearly. Her face is haunting me. It's as if, begging me to help her!." Said Kamal burying his face in his hands. "This won't either help you or that girl Kamal. Please gather yourself. Even if she is a prisoner, what could we do at this hour? But I don't think that's even possible. That place is lonely during nights, but always someone is visiting in the day time. Security has to be there at the entrance or near the shop. If she is able to peep from temple, and from behind the entrance, she might as well escape. Right?"
These words made Kamal to sit up. "Yes! That's right! But …" . "No but. All these are your hallucinations. Including you taking to that girl called Tamra. That was the very probable explanation." Said Pravin firmly. Somehow Kamal bought it and went back to his room with a confused heart. His conscious was shouting that was not a hallucination. But his brain told something else.
He wanted to visit his house in the village and tell everything to his family. Even with their limited education, they were a great support for him in their own way. Maybe he needed a break. As he reached his room, he got a call from his father telling Some family was coming to see and scrutinize the alliance for his sister Priya. His heart lifted with joy. His little sister Priya was going to be a bride. Wow! How time flies? 2 years back, she was scared of house hold chores and cutting fire woods, now she was going to be married. The house, she was going to go, must respect her, for that she has to be given gold and some goats. He decided. Spoke to the agent about his absence for a week and collected some dresses, off he was on the highway.
The truck movements were always there in the highways of Rajasthan. He could catch any truck and reach his village before dawn. Humming a tune, he was waiting for a truck which would take him to his village. He longed for his mother's magical cooking. Even with meagre ingredients, she made delicious dishes. Now Priya would be able to that. Once Priya is married off, ma and papa would insist on bringing a girl to their house. That means he had to get married and begin a family life. His heart was full of hope and happiness. He had even forgotten Tamra or any other girl.
The truck was speeding along the chilly night of Rajasthan. The road was deserted except for that truck and one or two passing tippers. "Beta! Looking very happy? Going for your marriage?" asked the Sardarji driver. "No Sardar! My sister might get married, if this alliance is settled!" said Kamal grinning ear to ear. Sardar laughed riotously and planted a thud on his shoulder. "So then next yours! Um….do you have any preference?" asked Sardar still laughing. That question made Kamal remember Tamra again. The conversation drifted to Kamal's job, his income and his goal. When Sardar heard he was visiting Khuldara on a regular basis, he swerved the truck.
"What? You go to that haunted village every day? Wahe Guru!" he said with fear. "No Sardar! It's just an abandoned village, nothing weird ever happens. I have taken hundreds of tourists there. Nothing to worry" replied Kamal feeling a bit amused as to the predicament of Sardar. "Um…um…So have I heard! But it's not the tourist Bro! It's when a local man goes, the village behaves mysteriously. So, they say. "
Kamal opened his mouth in protest, but he did not say anything. Sardar was going on telling some weird experiences by many. For some, there was an old woman, for some they heard singing of a mother, and so on. Kamal did not want to share his experience with the truck driver, not in the middle of the night. He himself was confused. The remaining journey he decided to spend in silence. So, he leaned on to the seat and dozed off.
Sleep was evading him. Dreams without any connection started coming to him. He saw a girl holding a baby, who suddenly changed to an old man with a staff. He was walking along the deserted roads, knocked the door of a house, when opened he saw himself in the mirror. His head was injured and blood was coming. A beautiful girl came near and cleaned the blood, with a smile, she started emptying the bucket next to her, which had huge chunks of meat. He was given a big butcher's knife. He bent over to slaughter a goat, which suddenly changed into a baby.
With a start Kamal woke up. Sardar was smiling at him reassuringly. Heaved a sigh of relief that everything was only a dream. What was the meaning of these? Why he was seeing them out of blue? May be his brain is over working. Suddenly, his heart turned to ice. For, at a distance, Tamra was standing in the middle of the road, flashing a smile at him. But it looked like Sardar was not going to stop the vehicle. "Stop! Sardarji! Stop! A girl on the road!" He was not able to shout, as the horror unfolded in front of his eyes. The truck went over Tamra and did not even bother to stop. There was blood all over the glass. The Sardar was driving like crazy. The face of Tamra formed in the middle of the road was smiling at Kamal.