It was already dawn and the sun was shining in the horizon by the time the three boys woke up. Darpan and Aryan had a hard time sleeping due to the uncomfortable positions they were in within the carriage, but then again you can't do much. As a result,both brothers woke up with neck cramps and back pain. Ashmit- on the other hand, was completely fine much to the annoyance of Aryan. He had basically fallen asleep first and taken over half of the space which was inconvenient for them. Aryan had tried to wake him up to tell him to shift but Darpan didn't let him, saying it was not nice to wake up a sleeping person for trivial reasons.
They had only woken up when the driver told them that they'll be taking a break in a close by town to eat and drink and for him to nap a bit, afterall the poor man had been up all night. The ride was smooth, except for the few occasional jerks of the carriage, it was still pretty calm and peaceful until now. After brushing their teeth near a river, they all got down to open the packaged lunchboxes their mums had given them.
" Oh my Goodness, do you have like a pit in your tummy or something? Or are you perhaps Kumbhakaran*?"
Aryan spoke , terrified at the sight before him. Ashmit had like, 12 rotis* in his box, with a generous amount of ghee*and side gravy to go with.
" We'll, it's not your food I am currently gobbling, so please do mind your business mister" Ashmit retorted with a huff and proceeded to fold two rotis to stuff in his mouth.
" Woah... but I . Whatever. Like just don't get too big today itself, I dont want you sprawled on the floor taking up half the space. So keep it under control."
Aryan rolled his eyes as he continued to quietly eat his meal. When as a protest, Ashmit proceeded to grab Aryan's lunchbox, they had hurled lots of ' mild' insults at each other with one telling the other to watch his weight and the other calling him a cheap person.
If Darpan didn't know better, he would have thought this was a rude argument, but he knew these two were friends and frankly speaking, Aryan was probably one of the few ones who didn't constantly comment on Ashmit's weight. Although they are so close, he wonders how they became friends in the first place. Knowing his brother, he would have insulted Ashmit on the first day they met itself. He just didn't know why he kept being so rude to everyone even when he felt positive about these ones. Maybe that's his way of showing affection..? Nobody really knew.
Darpan had been eating peacefully, choosing to ignore and not butt in for the further pieces of arguments and bickering that kept taking place over the next couple minutes.
After they were done, they decided to stroll around the grasslands a bit, for digesting th food and the argument. Also, to give a little more time for the driver to nap. Darpan took lazy small steps with his eyes taking in the whole scenery that was ahead of them. The sky was as clear as glass, the sun had a nice shine, not irritating or sharp at all. And of course, the greenery that stood out the most. He could continue standing in the sun in here forever. His little peace time was soon troubled by the loud bickering noises in the background.
" Aryan, Ashmit. What happened now? Can't you guys go two minutes without arguing? "
Darpan , frankly speaking was a bit annoyed. He already had enough of Chhaya and Aryan at home, he didn't want to play the mediator for all of Aryan's bicker-partners.
" Bhaiyya!" Aryan cried out with an expression as if he's been accused for the vilest thing possible.
" Bhai! What do you think? This big baby said he forgot to bring his purse and bottle and is now pestering me for Water! Which idiot gets hungry and thirsty in a matter of minutes?"Aryan explained all the while giving the biggest side-eye to the said culprit.
Ashmit looked dumbfounded.
" What?? Like do I need your permission to drink or eat now, sir!? I just asked you to give me water! Don't you know,you should NEVER refuse to give water to someone?"
They eye contact they maintained hinted they might actually pounce and tear each other with claws like cats.
" Alright, Aryan why don't you share the water pouch? We can just fill it up here somewhere later. " When Aryan didn't move an inch, Darpan could feel a headache coming.
Ashmit and Aryan continued glaring at each other. Darpan knew Aryan too well to not understand what was happening.
" Let me guess.... Another big baby didn't bring his water pouch and is refusing to share because he doesn't have one? Are you throwing a tantrum because of this??"
Both boys could only stare at Darpan's annoyed face. Ashmit did not dare look up from the ground.
" I don't have any water left in here too, it seems " he commented slightly shaking his water pouch. Darpan sighed and looked around for a bit until something caught his eye.
" I see a house here down there next to the rice field. Let's go ask them if we can get a refill."
Aryan nodded and followed Darpan dragging Ashmit by his arm. The boys were now standing right before the door. Aryan lingered around a bit before knocking on the door.
" Hello! Is someone here?"
They waited for the door to open while looking around the verandah. It seemed to be old and unkept. There were spiderwebs all over and between the pillars . Dust had completely covered the red tint of the door and made it look grey. There were signs of iron rust from the structure being exposed to rain for years. The walls were still in a comparatively okay condition but still had a lot of cracks in between.
" Looks like the structure is old. It's barely even holding on. Might collapse any day ,i think. "
Darpan commented while softly knocking the door again when there was no response.
" Hello! Is anyone here? We are travelers passing by here. We would appreciate if you could give us a small refill for water. Is anybody here?"
He placed his ear close to the door to hear possible signs of movement but to no avail.
" Bhaiyya-ji, seems like there's no one home. I think it might be abandoned. Let's just go back ." Ashmit suggested trying to pull on Darpan's sleeves. The lack of response the second time made it clear no one was home.
After concluding no one was home, they turned back, about to leave when suddenly a shrill cold voice yelled.
" Who are you guys!?? What do you want?"
The three poor boys stared in confusion as an old man came running around the house from behind it with a little cane. He brandished it in front of them as if trying to shoo back a bunch of dogs.
" Woah.., uncle. This is a bit. We aren't dogs you know? We just wanted to check if someone was home-" Aryan tried to explain but was cut off by the old man who now seemed even angrier.
" You thieves, I know you people all right! Not even sparing an old man's run down abode. What could you possibly even find here? Huh! Tormenting the poor."
He now brandished the wooden stick even viciously having successfully cornered Aryan . Darpan tried to pull Aryan back but noticed that the elderly person was in fact shaking. Just before he could comment on it, a miscalculated step made the elder man trip and fall face flat towards the ground. Luckily, Darpan was quick to move past Aryan and grab the quivering frail body from hitting the floor.
Even as he helped the man gain balance and sit down, Darpan could feel the pokes of the stick as a protest from the man for touching him.
" No! get away. Get away from me! I already told you I have nothing worth your time. Leave me alone please!"
Water gathering in his eyes as his flailing hands slowly dropped down. " Please, I have nothing to do with the Jadoogar* ,I swear!"
The man broke down in tears in front of them. Darpan was really confused at what was happening. Jadoogar? Theives? He had no idea but he knew they had to comfort the poor man to explain everything to him.
The three boys looked at each other and stared in distress.
Darpan kept patting the back of the elderly as he choked out the few incoherent words that he did. He only tried to speak after he was sure the sobs of the man had died down.
" Sir, are you alright?..... We don't have much but here, please drink it." Darpan offered the water pouch to the man and watched as the man drank it slowly with a tear stained face. After he had calmed down, the man wiggled out of the hands of Darpan and tried to stand . He stumbled a bit but with Darpan's assistance managed to keep himself straight.
Aryan and Ashmit were just really confused but still stood in alert in case something happened again.
" I'm sorry I acted the way I did. You you g men seem of good background, I am truly sorry you had to hear all that. Would you please ,if you wish, tell me who you all are?"
The old man asked holding an apologetic look in his eyes.
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1. Kumbhakaran - An Indian Historical/ Mythical character that sleeps and eats for six months straight respectively. Here, Aryan is commenting on Ashmit's eating habits by referencing this character.
2. Rotis- a popular type of wheat flatbread commonly eaten in India. Ghee - a type of dairy product extracted from milk.
3. Jadoogar- A Hindi/ Urdu word for 'Magician'.
Similarly Jadoo= Magic.