[3]
She was on the road. The road was calm, silent and lonely. The road was breathing, slowly and gently. Amaya could hear the voice of breathing by the road. She put her ears on the road, she could listen the heart beats of the road.
During the daylight, the road always panting heavily. The human being rapes the road and the roads are helpless. But, in the night, the same road is full of life, full of fresh fragrance. One must meet the road in the night.
Amaya felt the presence of the road like a living creature. She made it her friend, her partner and companion for this night. She sat on her knee and touchrd the road with her palms,” Hi dear friend, how are you?”
The road replied, “Hey, let’s walk together.”
The road was walking with Amaya, step by step, holding hands of each other. They both moved towards sea shore. The road stopped there. Amaya amazed, ”Hey, what are you doing? Don’t stop dear, walk with me till the sea. Hold me till the end, till the sea, till the moon disappear, till the morning dusk….” Amaya urged her new friend, the road.
“No, I can walk no more with you. My friend, the sand is there and would accompany you. Be friend with the sand, the white sand.” The road said good bye to Amaya.
She gave it a parting look with smile. the road smiled back.
While Amaya was on move forward to step in to the sand, one jeep stopped near to her. The jeep was in full speed and hence the driver used short break to stop the jeep at once. It generated a loud shriek, breaching the silence of the night.
Amaya shocked with sudden arrival of the jeep. She turned to the jeep and at first sight her eyes caught that it was police jeep. She read ‘ Bombay Police’. She gave an observing look to the jeep. She read the number plate - MHZ 2186.
“Ey ladki, kya kar rahi ho rod par itani raat gaye?” (Hey girl, What are you doing on the road at this late night?) One person in police dress came out of the jeep and asked with commanding voice. Amaya could not understand his words hence remain non responsive.
The police man got angry and was about to shout, he realized that the girl is not a local girl. It looks foreigner and might not understood the local language. He calm down himself. He was not good at English still he attempted to arrange his words to ask Amaya.
He tried to be polite as much as possible, “Hello Miss, you are … What are you doing here… late night… alone… on the road…do not afraid… Bombay police… is … I am Police Inspector Rana.”
Amaya observed Mr. Rana from top to bottom and satisfied that he is a police inspector. She smiled. PI Rana responded with smile. The tension was receding slowly, disappeared finally.
Amaya explained him the whole story. PI Rana talked to someone on his wireless device keeping vigil watch on Amaya.
Amaya was also watching PI Rana. She started to analyze his personality. He was looking around 35, handsome, well built, strong as well as soft. He was in Bombay Police dress, with revolver on his left waist. A rude gentleman, she concluded her observation.
The conversation on wireless stopped, PI Rana looked again at Amaya, satisfied with her explanation, smiled at her, opened the jeep’s door, took a chit of paper, wrote some numbers on it, grab the steering, locked the door, opened the glass window and instructed her,” Miss Amaya, take care, it is late night. If you want any help, you can call me at this number.” He handed over the chit to Amaya,” I am on patrolling throughout the night around this area.”
“Sure, Sir. Thanks for the concern.” Amaya waved her hands with smile. The jeep left the place and disappeared on the lonely road.
She stepped into the white sand. The white sand was looking more white in the moonlight.
The moonlight was spread all over the beach. There was a beach of 500 meter between the road and the sea waves. She found the silver look of the sand. She gathered the words while talking with Varsha, ‘ it is a combination of gold and silver’
Suddenly she realized that she hadn’t looked at the golden part of the beach.
“Oh… My … God…” She turned her neck 360 degree from right to left. Yellow lights attracted her eyes. On the left side, yellow lights were in curvy shapes. She observed them and found that it was looking like a necklace. The golden necklace.
“What a wonderful!” She shouted in joy. Her cry spread over the beach, echoed in the air and dissolved in the sounds of the waves. She did jump, dance and sing a song. She enjoyed those moments whole heartedly. She felt that those were the happiest moments of her life. She remained there foe some more moments.
A voice of sea was continuously knocking her ears, and through ears on her heart too. She turned to the sea. She walked towards the sea, on the white sand.
She found a sweet and white bed sheet on the earth. She bent on her knee, touch the sand, put the palm on it for some moments. The sand was dry but cool.
Amaya took some sand in her fist, hold it in her palm, opened the fist and gave a sweet look at the sand. The sand was still, except some grain were leaving the palm on the tune of a wind. She smelled the sand. It had a fragrance of the sea. Amaya took deep breath and filled her lungs with the smell. The sea entered in her.
She looked at the waves. Still there was a distance of 400 meters between sea and her. She wanted to rush to the sea, meet the sea and bosom the sea. She glanced at the sand on her fist, she tossed it in the air and rushed to the waves. Some grains of sand fall on her, on her hair, on her head, on her cheeks, on her clothes, on her body, on her bosom, on her arms. Amaya looked at all of them, smiled and rushed to the sea.
Amaya was in hurry to meet the sea, so she tried to run, but couldn’t. The sand did not gave her the surface to run over it. She dropped the idea of running and started walking.
Her destination, the sea, was at her eyes distance. She could see it, but still looking at a far distance. She wanted to reach there at the earliest but the sand was preventing her speed. She felt that the destination is beyond her reach. She stopped, thought that the destination would remain there, it won’t move away. It would remain there even after hours. The destination is beautiful, while the path is more beautiful. I must enjoy the path and the journey. It seldom happens that both the path as well as destination is beautiful. I am the fortunate person. Thanks God.
She bent on her knees and bowed to the sand in gratitude. A wind waved with shower of some particles of sand on her head. She accepted it as the blessings of the sea.
Slowly, Amaya was on the way to sea. She loved her path. She involved herself in the path. The path became her friend.
There was a silence on the path, solitude too, along with herself and her wind. She felt that, that wind was for her. It was her own wind. No one could part with the wind. It was her personal wind. She hugged the wind. She smiled.
She was walking on the sand. The voice of her walk was the only sound on that path. She kept walking, kept listening the sound of her own steps. The sound of feet sounded like a poem.