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The man wore rugged clothes. He stared at them with strange eyes. There were clear marks of stitches still visible across his face. It was like a scar running from his chin, crossing his right eye, and entering his forehead. The eye was protruding and looked very still. He came closer, still crouching.

He spoke in the ‘Kashi’ language.

Bhrigu gave a silent nod.

The man pushed Bhirgu aside brusquely and walked up to Sacchit.

His focus on himself made Sacchit tense, mixed with a sense of relief.

The man touched the dressing on Sacchit’s collarbone. He took his face in his palm and softly turned the head around. There were several cuts, some of them fresh and treated with spots of iodine. He then put his hand on Sacchit’s forehead as if checking his temperature.

The man relaxed a bit and sat down pulling Sacchit beside him. He pulled out a bottle of water from his satchel.

Bhrigu came forward. He took the bottle and poured some much-needed water into Sacchit’s mouth, drop by drop.

The strain of the situation eased little by little. It seemed like the man was tired too. He was smiling now.

“What your name?” the man asked in his tongue.

Sacchit could not understand him.

“Keishing…Keishing,” the man spoke again pointing to himself.

“I’m Sacchit and this is Bhrigu,” Sacchit replied in English

“Where you from? What you doing here?”

Sacchit did not understand and looked at Bhrigu.

“We’re tourists,” Bhrigu joined the lopsided conversation.

“You look weak. What happened?” Keishing asked Sacchit

“He can't understand you. He doesn’t speak Kashi. We were in an accident and fell down a cliff,” Bhrigu gave a literal explanation.

Keishing told them that they were somewhere in the Jaintia Hills region. It was sparsely populated. He had gone to another village, a couple of day’s walk away, to trade essentials as was their practice. He had been stuck there for a week, busy with the negotiations. The collapsed main road was yet to be rebuilt. So he had to take the wild trail. His village was towards the South.

“Where you going?” Keishing inquired.

“We’re just trying to find a place of safety.”

Without needing to be told, Bhrigu knew it was best to omit the previous incidents of the camp and the ensuing troubles.

Keishing searched his bag and pulled out a half-eaten packet of homemade bread. Sacchit was hungry!

Wary of the approaching evening, Sacchit asked if there was a shack or any other place to stay nearby.

Keishing stared blankly, so Bhrigu acted as translator.

“Yes. Yes. Going there now. Join me?”

“How far is your home?”

“Will reach tomorrow”.

As the three of them walked, pointing at the various types of food items in Keishing’s satchel, Sacchit asked, “Are you a trader? I am a scientist”.

Keishing stopped in his tracks.

“Scientist?” His eyes narrowed with suspicion

“Yes. Why?” Sacchit said as Bhrigu continued to translate.

“No trust them! No friends. Dangerous!”

Both Sacchit and Bhrigu were surprised by Keishing’s resentful tone.

“They still roam around, though scarce. If you see them, avoid.”

“Is there something fishy going on here?”

“Not now। Many years ago, locals went missing!”

“You think they…?”

“They set up a base. Then she…”

There was a buzzing sound! They all looked up!

A drone! Keishing picked up a stone.

“Don’t! Don’t!” Bhrigu insisted. “Please don’t attract attention. They are after us. Please help!”

Keishing sat down. They saw the drone go away. Then Sacchit told every thing that had happened to them!

It was evening and getting colder.

“Move!” Keishing urged.

Sacchit was a bit hesitant. He looked at Bhrigu. Ten years old, so young, and look what he had come to! This was not the destiny he had envisioned for him. He dreamt to prepare him for greatness. Now here they were - lost. They had no idea what they had gotten into or how to deal with it.

“Do you have a phone?”

“No,” Keishing shook his head.

Sacchit had no other options. He tried to get up. Keishing extended his arm in support.

The path was wet. Sacchit was leaning heavily on Keishing’s shoulders. It was difficult moving like this but he had to do it. Bhrigu was busy clearing a path. It looked like the trail was seldom used. Since the storm, it was now almost hidden by fallen leaves and branches. However, the destruction seemed less severe here.

Keishing was talking continuously. He was worried that he had left his two small babies with his wife and what would have happened to them in the storm.

Bhrigu assured him that the storm was less ravaging towards the south.

At one point they had to get down a cliff. Keishing hoisted Sacchit up on his shoulder. They stepped on loose stones and started moving downhill. Even a small misstep would mean a thousand feet fall.

Bhrigu stopped at a bend. He had only seen places like this in pictures. It was a plateau of mountains, one after another. Clouds formed around their curves. Colours changed, and the setting sun was a ball of soft orange. Bhrigu looked mesmerized. He could hear the birds chirping.

Butterflies, insects of different kinds were flying around bushes. Bhrigu touched the leaves and plucked a flower to check. Keishing protested!

Since the time they have been here, they have been running. It did not feel any different to him. It was the same as England. Only the landscape changed.

There were tasks that they needed to complete. Sacchit always talked about a sense of satisfaction in accomplishing something. Bhrigu had accomplished a lot at this age. He could already assist Sacchit in his work. He could also play several musical instruments. He was strong, thanks to the supplements that Sacchit had specifically prepared for him.

It had not yet occurred to Sacchit, but Bhrigu knew that there were no more supplements with them. Except for the batches still back in their hotel, all were lost days ago.

But still, he feels good. They were running. Yet this felt different. It was not a task anymore. It was primal - a test of survival! He was never trained for this. And now he realized that till this point of his life, he had known so little. His senses of touch, hearing, and smell were on an overload.

Keishing came and sat down beside him. The sun was hidden behind the mountains. Bhrigu could hear the sound of water. There should be a stream downhill. It would get dark soon.

Somehow Sacchit managed to sleep while being carried on Keishing’s shoulder. They started walking again.

Their path took them beside treacherous cliffs and paths with edges on both sides. There were occasional huts of local tribal people. Small naked children stared at them. They stopped at a place where it looked like a shack.

“Do you have money?” Keishing asked.

Bhrigu pulled out a few crumpled notes from his pocket, he had been carrying since their time in that village they had taken shelter.

“We will spend the night here.” It was a dimly lit shack that catered to the passersby. An old lady was sitting on a small bench in the front.

The woman took Keishing inside. He carried a still-sleeping Sacchit and put him on a small cot. Keishing then asked her to bring them some hot water.

“We can sleep on the ground, right? She will give us a mattress.”

Bhrigu did not have any problem. It had been two days since he had slept.

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Co-written with @DC