2 Chapter 2 : At the Village

Early Morning, The weather was very pleasant and the wind was calm. The village streets, the houses, the roads looked so refreshing. Abhi was in the truck with his pet, TITLE - He managed to get in the truck last night. The truck with the boy was going somewhere, he was still awake and enjoyed the trip, the weather and the green hills were never so beautiful. A breeze ruffled his silky hair and he slowly fell asleep. After a long journey, the truck stopped in the vicinity of the village. The truck driver was already tired, he had to get off the truck to unload his things. He stretched out his hands and yawned,— the good thing was that he did not sleep while driving. He walked to the truck backside to unload his things. For a second his drowsiness waned when he saw a boy and a puppy sleeping inside — he rushed immediately to wake up the boy and began to pat his hand. Abhi slowly opened his eyes, rubbed them with his fingertips, and looked at the driver.

"— How was it that you got in here. Where are you from?— " asked the driver surprisingly.

But the boy did not respond. The driver tried to talk to the boy several times, but he was helpless. The driver thought the boy could not speak. Then he found a bag near him and pulled it out with his hands. Slowly, he opened the bag to see what was inside and found the notebook — he opened it and read "Abhi".

" — Do you want to come with me," he asked.

Abhi nodded his head as he did. The driver realized Abhi could hear but could not speak.

— He shuddered to think what his family members would do if he took the boy with him. However, he wanted to take him home until someone came looking for him. He got into his truck and drove back to his village. Abhi was very happy because his dream of travelling by truck was fulfilled. He smiled and enjoyed the trip — TITLE too enjoyed the trip.

— Upon entering the village, the driver took the boy to some of his villagers and introduced him. He explained why he had to bring him here. The villagers knew nothing about the boy, except his name was Abhi and he could not talk. The question then raised, who to take care of the kid. Some of them were poor to look after — and some of them were concerned about their privacy. The villagers then chose him to be a Week's-Boy— he was going to live in one house for a week and move to another house. That's exactly where our story starts…

Evening 7 PM

— It was the very first day Abhi stayed in someone's house, he felt nervous and walked to the terrace to enjoy the fresh air. The village around him looked very beautiful with colorful lights — much of the village was covered by a hill with different trees, and there was a temple on it. The stars in the sky looked gorgeous; they looked very close to the hill — he wondered if they were on the hill. He walked out of the house and began to run towards the hill and eventually hit the top of the hill. He tried to reach the stars and realized he was wrong — the stars were no longer closer to him. Yeah, they were very far away. He stared at them hopelessly.

— In the meantime, the priest who locked the temple saw Abhi gazing at the stars and walked to him.

"— You 're the kid, who can't speak, but can hear, am I right? — ", the priest asked.

— He looked at the priest and again looked up at the stars.

"— What are you looking at, the stars?" asked the priest again.

"— You thought the stars were on the hill, didn't you?" "— They 're really far away —".

"— Unfortunately, we can't get there—" said the priest and brought him down from the top of the hill.

— The truck driver saw Abhi and the priest — Abhi walked quietly with him, but the priest kept talking to him. Driver walked over to the priest, greeted him, and took Abhi back home.

— A week has passed — .

Abhi had never spent time with other villagers, or had never tried to talk. He spent time with his puppy, TITLE. — To him, he was the only world.

As a week's-boy, he left the driver's house and moved to another house, and eventually reached a Christian family.

At the Christians House

— The house was large compared to the other one in the village. Beautiful portraits and family frames on the wall illustrated their customs and traditions.

They gave Abhi a separate room to stay — not because they were different, the house was big enough for Abhi to maintain his personal space.

That afternoon, he had a nice meal and returned to his room to have a quick nap. He crept to his bedroom window and peered down into the front yard — TITLE was playing on its own.

Evening:

That evening, A little girl entered the house, probably 10 years old. She looked cute with big, beautiful eyes and curly hair. She was wearing a school bag; probably coming from school. She walked into the house, threw her bag on the table, and walked straight to the room where Abhi was staying. She was surprised to see him in the room and rushed to her mother in the kitchen.

"— There's someone in the room," she whispered.

"— I know, he's our guest. He 's going to be with us this week." said her mother, and offered her two glasses of milk and biscuits. The girl walked to Abhi's room with biscuits and milk.

"— I am AKSHARA, and you," she asked, offering him some snacks.

— Abhi just stared at her in silence. Akshara thought if he didn't want to talk and walked out of the room.

— Akshara was playing; her voice was heard at every corner of the house. Abhi, however, was lying silently in his bed.

Night:

It was midnight and the cloudy sky outside suggested unexpected rain would happen. Abhi rolled over inside his blanket and slept calmly. There was a fresh breeze in his room.

— It started raining cats and dogs. TITLE, who slept on the balcony, drenched in the rain. He could not stand the downpour and ran all over the balcony to escape from it. He screamed for help. Abhi who was lying in his bed heard his sound. He woke up and saw TITLE from the window's curtain; he didn't know what to do. He rushed down the stairs to the main door and tried to open it — but he could not as it was locked. He slowly peeped his eye into the door lock and tried to figure out how to unlock it.

— At the same time, Akshara 's father who slept in his room heard TITLE screaming. He walked out of his bed and stepped down the stairs. He saw Abhi peering through the front curtain. He walked around and opened the door.

— Unexpectedly, Akshara came from nowhere, took the puppy with her hands and brought him inside. Abhi was surprised and very happy to see that Akshara had helped his pet. That night he slept in the living room with his pet, TITLE.

Morning:

School time Akshara was getting ready for school, and her mother was in the kitchen. She slowly walked out with her school bag and saw Abhi playing with his pet in the front yard. She walked towards him.

"— Would you like to come along with me?"she asked, and waited for him to answer.

Abhi grinned, shaking his head as he did. It was the first time a person of his age had spoken to him.

They both began walking to the school which was a little far from Akshara 's home— TITLE was accompanying them too. Akshara looked at Abhi and said in a low voice, "— Mom told me yesterday that you can't speak, but you can hear."

Abhi was silent, he did not know whether to nod yes or no.

— They finally got to school which says, "Government Primary School." Abhi who was smiling, saw the school and the students — It reminded him of the orphanage he had escaped from. Some kind of fear took hold of him and he began to run back from there. Akshara wondered why he had run away. She waited for him to come back, but he didn't. After waiting some time she walked into the school. Abhi ran and hit the top of the hill gradually— This was the first time he had seen the hill in the morning. The hill was covered with beautiful trees; there was a small water pond. The whole place looked like a wonderful scenery. Abhi walked around and sat down near the pond. He picked some stones and started to throw them on the water. He spent his time alone by the pond, and it turned into the evening. The temple priest who was in the temple, saw Abhi sitting alone by the pond. He didn't know why Abhi alway stayed alone; so he walked to him and patted his back.

"— I know you're concerned about an unknown village, no friends, no well-known people."

" — don't worry … it takes time to get adjusted to this environment".

"You will slowly get to know everybody. Time fixes everything. You will meet new friends in your life."

"— I think you ought to go home, this is not a place to spend alone." said the priest, and walked back to the temple.

— Abhi spent some time there and returned to his house — He's been thinking about it all night.

Morning:

Akshara got ready for school the next day. Abhi was spending time in the yard with his pet. But, this time, Akshara did not ask him to come along with her. She walked quietly to school. Abhi saw her walking alone and didn't know what to do — he trailed her with his pet TITLE.

After walking some distance Akshara realized that Abhi was trailing her; she smiled and waited for him. Abhi smiled at her too. They both walked to school, but Abhi's eyes clearly indicated that he was still scared. This time, however, at every opportunity, he decided to walk into the school — he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Akshara realizes that Abhi was afraid to enter the school — she grabbed his hand and took him with her. Abhi was surprised for a moment, he was very proud to have a friend like her; She understood his fear.

— Eventually, Abhi stepped in and his fear slowly dissipated.

He sat in the classroom next to her. He got into the habit of going to school with her. They played every day on a playground connected to the school. Akshara was a true friend to him. Although he could not speak, she understood his feelings.

— A week passed so fast, and Abhi had to leave the Akshara's house and move to another house. Even though he had left her home, he waited for her near the school every day.

— When Akshara came to school, both of them went along.

Morning:

As always, Abhi was waiting at school for Akshara, and TITLE was busy scratching his ears. The school bell rang in the morning, but Akshara did not appear. Abhi wondered why she did not come. He waited some time for her, but to no avail. He decided to meet her and walked to her house, but noticed that the front door and yard gate were locked. Abhi did not know where she had gone. This worried him; because his only friend was not here. He slowly walked to the hill and spent time by the pond with TITLE.

— Next day, again, Abhi waited for Akshara at the school; but she did not appear. He waited for her for at least 3 days, but of no use.

— Four days later, Akshara's family returned from her grandma's home. She was treated because of her ill health — she was all right now, will stay healthy for years. Akshara, as she went to school, like every day, was excited to meet her best friend ;Abhi.

In her dismay, she didn't see him anywhere. She had to go to the classroom, as the morning bell rang.

— It was a sunny day, and Akshara sat quietly in her class; probably thinking of her friend.

Slowly, her eyes shifted to the playground, which was a little far from her school. She noticed Abhi sat on the playground bench and that TITLE was with him, too. She was very pleased to see her best friend again.

— Here Abhi was sitting on a wooden bench in the ground thinking of something. TITLE was busy chasing the butterfly — this was his favorite game. He ran all over the ground to catch it and eventually reached a farm.

— Abhi looked to see TITLE but he was nowhere to be seen. He noticed TITLE was very far and was running towards the farm.

Abhi got out of his bench and rushed towards him.

— It was noon, and Akshara came out to see Abhi. But she could not find him anywhere and began to search for him. Luckily, she saw him running towards the farm. She followed him; ran to meet him.

Abhi who was very close to reach the farm, noticed someone running behind him — he stopped and turned back; it was Akshara. She was coming to see him. Abhi was very surprised to see his best friend and waited for her to come closer — Akshara came over and hugged him.

Abhi was very happy to see her again. They walked to the farm to catch TITLE and found him sitting under a tree scratching his ears. Abhi rushed and picked him up.

— On their way back home Abhi noticed that most of the trees looked similar and quite odd — they were the trees of cluster figs and realized they were in a farm. It was the first time Abhi had seen them and tried to pick some out of the tree, but he could not succeed. The farm keeper, who was having a nice nap, heard their footsteps. He woke up and followed the noise. He saw that Abhi and Akshara were trying to cut the figs out of the tree. He rushed to catch them, but Akshara was clever enough to see him and ran away. The keeper however managed to catch Abhi and held his shirt.

"— What are you doing here, little thieves— ?" he shouted. Abhi was scared, tried to escape, but he couldn't. Akshara saw the keeper caught Abhi. She wanted to save her friend and walked to him.

"— Please leave my friend, he can't talk, I just told him to cut the figs." she said, requesting.

The keeper knew that it was Abhi who was cutting the figs but was happy to see that Akshara was trying to help him. He left Abhi and smiled.

He also gave them some figs as a token of their friendship and sent them back.

— It was Sunday, and Abhi knew he couldn't meet his friend. He sat on the terrace and was playing with TITLE. Truck Driver was busy repairing his truck, he shouted in a shrill voice, " Abhi, Come Down, Now!" Abhi heard the voice and rushed down the stairs to the driver. He was surprised to see Akshara was waiting for him, she dressed in blue and had two tufts that absolutely looked funny.

They walked to the church which was located near the school. It was half-constructed, and the cement coating on the walls was still wet. Abhi had the best morning, and he enjoyed playing with his friend and pet. The view from the church with the Mango fields on one side and Hill on the other was completely like a wonderful experience. Akshara walked back to the church and wrote their names on a wet cemented wall. Abhi had the best day he 'd had in a very long time.

Suddenly, Akshara shouted, "Abhiii" in a loud voice. The echo was made and heard again. Abhi was surprised, he was very happy to hear his name as an echo. At the same time, he shouted her name loudly. A moment of silence passed; Akshara was shocked to hear Abhi shouting.

" — You spoke Abhi, '' she said excitedly.

Without wasting a second she started running to her home to tell that Abhi had spoken. Abhi too ran behind her. Akshara rushed to the kitchen; her mother was cooking.

" Mom, Mom … Abhi speaks… " she said excitedly. Her mother was surprised to hear that. She didn't believe and continued her work. Akshara held her hand and brought her outside. Abhi was standing near the front yard.

" Okay, Abhi what is your name …" asked her mother sarcastically.

Abhi did not respond, he was afraid to speak with her. He could not stand there and rushed back to his home.

— Akshara shrugged to think why Abhi could not speak with her mother. She did not know that Abhi was a glossophobic and he could speak with only the person he felt comfortable with.

Days passed so fast; Akshara and Abhi became good friends. Abhi was talking to her now. He did not know how he did it but was very happy. He never spoke to other people in the village. Akshara tried several times to show someone that Abhi was speaking but she failed. However she accepted the fact that she was the only person who spoke to Abhi.

Evening 4 PM:

It was evening. Abhi and Akshara walked back to their homes from the school. Akshara got home, she said goodbye to Abhi from her front yard. Abhi walked home alone.

— On the way home, Abhi noticed that some unknown trucks were parked near the house where he was staying. A lot of people were packing their luggage in a hurry — it seemed like they were going somewhere.

— Abhi didn't really know what was going on. He walked past them and heard some people muttering about some of the contract work they had been given, and half the villagers were migrating to a different place.

Abhi was afraid that they might take him too — he does not want to go. He wanted to be there for his best friend. — He slowly walked to the house and sat near the front yard and looked at the people calmly — All this seemed very shocking and sudden to him.

When Abhi was guessing what was going on, one of the villagers picked him up immediately and put him into the truck — he also picked up TITLE into the vehicle. Abhi stopped dead for a second — he realized that he was one of those going to another village.

— Here Akshara's father got to know about villagers' migration. He came along with Akshara and helped them organize their luggage. [Because Akshara's father was a government person, he was not leaving the village]

— Akshara looked around for Abhi and saw him sitting in the truck. She realized that he was one of the villagers who would leave the place — she was not happy to see him going. She decided to give him a present as a memory and ran to her house and came back with a wooden truck toy — because Abhi liked the truck very much.

— Here Abhi who was sitting in the truck saw Akshara coming towards him. He was so happy and sad to see her, because he would leave her soon. Akshara smiled at Abhi and walked over to him.

"— I'm going to miss you Abhi, you're my best friend forever." she said and gave the toy as much as he liked it.

— Abhi took the toy, and suddenly tears rolled from his eyes. He knew he would lose his only true friend, and she was the only person he could talk to. Abhi could not talk to villagers around, but his heart screamed,

"— I do not want to leave."

—It was 7 o'clock at night. And everything was set up in trucks. Some laughed, some hugged, and some said goodbye to the other villagers. Everyone said their last goodbyes

— It was a pleasant day for the villagers but not for Abhi.

— A moment later, the truck started moving.

Abhi's heart began beating so fast, tears welled up from his eyes — he wanted to shout so loudly that he did not want to leave — he tried but he could not — his fear of speaking publicly dominated more than anything. It was the first time he felt sad, why God gave him that fear.

— The truck slowly left Akshara and other villagers behind. Akshara looked at Abhi who was going in the truck and said goodbye. Abhi looked at her and slowly waved his hand. He looked around — the houses, school and temple; All seemed to be saying a final goodbye to him. He realized; that was the last time he was going to see those places — In fact, it would become his past.

— By the time Abhi realized that he was alone now; Akshara disappeared and so did the village.