The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Author:Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni [Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roli Books
Published: 2008-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

11

The First Obstacle

Anand wasn’t sure how long he crouched in a corner of the cave. Without Abhaydatta, the cave had suddenly become a dreary place, cold, and empty as a husk. Its walls, where Anand had seen his mother’s face so vividly in its sorrow, were dull and opaque now. With all his being, he wanted to get away from the cave, from the painful memories and the shame of having done that which he had most dreaded. But he lacked even the will – or the strength – to make it across the expanse of the stony floor to where Nisha was sitting, arms wrapped tightly around herself, rocking a little. Once in a while, she moaned.

Anand wanted to moan, too. No, he wanted to weep and beat his head against the hard floor of the cave until the blood came. The pain would be a welcome one. It was the least he deserved for his betrayal – unintended though it was – of the Master Healer. But he knew he could not afford the luxury of guilt, or grief, right now. Surabhanu, not finding the conch on Abhaydatta, would surely return to the cave. And as Abhaydatta had said, Anand’s first duty was to the conch.

He knew that his only hope – and Nisha’s – lay in getting away from the cave as quickly as they could. Perhaps if they managed to cross the river, the first obstacle that Abhaydatta had spoken of, it would give them a little time and some protection from Surabhanu.

He dragged himself to his feet and walked shakily over to Nisha.

‘We’ve got to go,’ he told her. But she didn’t look at him. She kept rocking and moaning. He could make out the words she was repeating: Dadaji, Dadaji.

Guilt made his voice harsher than he intended. ‘Come on!’ he cried. ‘We don’t have time for this now. We’ve got to go.’

‘I saw the wind rushing in,’ Nisha said. ‘It had the face of a wild boar. Before Dadaji could wake up, it grabbed him in its teeth.’

‘What happened then?’ Anand couldn’t stop himself from asking.

‘I couldn’t see any more – it was like he was sucked into a giant funnel.’ Nisha started crying. ‘I should have helped him, tried to pull him away, but I was too scared.’

Anand wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how. He placed a hand awkwardly on her shoulder, but she shook it off. ‘It’s all your fault! It was your watch. You should have seen the danger coming and warned Dadaji in time.’

Anand cringed inside. It was his fault – far more than Nisha guessed. A part of him wanted to confess to her and lighten the burden on his heart. But another part knew nothing would be gained by it. She would blame him, perhaps hate him. And right now they needed to believe in and support each other. Because the two of them were all they had.

‘It’s not safe here,’ he said, speaking as gently as he could.

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