Echoes of Jhilmil

It’s been raining here since morning today, and I don’t like rain at all. Yes I agree, many people love rain, they claim it makes them feel good when they hear the sound of raindrops.
They claim that the sound makes them lose themselves. Some even go out just to get drenched, like my sister, Neha did. She went out, I mean, she left the house to get drenched. Every time she does this, she sneezes and coughs all night, which drives me crazy! This is exactly why I’m not too fond of rain. At first, it feels nice, but then you have to suffer all night, and I just don’t need that hassle!

[Phone rings…]

“Hey, are you coming to the class?” Surjo asked.
“Is there class today?” I asked.
“Yes, ‘Pachu’ Da is going to teach! Didn’t you check the group?” he replied.
“Oh right, I forgot. You wait under the tree, I’ll be there shortly”, I said.
“Okay, don’t take too long!” he replied.

I was so busy cursing the rain that I didn’t notice Pachu Da had posted in the group. Anyway, the rain doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop, so I guess I’ll have to go in this weather. Today Pachu Da is treating us to a meal for Bijoya, so I can’t miss that. I could have skipped the class, but not the food, haha.

I packed my bag and headed out. Why did the cycle have to break down today, of all days? Now, with the rain, mud, water, and dirty roads, I have to walk. Ugh, I’m not in the mood for this! All I can think about is what Pachu Da will serve us today. There are 13 of us in our group, I mean in our batch, but there are many other batches as well. I wonder if he’s going to feed everyone together? That would be quite an event. Maybe we’ll start with ‘fish fry’, ‘chicken cutlet’, or ‘egg devil’, and then move on to ‘fried rice’. Will it be mixed fried rice or just chicken fried rice? And then maybe Kosha Khashi, I mean, mutton curry? But no, knowing Pachu Da, he won’t go that far.

[Suddenly, a horn blares from behind]

Hey, slow down! It’s raining, and if you drive like that, you’ll end up getting into an accident. Don’t you know this spot under the tree is notorious for accidents? — the car almost got me killed.

How long has it been? Surjo still hasn’t arrived! But wait, who is that? She looks familiar … is that Jhilmil? Yes, that’s Jhilmil. What is she doing there alone?
What’s wrong, Jhilmil? Where’s Arko? Don’t you recognize me? I’m one of your brothers too, I’m your Arko dada’s friend. Have you lost your way? (It seems like she’s lost, poor thing, she must be scared.)

Jhilmil, come, hold my hand, I’ll take you home (I held her hand). Why is your hand so cold? Jhilmil, how long have you been standing here? (She doesn’t say anything, just looks at me with her big eyes, gesturing forward with her fingers.)

I can’t understand how she got here, and why hasn’t anyone looked for her? In this dreadful, eerie weather, she’s all alone… and her hands are as cold as ice.

It’s only now that I notice, despite the heavy rain, that she doesn’t have an umbrella, yet her hair isn’t wet at all. How is that possible? How long she has been out of her house? I can’t make sense of any of this, what’s going on? I tried calling Surjo, but the phone isn’t turning on, maybe it’s out of charge. Damn it!

Suddenly, Jhilmil screams “Dada” and she goes off my hand, running across the road. I shouted, Jhilmil, stop, there’s a car coming… But before I could blink, something terrible happened.
“Help! Help! Is anyone there?” – I shouted.

A car just hit Jhilmil and sped away, I couldn’t stop it. But where is Jhilmil? ‘Jhilmil?’ … ‘Jhilmil?’ –calling her out, I was looking for her.

“Brother, over here! We’re here!”
I looked to my left and saw Arko, and behind him, peeking out, was Jhilmil, looking at me.
‘Arko?’ Are you guys alright? – I asked.
As I was asking, I noticed blood dripping from Arko’s nose, and his head looked strangely distorted. It’s terrifying to look at. What’s happening, Arko? Why is blood coming out of your head? What’s going on, ‘Jhilmil?’ — I asked her. And I noticed blood is streaming from her eyes, her face is split down the middle, and blood is oozing out from her ears.
What a horrifying sight! They’re both so close to me. I feel both scared and upset. What’s happening? My head is spinning… my eyes are closing, and I see a car coming towards me. Why can’t I move?

(A sudden pull from the side)
It seems like I’m not fully conscious, suddenly I see Surjo.

“Surjo? You’re here?“ — I asked

“What’s wrong, bro? What happened to you? Are you okay? That car could have hit you.” – Surjo said.
“Arko’s bleeding!” – I said.
“Arko? Where is he?”, he replied.
“I didn’t tell you about an incident that happened yesterday. Arko and her sister met an accident, and they are no more with us” – Surjo said with tears in his eyes.
I was completely blank by that time.
[Blackout]