Page 108 - FATE & DESTINY
P. 108
FATE & DESTINY
11 BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Choki and I were expecting our second baby soon. But there was no medic at the outreach at Kerong. So,
I took Choki and Tsheulthrim to her elder sister, Tshering Zangmo at Nganglam.
I saw Choki with a baby on her lap in an alien place. She was sitting in the middle of knee-high grasses.
The baby burped and giggled as Choki tickled its nose. I shuffled up to them.
“Here comes your father,” Choki said. “Take him, Apa.”
I cradled him in my arms. “You’re adorable, dear.” I walked further down to the edge of a cliff.
“Stop!” shouted Choki.
I sat up and glanced at the wall clock. It was 3:00 am. Except for informal borders’ loud snores in the
living room, nothing stirred. I heaved a deep sigh of relief. “What’s this dream supposed to mean? A bad
omen? Oh, dear! Hope Choki is fine.” I lay back and stared at the ceiling, my mind racing a mile a minute.
“I think I should go to Nganglam. Something is not okay with Choki.”
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
After students left for his makeshifts, I slogged to the water tap and washed my face. At dawn, I carried
my backpack and went to see the caretaker. “Mr. Pema, I am going to Nganglam. I will return tomorrow.”
He sat on the porch, chiseling a mask out of wood. “What’s the matter, sir?”
“My wife—”
“Delivered a baby?”
“Not yet, but something is not okay with her. I had a weird dream last night.”
“Should I go with you?”
“I think I can travel by myself.”
“It’s risky to travel alone in the morning, sir.”
“Please don’t worry.”
I said and scurried away to NFE’s quarter. Mr. Somgyel was in the kitchen.
“Mr. Somgyel, please look after the school. Make sure overgrown grasses around the academic building
and office are mown.”
“Is everything ok, sir?” he asked.
“I am visiting my wife.”
“What happened to her?”
“I dreamed about her last night. I don’t think it’s a good omen.”
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