Page 94 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

I went around looking for friends. My college, Mr. Sonam was playing cards behind his house.
“Sonam, I need your help, please,” I said.
He looked up at me. “What can I do for you?”
“I need some cash, please. I would return to you later.”
“Sorry, I paid rent.”
I asked Ugyen and senior teachers, but nobody lent me any money. So, I returned home. “What should
I do, Ama? Nobody would lend me.”
“Why don’t you apply for a loan?”
“Oh, yes, loan!” I said, sighing a deep relief. “How come you never told me before?”
“But how will you go home? There’s a week-long Assam strike.”
“It’s urgent. I must go. Any idea, Ama?”
“It has got to be a way.” She thought for a while. “Going via Deothang is the only means. Do you think
you can walk?”
“Oh, you are sagacious. How come I couldn’t think about it before?”
“Go look for travel mates now.”
“Of course. Please pack my bag.”
I went around, asking people. Nobody knew about anyone traveling on foot. Disappointed, I returned
home. “I am gonna have to travel alone.” I peered into a restaurant on the roadside. “I think I should ask
Sangla there.” I shuffled inside. “Hi, Sangla. Is there anyone headed for SJ tomorrow?”
He kept the beer glass on the table. “Yes,” he said.
My mood lightened. “Who?”
“Three of us. All siblings.”
“I think I should travel with you. What time?”
“We’ll start at 5:00 am,” he said, sipping beer from the glass. “We must reach there tomorrow itself.”
“Me too. I am going home to attend my grandma’s cremation. They’re waiting for me.”
“Don’t be late. Even if I do, my brothers won’t wait for you.”
“Oh, I won’t.”
Choki was waiting at the door with daughter, Tsheulthrim Wangmo on her back. She bit her bottom lip
seeing me. “Found travel mates?”
I nodded. “Three brothers.”
“Great, but your safety concerns me. Hope they won’t desert you on the way.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
The journey was risky as elephants would rove along the way. I’d heard of several instances people were
trampled to death. I wondered if I could catch up with my travel mates as I hadn’t taken up such an
interminable journey on foot before.
Twelve kilograms of baggage on my ninety–five kilograms of body weight? I thought. Impossible!
At the crack of dawn, I pecked my daughter on her cheeks and said, “Take care of the baby. I will
phone you from Samdrup Jongkhar.”
“Take care. And always travel with your mates, okay?”
“I will. Bye.”
I met Sangla and his two brothers near the school. They carried a backpack and a torch each.
“Kuzu Zangpo la,” I said.
“We would better start,” snapped the eldest brother with a weather-beaten face. “Shall we?”
“Yeah, we better start,” said Sangla. “Let’s go.”
We climbed a small hill and walked up along the riverbank. I strode with them for about half an hour
but soon lagged. So, I paced up. On the top of a craggy mountain, the morning sun greeted us with its
warm rays. We strode down the mountain and arrived at a hamlet. Houses were scattered. The route
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