Ratneshwari

Chapter 21

The moon was shining in the night sky. The whole city was in deep sleep. Ratneshwari was trying to sleep too. But was she able to sleep peacefully?

Nightmares haunted her. But why do they have to haunt her all the time? If she had known the answer, perhaps she would have got some peace.

Ratneshwari woke up drenched in sweat. Tears started rolling out of her eyes. People say that wounds heal with time. But is it always true?

She went to the kitchen and drank a glass of water. Her lips uttered a name, "Babu". She did not try to hold back her tears. Her dark past came in front of her eyes like a snake and tried to strangle her once again.

Ratneshwari had no friends. She used to sit alone in a bench in her classroom. She could not understand why she had no friends. Perhaps, something was wrong with her. Who knows? What could possibly be wrong with that little girl?

Then, someone came in her life and brought lots of joy and happiness. It was "Babu".

One day, she was walking home from school. She saw a crying child. She went up to him and said, "Hey! Why are you crying?" The boy said,"The goat ate my leaves." Ratneshwari started laughing. She said,"Goats always eat leaves. But why do you need leaves? Are you a goat?" The boy said,"I wanted to play with those leaves. I like leaves. I want to cook curry with green leaves. But no one likes to play with me." Ratneshwari felt sorry for him. She said,"Even I don't have any friend. Can I play with you?" The boy's face shone with happiness. He said,"Yes, you can. Come and meet me here tomorrow. We will play together."

Ratneshwari was very happy. Finally, she had got a friend. She went to meet him next day. They played together. Both of them enjoyed a lot. After playing for a long time, they decided to go home. As Ratneshwari was about to leave, the boy called her and said,"We played together for a long time. But still, I don't know your name. I am Babu. What is your name?" Ratneshwari said,"My name is Ratneshwari." Babu sighed. Then, he said, "Such a long name! I will call you just Ratna. My aunt's name is Ratna too. Okay?" Ratneshwari nodded her head. They bid each other good bye.

Everything was going on smoothly. But fate had other plans for her.

One day, Ratneshwari and Babu decided to visit the village fair together. They had lots of fun together. When they were returning from the fair, something hit Ratneshwari on her head. It was a small stone. It did not hurt her much but she was very angry. Some boys were playing with stones on the other side of the road. It was their work. Babu was angry too. He went near the boys and said,"Why did you throw a stone at my friend?" Ratneshwari was standing near him. She tried to pull him away. But Babu did not want to go away. The boys were quite older than him. One of them pushed him quite hard. Babu fell on the road. He was hurt. His knee was bleeding. He was about to get up when a speeding truck came from somewhere and hit him. Babu lost his life on the spot. Ratneshwari ran to him but fainted after seeing his corpse.

Ratneshwari could never forget him. He was the only friend she had. She could never forget that unfortunate day when he had lost his life. Very often, that horrible scene used to flash in her mind.

She wiped her tears and went back to her room. Shivan was sleeping. She looked at his face. She said, "Isn't it strange? You address me as 'Ratna'. Babu used to call me by that name too." She stared at his face for sometime. She forwarded her hand to touch his face but then, stopped herself. With teary eyes, she went near his face and said,"I lost Babu. But I don't want to lose you."

The sage was asked by one of his disciples, "O great sage, why do men cry over dead bodies, when they know that everything is perishable?" The sage smiled at him and said,"My son, why do you cry over your imperfections when you know that no creation of God is perfect?" The disciple had no reply.