Scribbling down the answers to a few
questions, Dorji checks the wall clock stuck above the green board. One exam
invigilator stands at the door and other sits down on a chair in the front.
Looking around the room, on seeing other students writing answers, he holds the
pen tightly and try to write but nothing comes to his mind other than Tshoki.
After listening to his parents this morning about Tshoki, he rushed to the exam
hall fifteen minutes late. It has been an hour writing but he has not even
completed two questions. As the clock ticks fifteen minutes past 10, he raises
his arm. The invigilator in the front walks towards him
“I am done, sir.”
He says in a respectful manner and waits
for the invigilator to respond, who picks up his paper and keeps flipping
through his answer sheet.
“You can leave.”
Picking up his geometry box, he rushes
outside when the invigilator stops him on the midway to the door, “Hey!”
He stops immediately and turns his head
slowly when the invigilator bends down under his table and stands up picking up
his admit card. Going to him, he gets the card and rushes back. Once outside,
picking up the bag from the window sill, he rushes up to the road and waits for
the taxi plying to the town.
Waving his hand, stopping a taxi, he jumps
inside next to an old woman and a beautiful girl sits next to her.
Looking at him carefully, the old woman
asks, “No school today?”
Forcing a smile, showing his white teeth,
he says, “I had exam.”
The girl next to her looks at him, as if
she has seen something on his face.
“Oh, good boy. Study hard and be a great
person in the future,” says the woman, when the driver from the front
interrupts, “Now the world is so competitive. Even the graduates are not
getting job.”
Listening to the conversations of the
driver and old woman, finally he is in the town. Getting out of the taxi,
taking another taxi, he heads to Olakha, thinking that Tshoki is still at home.
Knocking the door, he waits. He is not sure how to face her. He was to think
about facing her in the taxi but the driver and woman, kept distracting him and
the girl kept looking at him.
Looking very sad, Tshoki opens the door and
says, “Done with exam?”
Getting inside the room, walking slowly
towards the sofa, he sits down when Tshoki closes the door and stands there
only.
“Tshoki, please come here. I want to say
something.”
Calling Tshoki, he waits for her to walk
towards him but she stands still. Standing up, walking towards her, he stands
in front of her. Looking deep into her eyes, he says, “I am here to say
goodbye. I am sorry, I didn’t know you were married to Khandu. By the way, he
is my uncle.”
Taking the new phone in his hand, Khandu
walks out of the bedroom angrily. As he steps into the sitting room, her mother
stops him, “Khandu, you are still here? No office today?”
Without saying a word, he gives her a stare
and walks out of the room, when her mother looks at Yangchen, “What has
happened to Khandu, unlike before he is acting weird these days?”
Going next to her, Yangchen takes the child
on her lap, “Umm, he is stressed these days because of the tight schedules.
Don’t worry, he is just tensed.”
“Oh!”
As she sits down breastfeeding the child,
Yuden rushes towards her, “Mom, are we going for movie tonight?”
“Nope, Princess. Next time.”
“Why?”
As she opens her mouth to respond her, a
sudden knock at the door silences the room for a while. Yuden stands up and
rushes to the door. Pulling back the door, she stands at the door.
“Yuden, who is it?”
Holding a small box in her hand, she walks
back to her when Tencho appears from the door. As he approaches them, her
mother smiles and welcomes him.
“Oh, please, sit here.”
Not believing his sudden appearance,
Yangchen looks at him suspiciously.
Sitting down on the sofa, he looks at her
mother and says, “I heard, you two are leaving tomorrow. So, being Khandu’s
friend I came here to meet you before you leave.”
Smiling broadly, her mother says, “Oh! Some
important things have popped up back at village.”
Her father does not say a word but keeps watching
a movie on the TV, meanwhile Yuden unwraps the box and begins to munch the
cake. Taking the child from her lap, her mother says, “Make tea for Tencho
sir.”
Giving the child, she stands up when Tencho
says, “Hmmm, winter is coming so I bought a coat each for you two.”
Tencho takes out the coats packed in the
plastics and hands them to her mother, when she accepts it happily. In the
meantime, Yangchen stands up terrified by this. She walks directly to the
kitchen as her mother tears the plastic and takes out the new coat.
Getting inside the kitchen, she pours hot
water from the boiler into the pot, when Tencho stands at the door suddenly.
“What are you doing here?”
She shouts, controlling her anger, when he
smiles and says, “I am very sorry about the way Khandu is treating you these
days. I hope, things will get better soon. As a matter of fact, you don’t
deserve to be treated this way.”
Listening to his words, she lights the gas
stove and boils the water in the pot. Looking back at him, Yangchen says, “You
know and understand my situation but why are you here? If Khandu becomes
suspicious about this, you are going to make my situation worse. Please, stop
coming here when Khandu is not here.”
“Oh! I cannot bear the pain, you are in,”
says Tencho, walking towards her.
Standing in front of her, looking deep into
her eyes, he says, “Beautiful woman like you don’t deserve such a painful
treatment. You know that, right?”
She stands silently, taking deep breaths.
“Did you find the phone?”
He asks, when Yangchen walks away from him
and says, “What phone?”
“Last time, when I came here I kept a new
phone in your cupboard.”
“What?”
Story by: Phurpa Dorji (PJIKKS)
Chapter 14 Tomorrow @9PM
