Kamal Kanta Dhungel
“What a pretty girl! See Rajesh.” My friend Santosh pinched me. She had already turned the other side as I widened my eyes to see her. She had a waist-long straight, silky and shiny hair. She was as tall as me and she was wearing blue jeans and purple coloured T-shirt. Her golden coloured wrist watch was glittering due to sunstroke. I observed her from head to toe and surmised she must be pretty.
Me and my friend Santosh were here to attend the entrance examination of Agriculture. We had reached the exam centre almost an hour before it starts. There was a huge crowd of the examinee. Almost all of them were in tension. Nobody was smiling as if all their happiness was evaporated in this strong sunstroke.
“Your bad luck. If you had checked your horoscope today then it must had shown an unfortunate day today, ain’t it Rajesh!” Santosh laughed, throwing thorny words towards me.
“You” I hit him with my palm thinking that I missed a great opportunity. In contrast, I was occasionally focusing my eyes towards the girl not to lose the second chance.
My day weren’t that bad as suggested by my friend Santosh. In the meantime, a girl rushed towards that girl from the back and tapped her saying, “Hi! Monalisha how are you? Long time no see.”
With the struck of luck Monalisha took one hundred and eighty degrees turn and cheered, ”Hi! Ritika” towards her friend.
This was the first time I had seen Monalisha. She was much prettier than I imagined her to be. I gazed her smiling face thoroughly. I gazed her dimple on right check and a mole just over the nostrils.
“What a perfect creation !” I murmured. Immediately the bell rang destroying my observation. All the candidates rushed towards their assigned rooms and so does me and my friend.
* * *
I heard a faint “Hello” from the back seat as I was deeply engrossed in finding the answer to the entrance examination. Two, three hellos went through air as I didn’t pay attention. I lost my patience in the fourth Hello and turned back furiously and got shocked by what I saw. She was none other than Monalisha I saw outside. I was fidget and didn’t dare to speak for a moment.
“Can you help me with this Question number 8?” She asked immediately without wasting time.
“Sure” I replied impromptu.
I helped her solve the question and gave her a fringe smile then I get back to my question paper. Soon the time is over and I submitted the answer sheet. I waited until she handed over her to the invigilator.
“Thank you god for your support.” I murmured inside giving bunch of thanks to the god.
We were discussing about the answer in the middle of the ground when my friend Santosh saw us from afar. He walked shakily towards with his face full of nervousness. As soon as he approached us he asked, “ How was your exam?”
“Kinda good.” I replied immediately.
“By the way who is she?” He asked me pretending that he wasn’t familiar with Monalisha before.
“She is Monalisha. I met her in my exam hall.” I replied with a hard-to-see smile giving his thorny punch back to him. vHe joined us and discussed about the score. Meanwhile, Ritika arrived destroying our atmosphere.
“Let’s go. Its getting late.” Ritika said to Monalish.
Then she waved us goodbye with her beautiful smile and left off. I saw her until she was visible.
Santosh pinched me while I was gazing towards Monalisha and said, “Let’s go. Whom are we waiting. I am famished. Let’s eat something.”
I was floating in the memory of Monalisha with empty stomach. Soon we went to the cafeteria nearby and filled our stomach.
* * *
We became very good friends during our college days. We were now in the final year.
One day I was waiting outside for Monalisha to share her a very good and special news. As soon as I met her I shared my good news that I am going to Israel for two years of enternship course as soon as my college examination gets over. To my surprise, she didn’t seem happy as reflected by her face. She said nothing and left away. I called her many times however, she didn’t return to me but ran off more faster. She was sobbing as she left me.I didn’t understand what’s happening with Monalisha.
I called her and texted her so many times however, she didn’t respond to any of my calls and messages. She went offline for nearly three days. She didn’t appear in the college too. I was desparate however, opportunity to go Israel was driving forward. I was attending each and every class and even giving more time on my study both in college and in home.
I saw Monalisha on the fourth day and went to talk to her.
“What happened to you Monalisha? Why are you behaving like this? Aren’t you happy?” I asked her.
Firstly, she refused to talk and just said,”Nothing. I am so happy for you.”
However, I insisted her to tell the truth then she replied,” Rajesh, I am in love with you since I saw you for the first time in the ground. During entrance examination I asked you just to talk to you Rajesh. I am happy for your glorious future. In contrast, I don’t want you to go away from my sight. I want you to be with me forever, Rajesh.”
Then she started sobbing with her eyes full of tears and left off.
At that night I found her online and sent a message,
Why didn’t you tell this earlier Monalisha. We were good friends for over two years and we had exchanged every minute details about each other but why did you conceal such an important part inside your heart Monalisha?
She replied,
I attempted many times to share my felling to your however, I didn’t dared to speak in this topic thinking that you may think otherwise and I would have lost you forever.
I wrote,
If you had given me a little hint then I would have expressed my feeling towards you dear Monalisha. I liked you and I love you very much since I glanced your first time however, I didn’t dare to tell you my feeling. I never thought that you love me otherwise I would have told you very earlier dear.
She replied five heart smileys and texted,
Are you serious Rajesh? I am so happy today. I am waiting for tomorrow when we meet together.Thank you Rajesh for accepting my proposal.
I replied,
Thank you Monalisha for accepting me.
The very next day we hugged each other and talk for a long time leaving all our classes. What a destiny? We studied for nearly two years being merely good friends. Now, our college days are about to over when we knew that our heart had been coalesed together two years ago. This means we can’t change our fate.
* * *
I texted Monalisha on Whatsapp-
Dear I arrived here on Israel safely. Don’t worry I am fine here. I have my room somewhere on norhtern part of Israel. It is a place of mind-blowing ambience. Everything is fine here.
Soon I saw two green ticks on my message and I got her reply-
I miss you Rajesh very much. I am waiting your arrival. Stay safe dear.
Everything was going fine. I was attending my classes and completing my farm work routinely. I was very much passionate in farming and agriculture and giving my effort from my inner heart. Whenever, I got free time I talked to Monalisha. Me and Monalisha made a bunch of plans as soon as I retured to Nepal.
* * *
One day I saw a message from Monalisha-
Come back Nepal abruptly Rajesh. Leave Israel. It isn’t safe. Don’t risk your life.
She was so much worried of Hamas attack on Israel. The news of abduction, blasting, gunfire, increasing number of toll was giving plight to Monalisha.
I tried to soothed her and texted,
It is very safe and peaceful here dear Mona. It isn’t like the one shown in the media. The warzone is very far. It is Gaza Strip lies on south part of Israel in Israel-Palestine frontier.
She texted,
I don’t want to hear anything. Come back immediately.
Then she vanished from the online world.
The war was growing erratically on the southern part of Israel. In contrast, northern part was safe yet. Our college had already warned us not to move outside unnecessarily. We were following a hectic routine of fieldwork , college and room.
At that night we heard a gunfire sound . Peoples were heard screaming and shouting.We ran away from our domicile towards the forest to save our life. We were five close friends residing in a domicile and after the struggle of nearly four hours the sound got vanished. However, we were separated already. I found myself alone in the forest. I got scared , I am lost. I didn’t know the routes.
After five days Monalisha tried to contact with Rajesh but all in vain. Nobody was answering the fone. The news of danger, increasing abduction, gunfire, killings , brutality was widespread across the entire media. She was very worried and scared . In addition, Rajesh was contactless. She regretted herself as she didn’t communicated with Rajesh for five days. In the meantime, abduction of Nepalese students went viral in the news. Her worriness sored up.Different sorts of positive and negative thoughts crossed swiftly across her brain. She just prayed for god to keep Rajesh safe.
The forest was so dense that Rajesh couldn’t identify east, west , north and south. He tried to located his domicile but he was vigorously trapped in the dense forest. He called loudly his friends by their names but all goes in vain. His words echoed towards him however, they never reached to his friends.
He anyhow stayed alive eating forest products and water available in ponds. He himself didn’t know about his whereabouts. He lost his hope that he could reach his domicile and his home in Nepal alive. “My family can’t get my corpose not even my small piece of flesh.” He thought losing all the hopes. He was very sorry about Monalisha.
“I should have obeyed Monalisha. At least , I could have saved my life.” Thoughts circumnavigated across his brain.
He was getting more deeper inside the forest while he heard a feeble sound. Sound with full of pain and woes. He followed towards the sound and after almost an half he found a man heavily injured and screaming in sheer pain. He was bleeding heavily and was almost inconscious. Gashes were scattered all over his body and he was fired with two or three bullets. He was almost dead. He was in a dilemma of what to do.
He found a mobile with him but it had no network.He carried the mobile and move across the forest to get the signal. After almost ninety minutes it got its network. Abruptly someone called . As he picked it up he knew that the man was an injured military personnel.
“Stay there and don’t left our soldier. We will be there in a jiffy.” An army officer told him.
He stayed there for nearly fifteen minutes and heard a sound in the sky. It was an army chopper to save their personnel. He regained his hope of being alive and stayed where he was. The chopper landed nearby and he gave them I -am-here signal by raising his hand and calling them “Here sir!”
They put them in their chopper and took back to safe zone. Soon they pulled out the bullets from the injured soldier’s body through surgery and he gained consicousness after nearly twenty hours. He became very happy that he could save someone’s life. They took him to the international airport and sent him back to Nepal.
On the other hand, Monalisha was yet out of contact. It was almost two months he was out of contact. He want to see the smile on Monalisha’s face when she saw him. As soon as he landed on Tribhuvan International Airport he rushed towards Monalisha’s home to give her surprise.
In contrast, he was surprised by what he saw. There was a crowd in her home. He penetrated the crowd and get inside. It was a wedding party of the Monalisha. He dropped his suitcase at some corner and collected courage, took a deep breath and approached to the stage where the bride was happily talking to bridegroom and said “Congratulation Monalisha. Have a happy and wounderful conjugal life ahead.”