The mist was depressing and such a heavy layer of it in the morning
was suffocating. It was a part  of the migrants’ settlement in Surat
where lakhs from several states of India live.

Struggle for a livelihood far away from their homes and families.
Shivan Saish was one of that lot of over seven to ten lakhs from Odisha.

The mist was slowly disclosing the chimneys far off and some makeshift
houses, as if, all that were suspended in an air of fear created by a
pandemic.

Alone In That Long Journey

He was sitting at the back of a wagon of a goods train, clutching to
the bag of food he brought and was listening to the noise of the
rolling wheels on the rails.

He was euphoric  amid the panic unleashed by  Corona because, for the
first time after leaving home he was now going to see his mother.

He had so many things in his mind to tell her mother and he was  more
exited that his mother would be so happy to see few pieces of sweets
which he had decided not to eat throughout the journey, come-what-may.

The Treasure He Kept Close To Chest

That was the only treasure the young boy had kept pressed to himself.
He had already eaten the biscuits he got from a voluntary
organization along with some cooked rice and curry. It was  days long
journey from Gujarat to Odisha and to survive on the residual stock
like a loaf of bread and some bananas was challenging for the hungry
young man .

He could suppress his hunger under the excitement of being back home
and hug his mother. When the eyes of the mother would beam, he
imagined, with a surprise and pride .
It were the same eyes several months back those had covered his cheeks
with tear when he had left his native for a livelihood 2000 kms away.

The train slowed down and came to a grinding halt. He noticed a group
of people on the left side with bag and baggage and some police men
nearby. The cops stared at the train and him, but, the boy managed to
skip their attention.

Suddenly one of them shouted looking at his direction. Although the
boy couldn’t understand the whole but he lost no time and jumped off
the wagon and ran. He reached a place he didn’t know anything about.

The place was unnaturally quiet, no living creature was to be seen
nearby. Except a few ‘chappals’ strewn here and there. The boy was
scared of the silence and he decided to flee again.

He ran till he found a truck coming from behind. He could manage to
board the freight carrier.

The driver of the vehicle was south Indian and so was his helper,  who
could notice the nervousness writ on the face of the thirteen year old
boy. He gestured at the boy to relax and after few hours the boy was
cool. Language barrier didn’t come in between them and the trio got on
well after about three to four hours drive on way to Tamil Nadu.

They stopped many times on the way to cook food in a stove and
Santosh was overwhelmed by the kindness shown to him by the driver and
his assistant.
His gratitude always melted in his moist eyes, a kind of emotion that
could not skip the drivers’ notice.

Before they entered Odisha border, the boy gestured at his rescuers
meaning that he had to de-board soon. The driver offered him two
packets of biscuits which he accepted. He got down from the vehicle on
the highway and thanked the duo with moist eyes all through rest of
the journey.

He had to negotiate miles and miles to reach his native Sinahpalli in
Nuapada district. Can he find out another Samaritan like the driver of
the truck to proceed towards his home district. He was lucky.

It was almost  wee hour and suddenly he discovered a small freight
carrier emerging from the early mist. There on it was written Press,
on the front glass, with bundles of newspapers behind,  but he raised
his hand.

It stopped and the driver gave a side-glance and after an exchange of
few words the man at the wheel relented and the boy was allowed to
alight.

The journey was long, and tiring, for a boy who has been through the
onslaughts of time for last fifteen days, it was so trying.

Many things have changed since he had left, with a group of people
from that area. As he was nearing to his house, a shanty to be
specific, he heard a faint noise of screaming of a woman at someone
and then a human figure stumbling out of the house followed by a
child.

Shivan  couldn’t believe that his mother had become so frail and
worn-out by time. He felt guilty because he thought, his absence might
have been the reason behind her worries.

Both stood perplexed, looking at each other and their faces looked
pathetic but, eyes were full with tears and smile, the most
gorgeous blend of emotion on earth, perhaps.

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