THE CLOUD OF THE PRINCESS: The Cloud Of the Princess Part

Sembaruhi had to make a decision. It was pitch dark and her heart was beating faster than ever. ‘Should I stay here, and find out what this mysterious man is up to at this time of the night? Or should I go back and sleep with Imayaazh and others as before? This man was not the Poosari for sure. The Poosari had a hunch that was significantly observable. Moreover there was no way by which the Poosari could have climbed up the rock where this man was sitting now. ‘ .

She thought for a second without being able to decide on her next action.

‘Fortunately the man is not facing me and I could hide in these bushes if he turns back.

But from what the Poosari had said, there was nobody except him in this temple. So who would this man be? Does he know the Poosari? Does the Poosari know him? Are they involved in something together? But why would he play a flute at mid night. The music was not captivating either.

More than anything else, Sembaruthi was beginning to get afraid of the wild animals that she could hear moving beneath the bushes. She knew she could not control herself from shouting if some animal pounced upon her from beneath the bushes. And if that happened, this man on the rock will surely turn and look at her.
'I need to find out who this man is. He is facing the opposite side and i have to make him turn to my side. But i cannot reveal myself to him. That would be too dangerous. So I cannot just make a loud noise and make him turn. I have to do something’. She thought for a second or two. She bent down and made sure the bushes hid her completely. She looked around to find something. She picked up a stone which fit her palms and started to aim at something. After a second, she aimed at a distance and was ready to throw the stone with full force. Her idea was to hit the bark of a tree that was at a distance. The sound of the collision should make this mysterious man turn to his right and look at the tree. She knew she would not be able to fully see his face even then. But at least she should get a glimpse of how he looked like. And she was certainly confident that she could find out from seeing his eyes if he was the one whom she saw in Madiyamalai.

Though she was sure she will not get caught by throwing the stone, she was shivering from fear. Her hands had already become wet with the moisture. 'What if he does not hear the sound of the collision? He is playing the flute and there is every chance he might not hear it. That would be asking myself for danger' she thought. She decided to wait for the music to stop.

The pace of the tune suddenly accelerated. It was only for a few seconds. Sembaruthi felt her head swirling. The tune again slowed in pace. She had never heard a tune like this before. It was neither pleasant nor cacophonous . It gave a peculiar feeling that one normally gets when a sharp object runs over a metal block.

Sembaruthi was still waiting in the bush for the music to stop. Every second passed like a year. Drops of sweat began to bubble out of her temples. Her nervous system was now as tight as a vibrating sting with both ends fixed and could break down anytime.

The music stopped.

She knew she had to do it now.
She took aim once again, gathered all the force into her shoulders and threw the stone towards the bark of the tree.

It was a totally unexpected sound.
A man's cry in pain broke her eardrums.
Sembaruthi looked towards the tree in terror.
She was profusely sweating now.
She could not see anybody.
The cry of the man stopped as if the man had forced his own hands over his mouth to stop the noise.
After a second she turned swiftly towards the rock where the mysterious man with the flute was sitting.
She found empty space.
She was eaten up by fear.
'Who did the stone hit? Is there someone who is watching me in the dark? Are there more people around me in this deserted place? Where is this man who was sitting over the rock? Has he seen me? Is he moving towards me? Or has he jumped and run away to the other side?'
She started to shiver. Her eyes opened up to look deeper into the dark.
She decided it would be fatal to stay back in this place anymore. She had to run for her life and reach the Mandabam where the girls were sleeping. Without hesitation, she fell on her knees and crawled inside the bushes towards the Mandabam. She suddenly realized in fear that the sound she was making as she was crawling inside the bushes was exactly what she had heard a few minutes back and what she had assumed to be those that some wild animals were making. 'There is every possibility that there were men inside the bushes watching that mysterious man with the flute. But how many? And how many of them knew that I am hiding here?' The thought made her move faster inside the thorny bushes.

After a minute, she was inside the Mandabam. She made sure she locked the door as tightly as possible. Everybody was in deep sleep. The only torch that was burning on the top was throwing long shadows of her onto the walls. The atmosphere was as silent as death. She considered if she should wake the girls up. She decided against it. 'There is still a chance that nobody would have seen me. If that is the case, then waking up the girls would just be creating more problems. But in any case, let me be doubly alert. If in case something happens, let me shout and wake the girls up. I cannot sleep anymore tonight. Let me keep a watch on the window. Hope nothing happens' she tried to encourage herself.

Her heart beat had not slowed down yet. She did not lie down but sat on the floor below the torch carefully looking out of the window. She could only see the moon in the skies. The place outside was looking as if nothing had happened at all. She took the small knife she had and the very sight of it gave her some relaxation. It took half a minute or so before which she became normal. She began to think. A thousand questions hit her on the face.

‘Is this all a co-incidence? Or has someone been following me right from the beginning of the journey from Ponvilayur? No. It can’t be the case. The men in the dark would have still been there even if i had not gone. I was certainly not what they were looking for. It was the man with the flute whom they were looking for. Did I make a mistake by throwing the stone? May be the mysterious man was expecting somebody to come and may be they would have discussed something tonight. Did I spoil somebody’s plan? Should I have waited some more time and heard what they would have discussed? Does this somehow relate to what my husband told me? Nothing is clear except that I did a stupid thing by throwing the stone. What if somebody had seen me? Have I not put only myself but all these girls into deep trouble now? Was the Poosari hiding somewhere in the dark? Or … or…. Could it ever be like this? Was it the Poosari whom I hit with the stone? But if there was something important that the Poosari knew would happen here tonight, why did he allow us to stay here in the first place? The Poosari did not sound even a bit tensed when he spoke with us. No it can’t be the Poosari. The cry in pain was that of a young man. It was not the Poosari for sure. It was not the Poosari for sure. It was not the Poosari… It was not’

Sembaruthi drifted slowly into sleep without finding an answer to most of her questions.