My question remained unanswered for a fraction of seconds. And then the lady's face lit up with more kindness.
"I am Mareena.I know that...."
"Mareena.....", someone called her from the other room,breaking her sentence.
"Oh!"She got up."Let me check why she is calling me.
"Dear", She leant forward and cupped my face in her hands." Jake will tell you everything you need to know. I will be right back"
She took a turn and hurried to the door. My gaze fell upon Jake.
He sat beside me with a smile. His skin was shining brightly in sunlight. He held out his hand to me ,
"Hai,I am Jacob".
I smiled back and raised my hand with am effort to return his handshake.
"So Jacob..."
" Jake ", he corrected me.
"Okay. Jake,can you tell me what has happened to me??"
I could not hide my curiosity. I required a sudden answer for all those questions haunting my mind.
"Okay, I'll tell you. This is a charity centre. We offer help to all those who need it. It is our pleasure to have you here. You needn't be afraid."
He put my hand down .
"Why am l here?"
"Well,its a bit complicated"
"I think I can keep up".I assured him . My mind was getting stronger. But my memory didn't work .I couldn't remember my past. But I felt secure here.
"Tell me please ",I urged.
"So you want me to get to it straight, huh? We got you from a street . I saw some people trying to take you away. They hit you with some kind of rod on the back of your head and you fell on the road. They ran way when they saw me. I thought it was not good to leave you at that hour." He stopped to take some air.
I couldn't picture what he was saying. Perhaps, I had a complete memory loss.
"What the hell was I doing in the street?",I said in an awful tone for,my confusion got to its peak.
"I don't know!",he replied and gave me a bag.
"This was your only belonging when I got you."
I ran my fingers through the leather bag he handed me. It felt a little familiar. But again ...no...I couldn't clearly make out anything.
"We learned that your name is Sarah."He said.
I thought for a second and nodded.
"Listen...I don't know whether I am right about your history or not. Our current conclusion about how you reached here is a little tragic. Your place had a flood last week . It was on the television. Hundreds of people lost their lives and another hundred went missing. I guess you are among the second group."
I was losing my mind. A flood..??May be true... Because I was unaware of my past as of now. So my only option is to dwell on his words.
"Give it some time, dear..It will be alright." I heard Mareena's voice near me.
"Mareena..",I called her.
Her face went red ,hearing my voice .
"Thank you so much for keeping me safe."I said taking a little effort.
"It is my pleasure to have you here ,dear..Comecon Jake.Help her to stand on her legs. Let us take her for a walk."
They took my hands and helped me yo get up.
"Time to get some fresh air!"Jacob smiled.
I reached out of my room to a big passage. A woman who sat by the window side smiled to me. I reflected it. Mareena caught my hands so tightly not to let me fall.
Jake too was caring for me. His hair intermittently hit my face as we walked. The passage opened into a verandah .
The sight outside was amazing.!My mouth fell open when I saw that the place where I stood faced a seashore.!!
I climbed down the steps and my feet touched the cool sandy soil.I rubbed the soil between my toes and closed my eyes to inhale a good amount of air. It made me feel refreshed.
"Open your eyes girl",Jake distracted me. I opened my eyes and saw him and Mareena at a distance ,facing me. Wow!!I am standing alone!!... I took trembling step towards them. The wind blew my hair back and I could feel the strong saline whiff in that air.
I laid my eyes stuck on the beach and limped to the direction. Less than fifty steps from my previous position to the sandy shore. The blue sea spread in front of me. I knelt down cautiously and cupped the frothed water . I felt my heart beat more rapidly. I stood there watching the entire crimson lit horizon . Waves piled up and ran greedily to lick my feet.
I ignored the two sacred minds behind me because I knew that they wanted me to get renewed alone.
I had no worries about my past , my present is okay and with these people around me my future is secured.... An entire new chapter of my existence was getting started...
