Thus, Senan and Pakirappa determined to return to the farmhouse, evading all doubts, fears, confusions, and even the possible emergence of the python again. Everyone believed that it would not return. The residents folded their hands before Senan in reverence and gratitude. Senan and Pakirappa retreated through the long path full of wildly and widely grown lemongrass with sharp blades that injured them. The lemongrass blades had been scratching them till the flowing path to the farmhouse.
Senan felt it awful that the people living in close proximity to the restricted forest were not provided with a rifle for self-protection because they owned land less than five acres. Pakirappa said that although the KG estate Dhani tried hard to procure a rifle for those lonely residents, the local authority hardly assisted him in it.
On the way, the farmhouse afar appeared like a small cage stuck amidst trees. Far behind it stood the Rocks of Honey, with innumerable hives of bees and caves of bears. The wild bears found there had been more dangerous than cheetahs, pigs, wild boars, porcupines, big stags, wild bulls, wild buffaloes, and elephants.
The Forest Department used to warn the inhabitants, particularly the laborers, to watch out for the herds of bears. A few weeks ago, a herd of bears was seen prowling in front of the laborers' quarters in the KG Estate.
'The dangerous Rocks of Honey stand far behind us. Still, it seems to be hovering over our heads, though,' Pakirappa mused, finding Senan looking at it.
Meanwhile, the thought of the scampered python bewildered them. Whenever they stopped for a while, they heard the python crawling after them along the bed of fallen leaves and twigs. They heard it only when they stopped and listened to it. Otherwise, the python stayed far away from them. Senan felt that something mysterious about the snakes and Nagas stood beyond his knowledge.
'We could've shot it,' Pakirappa remarked.
'You impeded it then,' Senan retorted.
'I fear it'll return and attack us on the way.'
'No, it won't. Our fear follows us, not the python,' Senan assured him and continued, after clearing his throat in a cough, 'We decided to kill it out of our fear. Till now, I didn't get why it vanished. Although they had pelted stones and sticks at the python, it stayed there.'
'If it came back, what would they do? Poor people!' Pakirappa took pity on them, and Senan became furious. 'Whatever befall them, we're not going to do anything.'
'I'll finish you in one shot,' Senan shouted at Pakirappa, holding the rifle to Pakirappa's forehead.
Senan's brows whirled as he focussed on Pakirappa's eyes. A morbid numbness crept into his fingers. Pakirappa curled up in fear to half his size and trembled, and he stammered while asking, 'What did I commit?'
Senan lowered the rifle and said dejectedly, 'Didn't I tell you there's something between snakes and me? Then, why did you take me there?'
Pakirappa stood determined in his expression to suggest, 'Although I asked, you could've rejected it.'
Senan hummed to it, and expressed his concern for them, 'Moreover, they don't have a rifle.'
They resumed their journey through the overwhelming odor of the lemon grass, surviving its tearing touch on the skin.
'Oh, what a soothing smell!' Senan said.
Pakirappa, being aware of Senan's love for lemongrass' odour, voluntarily brought him through the grass. At many spots on the hills, the grass had been growing abundantly since natives' source of income had been extracting lemon grass oil for years.
'Don't involve me in such cases anymore. Call someone from the KG estate.'
'They don't obey me as you do,' Pakirappa replied, following Senan a little far behind. When Senan turned back furiously at Pakirappa, he stood still, gestured silence, and hushed himself simultaneously.
Pakirappa snatched betel quid from the pocket of his dirty rubber latex-smelling trousers, thrust it into his mouth, chewed it violently, and spat his red saliva on the lemongrass. At the same time, ignoring the attack of lemon grass blades on him, Pakirappa enjoyed them scratching Senan.
Pakirappa murmured something abusive in Tulu while spitting out the betel leaf concoction as though he had been carrying a heavy load of disgust and intolerance.
He turned violently towards Pakirappa. 'You're lucky, as I don't know Tulu. Or else, I would've finished you off,' Senan said it, facing Pakirappa so closely that Pakirappa had to bend his spine a little backward.
Thus, for the time being, Pakirappa abandoned Tulu. His mode of expression turned into gritting his teeth, chewing betel concoction hard, and spitting bloody saliva harshly on the sharp blades of lemongrass to cope with tolerance.(to be continued...)