Page 156 - Musings 2021

“Oh, dammit! Happens every single time! He rushed to collect his coat. This struck a chord
with me.

“Danny? You are Danny?”

“Why, what? My middle name is Dane. Arthur Dane Harley. And close ones call me Danny.”

“So, you know any girl named Chell?”

His face turned dark and looked at me in suspicion.

I poured out everything about the diary and he sat gloomily throughout.

“I remember everything like it was yesterday,” he began, “just the thought of her upsets me.
If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t have said that. I was such a mischievous kid!
Forgive me Chell, forgive me!” Then, he recounted the whole story with moistening eyes.

“Her parents were teachers at the local school. They met each other first under that Deodar
tree.”

“Oh! That explains the name. Chell Deodar!”

“Yes. A year after she was born, they met with an accident and died on the spot leaving her to
the care of her grandfather, the sole survivor of the family. He was also a teacher and used to
teach poor children in their home. Chell would also sit among them. She was too mature for
her age, always bubbling with joy. She would run through the house, cheering everyone up.
One day she fainted in the garden and upon examining, the doctor said that she had terminal
cancer. Her grandfather also died of grief a few days after her death”, he heaved a sigh.

“So what happened to Gabriel, the teacher?”

“He couldn’t bear the thought of staying here after she died. So he returned to his homeland
in Calcutta.”

“May her soul rest in peace!”

Neither of us spoke during the entire drive, and we reached Tiger Hill before the scheduled
time. The mountains were blanketed in snow. The luminous sun, still hiding, cast a golden
hue everywhere but was still reluctant to come out. The unruly sun tested our patience for
another forty minutes and finally came out rather slowly spreading dazzling rays. It was
worth seeing, and I was delighted at the sight. It’s a new dawn and a new year. We returned to
the cottage with our minds refreshed.

“Memsahib called two minutes back”, Ram said as we got out of the jeep.

I called her back.

“Happy New year, Jerry”, Daisy brimmed with happiness.

“Happy new year, honey.”

“She couldn’t wait to come out, it seems. Came early. She misses her father, though.”

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