Part 2: The Bamboo tree near the Tea Garden

I have been taking Painting and sketching tuition for many years now. I have to travel to different corners of the town for tuition and sometimes it gets really late. My mode of travel is on my beloved bicycle.

One such night, after finishing my last class for the day, I was ready to fall back for the night. It was around 12 am. I didn’t realise how late it was. My student’s house happened to be in quite a remote corner of the town. His house was surrounded on three sides by a tea garden. There was a narrow road through his house that led to the main road. The road was bumpy and in terrible need of repair. As I got up to go, his parents requested me to stay for the night, as it was very late. They told me that it was not safe to travel alone. But I was eager to get home. So I told them that it was fine and could manage. There’s nothing to worry about. (Or was there?).

So I bade them goodbye and left through the narrow road. As the road was bumpy, I didn’t cycle, instead dragged my cycle beside me, walking in a fast pace with my shirt stained with paints of different colours. Well, most of my students were kids. So while painting, they end up painting my shirt.

The narrow road came to an end. To my relief, I was finally on the main road. There was not a single soul to be seen on the road. I could hear the hoot of an owl far away in the tea garden. I had to turn left around the corner towards my house. There was a big Banyan tree beside the road. After I crossed it, I got up on my cycle and started to paddle.

But to my surprise, the cycle felt heavy. It got really very hard to cycle. It was as if someone was sitting in the back seat. I didn’t think much. Maybe the paddles need repairing. (My cycle was old). So I paddled on. After struggling on for a while, I suddenly heard someones breathe behind.

I cycled hard and tried to go faster. But, my cycle was so heavy. I could still hear the sound of breathing! It felt as if someone was on my bicycle. I didn’t have the heart to look back. So I paddled on for a while. I started having Goosebumps. The sound of the breathing continued and grew faster and louder. I couldn’t carry on.

I had to do something. I wanted to scream for help but there was no one on the road. I remembered the words of my student’s parents. I should have stayed there for the night. But what am I to do now!

Finally, I decided to leave my bicycle there. My beloved bicycle! So I left it there and I ran. I ran for my life! I didn’t have the heart to look back. I kept running for almost an hour. Finally, I could see my house. I was so relieved. When I reached the door, I looked back. There was nothing. My mother opened the door and I walked in. I couldn’t have dinner that night and neither could I sleep. The next morning I went back to the place, only to find my bicycle back, under the banyan tree! I clearly remembered passing by it and cycling for quite some time. I brought it home and the first thing I did was reschedule the time of that student’s tuition.

The above story is dedicated to my Painting teacher. I heard it from him when I was at school. Hope you are reading this story and thank you for being such a wonderful teacher. Your classes had helped me a lot to improve my passion for drawing and painting.

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