Chapter 2

“Wow, isn’t that a woodpecker? I didn’t know they could also be green in colour.”

The tiny bird was flitting around the bark of a tree and pecking incessantly at something.

Peck. Peck. Peck peck peck. Peck peck. Peck peck peck peck peck.

The scene was so comical that the boy could barely control his laughter.

As he stood there watching the restless little bird, he wondered why the scene seemed so familiar.

Oh! My father took me to Jim Corbett once when I was young. This was exactly what I saw back then too…we were in a jeep and the driver stopped to let us take some pictures of the bird. Is this Corbett? Did I come here with my friends?

He tried to remember, again and again...but to no avail.

“Why?!” He whispered, “Why can’t I remember anything?!” As the words rolled off his tongue, his voice became louder and taking one frightened look the boy, the woodpecker took flight.

“Wait!” Anshul cried out in surprise but the shout seemed to terrify the bird even more and it zoomed out of sight…

“Oh, man!” Shaking his head sadly the boy sank to his knees while clutching the bark of the tree he had been hiding behind to watch the bird. He was feeling guilty for having chased the bird away…after all, he had been the one who had intruded into the bird’s domain, the forest; not the other way around. But more than that...the sudden amnesia was taking a roll on him mentally.

As he was making ‘tsk tsk’ noises to himself, he heard a faint gurgle. Listening intently, he heard the sound of splashing and faint burbles which signified that water was nearby. That’s when he realized that his throat was dry and he was feeling thirsty.

Rising to his feet, Anshul walked towards the sound of water was coming from, trampling the undergrowth. It took a while but then the tree cover thinned as the small waterfall came into view. The water roared in his ears as he watched the powerful current crash into the rocks below and flow on at a slower yet still quite a strong pace.

For a few heartbeats, the teenager was lost in the moment...in the sheer beauty of the waterfall; the gallons of white cascading water, the tiny droplets that sprayed into the air touching his skin and the roar as the torrent pounded the rocks. The sight left him overawed as he forgot all his problems for those few seconds.

When the moment passed, he shook his head to clear it and staggered towards the riverbank. Crouching down, he plunged his face into the ice-cold water gulping in a huge amount as he did. He felt energized. He kept his head immersed in the cool water, mentally sighing in relief and enjoying the moment wholeheartedly.

When he could no longer hold his breath, Anshul pulled his head out, gasping for air the moment his head broke the surface.

“Now to drink some more but a bit more decently”, he muttered with a slight grin and bent his head, cupping his hand and gently sipping the pure water.

After quenching his thirst, the boy leaned on his back and swept his wet, glistening black hair back with a hand.

Relaxed a little too much now, his fatigued mind decided to catch some Zs. After turning his head to the left, he was in the process of turning his body when he got the scare of his life.

“Oh, sh*t!” He yelled, springing to his feet. “What the hell is going on here?! A kid in the middle of the jungle?!”

And it was! A young girl, probably no more than 8 years old, dressed in dirty rags was sitting on the ground looking at Anshul with big, wondering eyes.