Outside the front-facing rows, Viriya stood there until Makriva called her to sit down.
After sitting down, Viriya started to talk in Hindi, "Do you know what happened?"
Makriva kept looking at Viriya a bit longer, then asked in Hindi, "What happened? You vanished. And the jar?"
Two people who were sitting close to them, hearing them talk, moved away. Watching them, everyone moved away. The rows were empty, they stayed there.
"Tell me what happened," Makriva said in Thamaily.
Viriya kept the jar in a firm grip. In a little while she was visibly calmer.
Viriya continued in Hindi, "After you slept, I was looking outside. The train was passing a burnt forest. Not sure when, but everything just stopped.
Didn't think anything about the train stopping. But when I moved my head a little, at the side of my vision, everything became blank."
"Blank? Meaning?"
"Half of my vision is empty..?"
"So everything just black?"
"Not exactly black. It's hard to explain, but there was nothing — and some glowing orbs floating, which were connected to each other."
"So just han?" Makriva looked in a different direction and closed his eyes for a while as he asked that.
"Han like the number? Oh han— 0"
"We use that for many things, but go on."
"After everything was, han. I panicked a little and moved my head even more. Everything became blank like that. I was confused, so I kept moving my head even more. But after a little thinking, I stopped moving my head. In a few moments, everything became visible instantly. Then I moved my head slightly—"
"The same thing happened?"
"Yes.
I was looking outside the window for a while after that. Not knowing what to do, I decided to go outside."
"Was there any type of sound?" Makriva asked in Thamaily.
"No, not for a while. But before, the animal was there."
"Which?" Makriva asked as he sat straight up.
"Ahh..., coming to that. I slowly got up and, getting hit by everyone and everything, I reached the door."
"Getting hit by everything?"
"Was getting stopped— obstructed by everyone.
After the vision cleared, I was about to get off the train, but didn't, thinking I couldn't get up."
"Yeah, sure. Then what happened?"
"After a while, on the way back here, I heard a really low-pitched, slow growling. I quickly looked outside and everything was blank again. When everything came back, I saw an animal — human. A mixture of wolf, human, and octopus."
"Ok,
I know human in Hindi, what are the other two?"
"Wolf, like ahh, Ownad, but angry and octopus, Eight handed water animal...?"
Hearing that, he quickly looked outside and said,
"Aggressive dog and eight-handed water animal? Interesting. Ok."
"It was coming towards the door. I tried to run towards the inside of the train. Because of the blindness, I fell. And this jar." Viriya said as she pointed at the broken jar in her hand.
Hearing that, Makriva slowly furrowed his eyebrows.
"I looked towards the door again. When I could see again, the animal was even closer. I then covered my eyes with my arm, trying to kind of protect myself, or not see the outcome. As soon as I did that, I felt a big push towards me."
"Did the animal..?"
"No, the animal was far outside the train. And blood was splattered everywhere around it. It was not moving, it was dead."
"Was there anyone else? Did you notice anyone?"
"No, maybe, I don't know. Before I could process anything, the blood and the dead animal disappeared, and I heard glass breaking."
"The jar broke after all that?" Makriva said, pointing his hand towards the jar Viriya was holding.
"The top part of the jar was floating in the air after breaking. The bottom part was like this on the ground." She said, pointing at the half jar in her hand.
"Just the top part?"
"Yes, that one dropped and broke. The train was running again. I roughly picked up the bottom part — the flower was in it, still floating. Seeing everything a bit normal, I came back here."
"How are you calm after all that?" Makriva asked, standing up.
"I was scared and a little too exhausted then, but, Ahh.., I think that nightmare." Viriya shivered a little. "That nightmare made this look like nothing.
But why are you not more surprised?"
"It's surprising and bizarre for sure, but yeah... I didn't really understand everything you said... I have to learn Hindi more, I guess... Will report this incident later." Makriva said as he leaned against the wall.
"Report where? To who? Me? Or the incident?" Viriya switched back to Thamaily after hearing Makriva didn't understand everything.
"Why would it be you? The incident."
After pausing a little, he continued,
"Also, I might know what happened, but I'm not exactly sure if that is it, and not sure why you were able to move." While saying that, he was blank-faced — slight sadness, maybe? Viriya wasn't sure. He just faced away from Viriya.
"What happened then? Is this a normal thing?" Viriya asked.
"You used to know before, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you now. Anyway,
Were there any people near the door?"
"No, why?"
"The people here noticed that you were Vanished, so less people knows, better it is.
And is the broken glass still there?"
"Yes, sitting there."
Makriva opened up a bag and took out a cloth slightly bigger than the jar to cover it. After covering it, Makriva went towards the door where Viriya had been. He came back quickly and said, "Someone else was already cleaning it, I just helped that person."
Hearing that, Viriya eased a little and, raising her wrist to eye level with the pendant, said, "Well, good luck to me." in Hindi.
Makriva looked like he hadn't understood everything, as with the whole previous conversation, but didn't ask either.
Makriva said, "I will try to slee—"
As he was saying that, the train reached the next stop.
Some people came and sat beside them.
"Well, Me no sleep. Ahhh..." Makriva intentionally broke his sentence to mimic Viriya.
In later stands, more people got on the train. Many sat beside their empty seats. It was full later on.
Makriva didn't sleep anymore, even though Viriya told him to sleep multiple times.
Near the evening, Makriva got off the train at a stand named Untashi. He got some food and came back.
While Makriva was giving that to Viriya, she asked, "What is these?"
"Kiranot, pretty cheap, 2 trisha each."
At first appearance it looked like some fried and coated sticks. The fragrance was mixed with some spices and a smell which she couldn't really place. After biting on it, Viriya realized that it was some kind of meat. It was salted, spiced, coated fried meat of some kind. After eating for a while she asked, "What is Kiranot? It's good."
"Kiranot is just something coated and fried, it's a —bird Kiranot." Makriva replied as he finished his third one.
Bird? I am eating bird? What bird?
"What bird? Never mind... No want to know.
...
Wait, if it cheap, then why in Ramarana everything so ahh...?"
"No one there really can afford spices, meat or salt. So no one really sells anything there. And not just there." Makriva pointed at some people sitting near a metallic wall. "Maybe they are as well. In Ramarana, some people do eat better but mostly no one."
Viriya stopped eating hearing that. She asked, "Why no one donates then?"
"The days before Aganti festival? And around all year. From the Upavana, Maam and others do feed people there. If tried to make it meat based, then it would be too expensive. So just plant based food."
Viriya still wasn't eating then. To lighten the mood, Makriva took a Kiranot from Viriya and started eating it and said with a smirk, "You don't look hungry, I will finish them, don't worry."
Viriya just held the Kiranots towards Makriva saying, "Sure".
"Don't just give me, fight for it." Makriva said again.
"Mhm" Viriya just nodded.
They finished the Kiranots and the train left the stand.
Makriva finally slept but just a little.
___
At early night, many people were still there, but many spots were empty.
A man wearing a trench coat got on the train. Some layered metal bands were visible on his neck and wrist. The man just walked past, looking at every row.
Until now she had seen similar clothes but hadn't noticed those metal plates on anyone. Before Viriya could ask anything, Makriva said, as if anticipating the question, "That's a Parira. They guard or work for society maintenance."
[So police? I guess]
"I don't have energy to talk anyway. I am sleepy, I don't know how you are awake without sleeping yesterday. And I can't even sleep with this jar." Viriya blabbered in Hindi. When she realized that, Makriva said, "Don't worry, I mostly understood."
Viriya just sat even more slouched with the jar in her lap. She asked, "Why Police here?"
"Maybe travelling? Or normal checking." Makriva replied casually.
"Oh ok.
...
When you won't sleep, take this jar and let me." Viriya said with some exhaustion.
"I would but, it's broken now, safer with you. Sleep after reaching home."
Viriya just looked at him blankly.
Makriva continued with some hesitation, "And yeah, because you forgot everything, follow me at Nanadayaka."
"I doing that all the time already?"
"Yes, you are.
You also don't remember mom and dad. I will explain to them what happened. But dad might be at the stand. Just so you can be prepared."
[Viriya's — my dad, ok—. My Dad, not papa.]
Viriya just nodded slowly and didn't say anything.
After a little while she asked, "what I call them?"
"Ma to mom and Di to dad." Makriva said that normally, but Viriya did hear a little hesitation in his voice.
They talked little here and there and it was mostly quiet after that. Mainly from exhaustion, and they didn't know what else to talk about. Somewhere in between, Makriva said the names of their parents — father is Pannavo Shanipat, mother is Bhavakari Shanipat.
___
Quite after midnight they were near Nanadayaka stand. Viriya had almost fallen asleep many times, and Makriva woke her up every time. Some people did look at the cloth covered jar, but didn't ask anything.
Makriva was standing at that point, Viriya stayed seated. The luggage was at the outside rows with Makriva.
Makriva decided to carry all of it even though Viriya tried to carry at least one. But Makriva told her to keep an eye on the jar.
When the train reached Nanadayaka, they got off the train.
The wind was quite heavy then. The sky was growling, it looked like it might rain at any moment.
The stand was lit up by some kind of lamps which were lit all across it. It wasn't fire, Viriya didn't bother to ask about it after all that journey.
The smell of the first raindrop reached them as the rain started. Viriya recalled the water body from the Upavana. The rain wasn't heavy, it was just the start. They started walking a bit faster towards a shade.
Among the heavy wind and walking, Viriya heard a distinct gliding sound. When she looked to the side she noticed a snake-lizard like creature with legs gliding towards her.
She didn't cover her eyes with her hands this time, she was holding the jar. But seeing that, she did close her eyes and step back.
[What is that? First Octopus werewolf and now a facehugger?]