Miraj and Fiza
Raman Raji
July 12, 2021
Mihir and Sitaara
March 6, 2022
‘Miraj !’
Divya, a young travel blogger exclaimed from her bus window, as she looked outside.
Sand dunes have covered the entire Thar desert, it seems a small gush of storm wind has started on the desert, sands flew all along.
The conductor inside the bus has instructed all not to open the windows in such weather as sand dusts would fly inside the bus, and breathing can be difficult.
But what can one do if without the dust entering the bus one feels breathless! Divya felt she could not breathe and her mind went to wander with the glimpse of Miraj.
But why is she becoming restless all of a sudden?
The vision of Miraj, a male camel.
Divya got up, all of a sudden and screamed, CAN I GET DOWN!
Everybody inside the bus looked at her, quite amazed.
Impossible, we are moving within Jaisalmer’s Thar desert, and amidst the dust we cannot stop.
Divya, now desperate, come hell or high water, turned aggressive. She takes out the tripod stand from her travel bag and threatens to immediately stop the bus, or else she will make no second thought in battering the windows.
Fellow passengers could see Divya trembling in anger and was having difficulty in breathing. But still she had a strong point of determination to break down the window panes.
The bus slows with a screech, though the bus was moving mildly amid the storm dust.
Divya gets outs and kneels down with a thud!
The storm outside has stopped, slowly. An old man was standing in front of her.
‘Fiza!’ The old man with wrinkled face also knelt down in front of Divya.
Divya’s eyes lit up. She could only utter very softly, ‘Miraj…’
She stood up and starts walking back.
The old man tries to stop her uttering, ‘Let me take you to him!’
‘Not this time, Rashid ✋’
‘Not this time.’
Miraj and Fiza
Rashid, the old man, covered his face and sobbed, ‘Please forgive me Fiza, Miraj has been waiting since…’
Rashid continued saying something, but Divya kept on running, her travel bag has fallen on road far behind!
The sun was blazing on the Thar. Divya’s skin and face burning all along, as she was never accustomed to the scorching sun which was shining such brightly.
The storm settles.
A tear drop fell from the left eye of Miraj, the camel. Miraj was laying lifelessly.
Flies have surrounded him all around, but still a lifeless Miraj was not even taking the effort to blow away the flies with his tail.
Suddenly, the camel felt someone touched his legs.
A touch which was most humane, and very much known to him.
There was no exchange of words.
Divya took Miraj’s head on her lap. Miraj was ailing with his wounded legs that were broken by Rashid long back, when he tried to stop Rashid from taking away his Fiza from him.
Rashid had sold Fiza, the female camel to an Arab Sheikh.
Fiza was heartbroken and never wanted to leave Miraj. She was mercilessly pulled into a big truck.
She had died midway, unnoticed.
.
.
Miraj opened his eyes one last time for his Fiza, looked at her and closed his eyes promising a rebirth together sometimes in the future.
A promise that Fiza’s heart accepted.
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