The next day Arjun and his team were present at some government schools in the village for sanitation inspection. They were ensuring if the meals were prepared with hygiene or not , the washroom was clean , the drinking water was clear or not , taking samples and keeping the record of everything.
They were also teaching the children about the importance of hygiene , awaring them about certain diseases and their preventive measures.
Arjun was also busy in his work when his gaze fell on little kids playing and laughing in the playground and his heart ached remembering Aarav , his laughter , his soft scent and now he was missing his little baby too much .
A little smile broke on his lips as he imagined Aarav too going to school laughing and making friends.
He would look so cute in school uniform and - Arjun's chains of thought broke when someone called him and he just shook his head at his imagination.
Aarav was just five months old and here he was thinking of sending him to school. A small chuckle escaped his mouth .
After some work it was time for their afternoon break but it was past noon now, so after wrapping up their work everyone went to the hotel and had their lunch .
After lunch some went to their room to rest and some started exploring the village since it was their last day in the village.
Arjun after having his meal came to his room and called his mother to check on Aarav. After talking for some time he ended the call and decided to look around the village .
He was just walking and observing the people and their lifestyle.
It was so different from the city Arjun thought no phone , no vehicle , no pollution everything clean and pure the air , the food , the whole environment.
Peaceful he thought.
After walking for some time he reached near a waterfall and sat on a rock under the huge tree . His eyes started wandering here and there , admiring the beautiful scene .
The calm mountains , the greenery all around , the waterfall its soothing rhythm of flow and the sky melting into a sea of gold and crimson made it more mesmerizing.
Arjun closed his eyes and took a deep breath of peace enjoying the tranquility of the village .
He was lost in nature when he heard someone's faint whimpers of crying, it was barely audible against the loud flow of the water but it was there.
Arjun's eyes flew open upon hearing the sobs and he started looking for the person but found none and then he turned his head and looked behind him and found a girl.
She was sitting below the rock which was partially hidden by the trees and some big rocks which had hid her small frame too . She was sitting on the rock hugging her knees and crying .
She was sobbing and whispering while looking into the sky " Why d-did you leave me here maa and baba you should have taken me with you ?" Her voice cracked " please take me with you " and again broke into tears.
Her small body was trembling with each sob.
" A- ab humse a-aur sehan nhi ho raha hai , agar a-aap humare liye kuch nahi kar sakte t-toh Hume mukti dila dijiye "
" I c-can't tolerate now i-it's too much god i-if y-you cannot do anything f-for m-me then t-take me w-with y-you "
"H-hume nahi jeena aur dhairya tut raha hai humara "
" Please i d-dont want to live anymore my patience is breaking "
" I don't want to live ."
" Please take me with you "
She was murmuring this again and again while crying her heart out that she even choked on her breath.
If anyone had looked at her , they would have felt pity for her .
Arjun was standing behind her , listening to her pleas and looking at her broken state he wanted to reach her and ask her what's the matter, but before he could , she said something that made his breath hitch.
Arjun was just about to reach her when he heard her speak.
" It's ok if you cannot do anything for me than I will i am coming to you maa and baba " she said this while looking into the sky and stood up from her place and started going towards the edge of the waterfall.
It was clear from her words that she was not into her senses and could do anything wrong in this fragile state so Arjun rushed towards her without a second thought.
She stared deep into the waterfall for some time, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath just as she was about to jump into the water , she heard a manly voice .
" Stop"
Arjun yelled at her from behind and marched towards her . She stilled for a moment and then turned and saw Arjun rushing towards her .
He came and stood in front of her , his breath ragged from running " what do you think you are doing? "
Arjun asked her while staring deep into her eyes which were swollen and red from crying and an instant recognition hit him about their earlier meeting at the tea stall after seeing her face.
Meanwhile She looked at Arjun's intimating presence loomed over her petite form making her scared but she recognised him too . He was the same man she met at the tea stall.
" I asked what were you doing? Hmm " he again said seeing her scared expression.
But she just lowered her head when she realised that she was staring at him and said in a trembling voice " nothing ".
She was about to leave from there when someone shouted her name .
" Maithili "
She flinched at the voice and turned her head to see some men from her village was standing there . They were angry it was visible from their expression.
" What are you doing here ? " One man asked her while eyeing Arjun.
" Kaka i was nothing I was just he-"
" Don't lie " he barked loudly cutting her off sharply.
" What were you doing here alone with a man ?" Another man chimed in.
" Kaka i was doing nothing i swear I don't know him i - " Maithili was trying to speak but again they cut her off " do you want us to believe you huh you are alone in a quiet place that too with a man . Such a shameless girl ." He said with a disgusting face.
Something snapped inside Arjun after listening to how they were talking to her , so he interrupted " listen we were not doing anything wrong."
" Do you want us to believe you . " The man said again.
" But we were no-"
Maithili tried to explain them again and again but they dismissed her so at last she went quiet.
Meanwhile Arjun too tried to explain the whole situation to them but they weren't ready to listen to anything and took them to panchayat to decide for them.
Or maybe their fate to decide for them.
______
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