Sun that rose steadily everyday morning had to set sharp everyday evening from time immemorial but Questions remain unanswered yet they propped up every now and then. None spoke never, other than she herself, except those nocturnal beings waking up to work it out! those crickets, moths, bats, owls, raccoons, foxes, hedgehogs and Leopards. The playback of the wind whistled all along, a not very cold but a scary one that too!!

 

Not knowing what the hell future had in it for her, she looked at the sky for any magic left to happen to protect her. Then slowly she calmed down after quite some time being sure none seemed to be there up above waiting to comfort her. Slowly she turned around looking unsure of what might be there in sight nearby, it was getting dark but there was the temple at the top .she thought she was blessed with the temple on the top of hillock. She carried her substance and made the child walk. He started crying louder when he was sure she was looking at him. He was crying all along to show he was angry about her idea of leaving him alone. She was busy wiping her tears, while none caressed him, a few, with a smile from the corner of their lips, stared at both as they were descending down the hillock. Once they could make out that the cry wasn’t nonsense, they gave a serious look but were afraid to comment. She could see they were looking back as she moved up with the same astonishing look. She had lost everything and was not amused with their sight. She was worried what was wrong and why anyone would be so surprised looking at someone else and yet would go without asking anything about it. She did not know that they were from the city and most if not all city-dwellers always maintained distance with their neighbors forget strangers! She was sure about wiping her eyes when she passed in front of them. Soon later she couldn’t control. There was none in the temple as she went around. She thought there must be a surprise that nature has for her. As they both settled, in one of the corner, the priest had locked the temple and kept moving down the hillock. She didn’t have enough cognizance to call him and ask for help. She was not sure what to ask, and why anyone would help her. What if he pushed her out & demand to go down, where would she go? So she preferred to stay silent letting the fate play its game! The priest on the other hand was thoughtful about getting down before sun went down and reach home safe!

 

 

Before she could decide on anything, it was late and was left alone, only to wait for the next worst thing to happen. When it was half past midnight, she was woken up by a sound, a sound that was scary, that made her spine go chill, before she could guess what the sound was and assess as to how far away it originated from.

 

Tiger was waiting, stalking in its locomotion! It wanted to highlight its presence before its arrival so it roared as it appeared out of the bush. It was visible only when lightening hit near by else it was pitch black as it got dead dark.

 

Precipitously, she herself didn’t know where she got the courage from, she held the child in her hand which had lost consciousness due to lack of food or water. She got up, moved around and started screaming, looking towards the direction of the tiger!

 

“Come. Please come. Eat me, I don’t have anybody on this planet to care for me, I am not helped by anybody, not even God, I think, he wishes this for me, but, please, I beg, I am fit to be eaten alive, left only to die, I am begging, you please pardon my child, pardon, or else, if you try to eat my child, I shall, I shall kill you with my bear hands!”

 

 she screamed deafeningly and there were only echoes which reflected from all sides. They sounded harsher than her voice! It had a compounding effect enough to wake up the angels, if any, but none arrived to help her! Tiger roared moving around, looking for prey. Her scream terrified the tiger and deterred it from approaching her any closer. May be it didn’t like her smell! But for reasons unknown, it decided to look elsewhere for a better & quieter meal and the sound faded away into the forest. May be, it could make out that she doesn’t make a good nourishment either and the child, if touched, might be a death trap. Luckily it was not very hungry. It had just eaten a tasty rabbit which wanted to have some fun in the night with her buddy. Singing and swaying, sweet-talking to its mate, the sexy rabbit had just got devoured by the tiger.

 

But this action left the lady in lurch. She was afraid of death, but more important was the life of her child. With the imagination that it might come again and she picked her child up, held him as tight as possible. He, out of long-lasting hunger driven deep sleep, couldn’t even cry! She turned and twisted, rotated and revolved, spun suddenly with every noise in the forest, every shriek in the scrub, every light that twinkled by, that of the light bees, of lights far away, of buses and cars and lorries which zoomed across the road, down below the hillock, speeding high,spending a lot on the gas! She didn’t have a choice, but to pray to the same old God, who neither heard nor helped her to fulfilment but - maybe a little here and a little there on issues trivial- still expecting him to help her, someone who she thought was responsible for all this. All she prayed for was,” Spare the child, munch on me, O anyone, if you want. But spare the child, I shall sacrifice myself, may be serve you all my life. Please spare the child. He is the one and only signature that I passed by this planet. Only one I created,  Tiny & Innocent. Spare him please!”

 

Early morning the next day, there was a crowd surrounding her when she slowly opened her eyes!

 

She was concerned that the child was soundless. She shook the child once and he wriggled a little. Relieved for a moment, she was worried with the next, She wondered what the crowd was up to, “Am I suspected of thievery Or am I suspected of harming somebody Or are they worried about my child?” She patted him hard again and he started crying with a very feeble voice as someone in the crowd started speaking,

 

“Do you have any sense? Why did you stay here? Don’t you know there is a tiger? What if it had come? you would’ve been eaten by now? Why put that little child in such an endangerment?” they didn’t stop.

 

She could not control any longer,“Yes, my beloved well-wishers assembled here, Tiger had come. Even a tiger had heart or I don’t know if it didn’t  like to eat the impoverished me or may be it thought I am a worthless. I too don’t know why a tiger would spare me; I don’t know what to do. Someone please get me some water and food. My child is dying. Please, I beg!”

 

Everybody around was astonished as an young girl amidst the group looked around for water. Rushed out, Got it to feed her.

 

“What? Tiger… Did Tiger come? Tiger came here? Oh my God! What did it do? Oh my! She is alive, that means such a wild animal spared her, it blessed her, Oh my God, She isn’t ordinary!” someone shouted amidst the group, others echoed. The story spread, spread with all colorful coatings added to it, just like the story of the Goddess. Along with Tiger’s footprint there, it made her famous! The wild beast not only did a favor by sparing her life! It left an impression too! The one with which both the mother and the child later lived with a decent designation. The one she had earlier, she thought, wasn’t worth remembering. The old one didn’t do any good all along, she preferred to forget it, but to live further ahead, she needed a new one, she took what she was offered and then wanted to try her luck with the new name she had earned! Far far away, unheard by humans, deep inside the forest, tiger roared again!