The Wild Fruit

It was on the first morning of “chillai kalan”(A harsh winter period of 40 days in Kashmir) and Gullu was still in his warm bed not wanting to get out. During those days of winter, it is difficult to go inside the cold bed but by morning the heat from your body would turn it into a personal “Hammam”. Gullu was thinking about the wild tree near the Shankaracharya foothills which lay beyond the permissible limits of its daily strolls. Those days, in the middle of the insurgency, children were not allowed to venture out much. People would conspire many stories about this wild tree. The most famous was with the fruit the tree bore. Gullu was warned many a time by his father about not going near the tree, lured by its fruits, as it will make him disappear. Many people from Gullu’s locality and around had disappeared mysteriously and the children were sure it was because of the wild fruit.

One afternoon, Gullu decided to take the unusual route back from the local bakery where he had gone to buy some “tshuchwur” (Local Bread) the route passed by the wild tree it had snowed a lot and this route seemed less slippery to walk. As Gullu passed by the tree he layer beneath looked like a massive inconceivable “ Dastarkhan” welcoming its guest to eat the feast. Gullu would obey his father always but now he felt a rebel in him who wanted to lay hands on the forbidden fruits.
He quickly grasped one and hid it inside his bag, running away being noticed.

The next day Gullu’s father left for work as usual. Gully, still in his cozy bed, had weird thoughts ever since he walked by the tree. He did not have the guts to look inside his bag, Let alone eat the fruit. Babu’s grandfather had disappeared last month, and it was a common talk among the children that he was seen near the wild tree. In the afternoon as Gullu stepped into his home after his noon stroll with friends, He saw an unusual crowd around. His mother was wailing, and all relatives had gathered. People around were whispering about his father being taken away by unknown men. Gullu feared the worst and run to check his bag. The fruit was missing and Gullu did sense what would have happened. The police found a linen bag inside his father’s shop which he used to carry every day. Inside it lay his empty cycle keys, lunch, and fruit.

• Shahnawaaz Nazir Lone-
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