It was lying on the road’s edge with its flashy dial upwards as if it had been waiting to be picked up when Sagar spotted it. “How come I did not see that thing?” said Chandan. “If you want to spend the rest of the day simply staring at it, then I am moving ahead.” said Kaustuv, noticing Sagar and Chandan gazing at the watch with child-like fixation.
Kaustuv ordered dal bhat and chicken for three at a roadside restaurant in Panauti while Sagar and Chandan join him a bit later. “What a fine day! Isn’t it, dai?” asked Sagar, trying to initiate a conversation with the shopkeeper, who was busy removing the feathers from the chicken. “It is indeed. Where are you boys heading?” asked the shopkeeper. “We’ll stay at Namobuddha tonight, and return to Kathmandu tomorrow,” answered Chandan.
As the three friends climb the hill to Namobuddha from Panauti, Sagar whimpers holding his stomach. “Why did you have eat like you hadn’t eaten in ages?” asks Chandan. “May be the shopkeeper cursed you for eating so much,” says Kaustuv with a giggle. Sagar, however, was in real pain and told his friends that he could walk no further. Kaustuv got his mobile and tried to make a call but the area had no coverage. Afraid of not reaching their destination on time and not knowing what to do, Chandan and Kaustuv lift their friend and carry him to the nearest lodge.
“Is there anybody in the house? Can you please come out?” Kaustuv called, standing on the doorway of Shanti Lodge. A dark, heavily built man came out. Kaustuv asks the man if they could get a room. They tell him that their friend is unwell and ask if medical help is available. The man says that he has a room but that it was difficult to get any medical help at this hour.
