Chapter 13 #2
I thought about Tiff as I walked. I’d googled her since I’d been here.
In her day job, she was a mix engineer in the music industry.
She’d worked with everyone from Beyoncé to Harry Styles.
A woman at the top of her game. And yet still she found time and energy to run the One World Project.
Food for thought, Magnolia Jones, I mused, comparing her rich life to my own sparser one. Food for thought.
A scuffling noise from behind brought me back from my daydreams. There was someone following me, I could sense it.
I heard heavy breathing and every hair on my body prickled.
Oh God. I glanced left, right and ahead but there was no one in sight to call to for assistance.
I picked up my pace, feeling my heart gallop with fear.
The faster I walked, the faster the person behind me must have been moving, because the sound of panting felt as close, if not closer.
I was too scared to turn around. My throat felt as if it was closing up, and I wasn’t sure if I could scream for help even if I’d wanted to.
And then something touched my bag. I looked over my shoulder, let out a high-pitched squeal and started to run.
I was being chased by four dogs. A rag-tag of shapes and sizes but the leader of the pack had long legs, sharp pointed ears and drool dripping from its jaws.
I pushed myself as fast as I could, and the dogs started to bark.
I started to cry, convinced that they were going to attack me.
I hadn’t had a rabies shot; there hadn’t been time and I’d foolishly thought I wouldn’t need it.
How wrong I was. My bags were weighing me down and I considered dropping them, but then I’d have no weapon at all; at least I could swing these at the dogs.
Why hadn’t I accepted that lift from Govinda?
Why did I always have to be so bloody independent?
One of the dogs jumped up at my bag. I batted it away, but it jumped again.
‘Go away. Get down.’ I lashed out, swinging the bag at the leader.
But a smaller black dog, its eyes hidden in matted fur, lunged at my ankle. I tried to kick it away, but missed, almost losing my footing. All four dogs were barking now and I was shaking in terror.
‘What do you want?’ I shouted.
The cloth wrapping the aloo chop caught my eye at the top of my bag.
Could they smell the food – was that it?
I slid my hand into the bag, pulled out the still-warm potato croquettes and flung them into the road as far as I could.
They scattered on the ground and the pack of dogs scrambled after them.
I let out a sob of relief and ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction.
I rounded the corner and pressed myself up against the wall, my lungs screaming with pain from sprinting.
I stood there, trembling, letting the adrenaline subside and the tears dry up.
Finally, my legs stopped shaking. The dogs hadn’t returned and I felt brave enough to carry on.
I’d only taken a few steps when I felt the first gurgle in my stomach.
A minute later there was a full-on cyclone going on in there.
Good for cleansing, I remembered Shila translating for me.
I had a feeling that the bloat was going to come to an end very soon – hastened, no doubt, by my brush with a pack of wild dogs.
I really hoped I could get back to the camp in time.
As I speeded up again my phone beeped with a text message and I grabbed it, grateful for the distraction.
It was from George. I smiled at seeing his name; I missed my trainee, his hesitant comments in meetings, his earnest expression.
I hoped Lee was looking after him. His probation was a formality as far as I was concerned; he had the potential to go far in the organisation, like I had.
I swiped the screen to read what he had to say.
Sorry I’ve not been in touch, the boss said I shouldn’t disturb you. But I’ve decided to resign from ShopSwift. Thought it only fair to let you know. Hope you’re having a good time. G
I felt a wave of disappointment and wondered what could have happened to prompt this. I would have given it more thought, possibly even replied, had my stomach not made a series of gurgles.
Oh God. I needed a bathroom urgently. I marched on, starting to sweat. By the time the One World camp came into view, I was dripping with perspiration and my stomach felt ready to explode.
As I got closer, I noticed a crowd outside the gates.
That was odd. There were only ever people at the gates at the start and end of kindergarten and today we were closed.
Where was Meena? I spotted the volunteers amongst the crowd.
Was the gate locked? A series of cramps made me catch my breath.
Please don’t let the gate be locked. I was going to have to rush past them all yelling that I couldn’t stop.
How embarrassing; everyone would know I was desperate for the loo.
They were all very open about their bowel movements, but I liked to maintain a bit of decorum in the bathroom department. That might all be about to change.
There was a lot of screaming going on. And shouting and … holy moly, was that a cricket bat waving about in the air? Whatever was going on, everyone needed to clear a path because I was going in.
Naomi and Izzy spotted me and raced over. Their eyes were bright and I suspected that they were enjoying the drama.
‘Keep back, Maggie. You need to stay safe,’ said Naomi, breathlessly.
‘What’s happening?’ I pressed a hand to my stomach.
The girls garbled the story between them, neither of them quite able to drag their eyes away from the scene.
‘You know that girl that Colin has been seeing?’
‘Her dad has found out about it, and he’s not happy.’
‘He’s threatening to hit him if he goes near his daughter again.’
‘With a cricket bat.’
‘Colin’s bricking it.’
‘I know that feeling.’ My stomach released an almighty gurgle as if someone had pulled the plug out of a full sink and I let out a groan.
‘You look really pale, Maggie.’ Naomi took a step back.
‘And sweaty.’ Izzy wrinkled her nose. ‘Are you going to be sick?’
‘I can’t wait,’ I muttered. ‘I can’t.’
I pushed my way through the crowd. Meena was standing in front of the angry father, holding her hands out, trying to placate him.
It didn’t seem to be working. He had the cricket bat raised above his head and was jabbing his finger at Colin.
His daughter was sobbing and a group of boys were surrounding Colin for protection.
I marched up to the irate Nepalese man, conscious that fear was not making things any easier for my poor pickled bowels.
‘I’ll take that.’ I pulled his arm towards me and plucked the cricket bat out of his hands.
The man was so surprised that he didn’t even put up a fight.
‘You’re being ridiculous,’ I said, putting the bat behind my back.
‘Give your daughter some credit; Colin is a lovely boy. I’d have been delighted if my daughter had brought him home.
Why don’t you get to know him instead of trying to knock his head off?
Please translate for me, Meena. Now excuse me, I’m in a hurry. ’
I sidestepped him, shuffled through the gate and ran across the yard, leaving the man stunned into silence. Gosh, I could be brave when the situation called for it.
‘Maggie is a literal goat!’ I heard someone shout, which was a bit rude.
I made it to the bathroom just in time, dropped the cricket bat and launched myself at the loo. Through the locked door I heard the others whistling and cheering and I let out a laugh which turned to a sob as the adrenaline of the last hour seeped from me.
What a day. Maybe I’d sleep tonight, despite the lumpy mattress that was almost impossible to get comfortable on. What I’d give for a bath and a chance to relax and a little bit of peace and quiet, but I had another week of this.
It dawned on me in that moment that I had the freedom of choice. Nepal had been a blast, the people were lovely, I’d made memories to last forever, and being away from home had been the tonic I hadn’t known I’d needed. But I was done here.
I’d had enough of fighting my way in and out of the mosquito net, plugging my ears so as not to hear the scuttle of cockroaches across the bedroom floor.
I’d had enough of waiting for the bathroom to be free and wading across a heap of sodden towels to get to the shower.
This place would have been perfect for Bronte; she would have flourished and grown in confidence.
But this sort of travelling belonged in my past, when everything was new and exciting and I’d been open to having adventures.
Tiff had said that I shouldn’t simply tick boxes on this trip, it should be about what I wanted.
The truth was that I was not the wide-eyed and carefree adventurous girl I’d been at twenty-two.
And right now, I had a sudden yearning for home.